What are you up to lately
What are you up to lately
“What Are You Up To Later?”
“Hey what are you up to later on?” You’ll hear this phrase a lot in friendly conversation, but what does it mean?
It’s Saturday afternoon and Simona calls up Petr and asks:
– “Hey Petr, listen, I was just wondering – what are you up to later?”
– “Not much, I’ve just got to finish an essay then I’m done for the day. What’s up?”
– “Well, I’m holding two tickets to the Taylor Swift metal concert – want to come?!”
As Simona holds her breath and hopes that Petr will say ‘yes’, he takes a few moments to realise that “what are you up to” simply means:
“What are you doing?”
It’s a common small talk phrase which we use when asking what our friends are doing, and often it’s used before we ask someone if they’re free to go out somewhere.
So if you want to find out what you’re friends are doing, you can ask them:
– “What are you up to now – are you free for a drink?”
– “What are you up to tonight? Let’s grab a drink somewhere..”
You can also use ‘get up to’:
“What are you getting up to later?”
As well, you can ask them how their weekend was:
– “What did you get up to at the weekend?”
– “Did you get up to much last night?”
And if you haven’t seen a friend for a while, you can use the present perfect to ask what they’ve been doing since you last met:
– “Have you been up to much lately?” or “Been up to much lately?”
– “It’s been ages since I saw you – what have you been up to?!”
what are you up to later English phrasal verb
What are you up to lately
Maybe like:
“Nothing much. ”
Like
Person A: What have you been up to lately?
Person B: Nothing much. I’ve just been busy with work. What about you?
Person A: Same here.
or you can just say something that has happened recently
Person A: What have you been up to lately?
Person B: Well, I’ve been traveling a lot and.
Maybe like:
“Nothing much. ”
Like
Person A: What have you been up to lately?
Person B: Nothing much. I’ve just been busy with work. What about you?
Person A: Same here.
or you can just say something that has happened recently
Person A: What have you been up to lately?
Person B: Well, I’ve been traveling a lot and.
Most people will just say «Nothing much, what about you?» However, if you want to really list what you’ve been doing lately start with «I’ve been. «, «I went. «, and make a list of your recent activities.
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«What are you up to?»
NickJunior
Senior Member
As I was walking in the hallway, a male coworker asked me this expression: «Hey there, what are you up to?» Trying to be spontaneous as I could, I answered him, «I am fine, thank you. The white clouds are up in the sky.»
What does the expression «What are you up to?» mean? Was I appropriate in answering him that I was fine and that the clouds were up in the sky?
Larentia
Member
He probably thought you were being sarcastic or joking around with him.
It means «what are you doing?» or something like «what’s going on?»
Guy: «What are you up to?»
Girl: «Oh, I’m just reading a book.»
xhalli
Senior Member
Black Opal
Senior Member
It’s just a friendly greeting, which also means
How are things?
What have you been doing lately?
How are you doing?
On a more sinister level he could have been worried that you were ‘up to something’ which can mean you were doing things you shouldn’t have been doing.
It would be obvious in his tone of voice if he meant it that way though.
GreenWhiteBlue
Banned
It means «What are you doing now?» «How are things with you? » «What is new with you?» It is a common way to greet someone or open a conversation. A related question is «What’s up?»
It is a bit uncommon as a response, but it would be acceptable.
coiffe
Senior Member
As I was walking in the hallway, a male coworker asked me this expression: «Hey there, what are you up to?» Trying to be spontaneous as I could, I answered him, «I am fine, thank you. The white clouds are up in the sky.»
What does the expression «What are you up to?» mean? Was I appropriate in answering him that I was fine and that the clouds were up in the sky?
AEE 504: How to Respond to “What Are You Up To?” in English
Do you know what to say when someone asks you, “What are you up to?”
Today find out the best ways to respond to small talk questions and greetings in English like “how have you been?” and “what are you up to?” for better conversations and better connections in English.
“Hi Lindsay and Michelle. I am Jan, an avid listener of AEE from Singapore.
I am intermediate to advanced in reading and listening because I can understand any listening material but not in speaking.
I find myself struggling to connect with people in many conversations. For instance, I have a friend who usually starts a conversation by asking, “Hi how have you been?” followed by “What are you up to?” almost every time we see each other.
Honestly, the second question makes me lose the connection because I’m not sure how to respond.
I understand that it means something like “what are you doing?” but I still get confused.
Should I tell her what I have done in the past few days? What I am doing at the moment? Or what I am planning to do?”
-Jan, AEE Listener
This is a great question from Jan!
“What are you up to?”
What does this mean? It means “What are you doing right now?” if the person sees you regularly.
If the person does not see you very often and it’s someone who is checking in with you after 6 months or a year it would mean “What is going on in your life?” or it could still mean “What are you doing right now?””
How do we respond?
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“What have you been up to?”
This is more often used when you sit down with someone and catch up.
How do we answer it?
If you are confused about what they are asking about:
What questions do you have from today’s episode?
Let us know in the comments below.
What are you up to lately
요즘 뭐하고 지내냐?
Символ показывает уровень знания интересующего вас языка и вашу подготовку. Выбирая ваш уровень знания языка, вы говорите пользователям как им нужно писать, чтобы вы могли их понять.
Мне трудно понимать даже короткие ответы на данном языке.
Могу задавать простые вопросы и понимаю простые ответы.
Могу формулировать все виды общих вопросов. Понимаю ответы средней длины и сложности.
Понимаю ответы любой длины и сложности.
Решайте свои проблемы проще в приложении!
( 30 698 )