Hi this might sound like a silly question but i was listening through lesseon 2.4 and the part that says "o yasumi de kite iru no desu ka?" Just wondering why "kite iru no" is used and what does it mean exactly? also if i said "o yasumi de kimasu ka?" what would that mean? and last can the te form be used alone?

Kungfoolai-san, No question is a silly question! :idea: Let me first answer your last question: Can the *te-form* be used alone? Answer is, YES! You can use the *te-form* on its own for __informal commands__. That is, you use it when you want to ask an action to be done. Such as, *Tabete* _("Eat!")_ or *Mite* _("Look!")_ Of course, like in English, depending on the tone of your voice the request can be an urgent plea, or a gentle command. :idea: Now, let's talk about the phrase: *Kite iru no desu ka?* The *te-form* of a verb plus *IRU* makes a two-verb combination that generally expresses an action in progress - equivalent to the English _"am ~ing/is ~ing/are ~ing"_ such as if you want to say, _"I am eating"_ you'd say *Tabete-iru* or _"Taro is sleeping"_- *Taro wa nete-iru.* Another use of the *-te form + iru* combination is with momentary verbs - such as *kuru* _"[someone] comes"_ or *aku* _"[something] opens"_. The helping verb *IRU* in this case implies that the result of the te-form action __"exists"__. The English equivalent may translate as _"has/have ~."_ Sometimes, it may also translate as an ordinary present or past tense - _"is/are ~ ."_ So, *Kite iru* is literally _"has come,"_ but it's usually thought of as _"is/are here"_ *O yasumi de kite iru no desu ka?* thus means _"Are you here on vacation?"_ -Sayaka :P

One more thing... *o yasumi de kimasu ka?* asks _"Will you come on vacation?"_

Hi, thanks for the answer. Could you explain the function of the の after kite iru?
Would the sentence have the same meaning without it?
Thnks a lot!
Davide

The の after kite iru gives the question a nuance of "needing further explanation."

So if you did not have the の in there, then you would be happy with a one-word answer like "yes" or "no", but when you do have the の you want the person to elaborate on their answer; give some more info, etc.

Thank you very much Poggin!