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“What Are You Up To Later?”

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“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?!”

“It’s been ages since I saw you – what have you been up to?!”

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what are you up to later

 

“Gimme more!”

Small talk phrases

“It’s been ages since I saw you!

Photo credits

Image UggBoy Ugg Girl
Licence: CC by 2.0

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Francisco Javier says

    October 29, 2012 at 13:03

    I like it (a “Like” button would be good here).

    Reply

Trackbacks

  1. “We really hit it off” – conversational phrases — Get into English says:
    October 28, 2012 at 14:31

    […] You may also want to read: “What are you up to later?” […]

    Reply
  2. Small talk phrases – “It’s been ages since I saw you” — Get into English says:
    April 6, 2014 at 21:44

    […] So How Was The Flight? What Did You Get Up To This Weekend? What Are You Up To Later? […]

    Reply
  3. Short Phrases You Can Use In Conversation With Your Friends — Get into English says:
    May 3, 2014 at 22:38

    […] What are you up to later? […]

    Reply

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Welcome to Get Into English. I’m David, an English teacher, traveller & language enthusiast from Melbourne Australia.
That’s me above in Bendigo, Victoria before Corona came!
I write articles on learning English especially for people wishing to live in or travel to Australia, and for those who are interested in business and all kinds of issues!

Older posts were written while I was in Europe, newer ones are from Australia.

Feel free to leave a comment!

davidsweetnam

This is a nice time to take a little break from po This is a nice time to take a little break from posting photos. This is from my 12 km walk to Middle Park last Thursday 😮 
Not quite sure what to do with the hundreds of photos I still have from during the lockdown 🤷‍♂️ 
But I’ll be back in Middle Park, hopefully tomorrow, it’s a beautiful part of Melbourne. 

Mej se hezky a zatim ahoj 🏝😊🌱

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Walking home from Middle Park. Melbourne and the M Walking home from Middle Park. Melbourne and the Melbourne Cricket Ground at dusk 🏏 
So many magical moments in Australian sporting history have happened here. Hawthorn’s three-peat in 2013-15, Shane Warne’s 700th wicket, the 1992 World Cup, the 1956 Olympics. 
There are many walks you can go on from here - to the river, to East Melbourne, to Richmond. Or indeed up William Barak Bridge to the city 😊🌱☕️

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If you’re not sure where to go, come here ☕️ If you’re not sure where to go, come here ☕️😃

I came here quite a bit during the lockdown. This one is from late October 🤗 And it’ll be waiting for you tomorrow. 

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I walked all afternoon from Richmond to Middle Par I walked all afternoon from Richmond to Middle Park last Thursday. Still posting some of the pictures 😃 This is Beaconsfield Parade, Middle Park 🏝

#heartmiddlepark #melbmoment #melbournemoment #visitmelbourne #middlepark #cityscene #cityscapes #výlet #cestujemespolu #cestujeme #naprochazce #beachliving
Waiting for the sunset at Middle Park. The views f Waiting for the sunset at Middle Park. The views from those buildings must be amazing 🏝

#melbmoment #melbournemoment #výlet #slunce #zapadslunce #nebe #cestujeme #coucherdesoleil #heartmiddlepark #checkmelbourne #melbournebeach #summervibes☀️ #mynikonlife #beachdiaries #beachwalk 🏝
Melbourne is oddly tropical at times - I quite lik Melbourne is oddly tropical at times -
I quite like this 🌱🏝☀️

Middle Park, Melbourne 

3.12.20 😊 
#middlepark #heartmiddlepark #visitmelbourne #likemelbourne #checkmelbourne #vylet #cestujeme #naprochazce #tropicalvibes #mynikonlife #melbournegram #streetsofmelbourne #seeaustralia #melbournetodo 🏝
Middle Park, the red city. This street has many Au Middle Park, the red city. This street has many Australian Bottlebrush trees 😊

#bottlebrush #citylife #sundayvibes✨ #streetphotography #urbanjungle #citylifestyle #melbournemoments #melbmoment #mynikonlife #urbanscape #výlet #naprochazce #cestujeme 🌱
3.12.20
Late in the day in Middle Park, Melbourne 🏝 #h Late in the day in Middle Park, Melbourne 🏝

#heartmiddlepark #visitmelbourne #likemelbourne #jaro #checkmelbourne #printemps #melbmoment #melbournemoments #sunlover #beachvibes 🌱
The colours of Thursday 😍🏝🌱 #jacarandatr The colours of Thursday 😍🏝🌱

#jacarandatree #melbourne #melbmoment #melbournemoment #melbournegardens #queenvictoriagardens #výlet #cestujeme #mynikonlife #roseslovers #eurekatower #australia108 🌳
Richardson Street, Middle Park 🌳🌴🌱 #výl Richardson Street, Middle Park 🌳🌴🌱

#výlet #cestujeme #kostel #heartmiddlepark #checkmelbourne #likemelbourne #urbanscapes #beachtown 🏝
Middle Park is one of Melbourne’s smallest subur Middle Park is one of Melbourne’s smallest suburbs. If you haven’t been here, I totally recommend you visit 😊🌱☕️ Beautiful sea, churches, shops, homes and tree-lined streets. 

#middlepark #melbournebeach #visitmelbourne #likemelbourne #checkmelbourne #cestujeme #výlet #heartmiddlepark #beachlovers🌴
Wandering along Richardson Street, Middle Park 🌳 🏝 

#iheartmiddlepark #middlepark #heartmiddlepark #likemelbourne #checkmelbourne #tropicallife #beachlovers🌴
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