Well it’s the hot day anthems ringing in your ears
And we’ve been waiting so long for clouds to clear
So jump in the car and we turn up the beats
And we rock to the river and bounce to the beach
– from ‘Summer Days‘ by Melbourne group, TZU

Image: Andy Owl, Prague

Hit the beach, go clubbing, go hiking, do an intensive course, have a staycation. These are just a few of the many activities you can do this summer.

Despite the economic ills in Europe many folks will still go away, but those who want to save some money and stay at home will have a ‘staycation’.

What about you?

Talking about your plans

A typical opening question in a Cambridge English First (FCE) or Advanced (CAE) exam concerns being able to talk about your plans:

• Where are you going on your next holiday?
• What are your plans for this summer?

It’s also a common topic of small talk.

“What are you up to this summer?”

Get up to something or be up to something: this is a common phrasal verb for talking about what you are doing or what you are planning to do.

Examples:

• What are you up to now? Want to go for a drink?
• What are you getting up to this weekend?
• Did you get up to much at the weekend?
• What did you get up to in Sydney?

Please note this phrasal verb can also mean that you are doing something, especially something you shouldn’t do:

• eg I wonder what the kids are up to now.

So how can you answer when someone asks about your plans? Here are some phrases you can use:

• I‘m going to Australia.
• I‘m going to have a beach holiday.
• I‘m visiting friends in Spain.
• I’m taking the family to London.
• I’m travelling across Europe.

nb if you are talking about your plans and arrangements (which have already been made) we often use ‘going to’ or the present continuous form.

When you haven’t made any specific plans yet:

• I’m not sure yet. Maybe I’ll head to the beach. 
• I’m pretty sure I’ll have fun, wherever I go.
• I think I’ll go to the mountains and get away from it all. 
• Perhaps I’ll stay at home. Got no money.

nb the short form of WILL –  ‘ll – is used to speculate about future plans, such as in the examples above.

Of course you can use many phrases, but also other modal verbs:

• I might go to Brno – I hear the beer’s good there.
• I really should relax and take a break by the sea.
• I have to work the whole time, unfortunately.
• I can’t do much this summer with all the work I’ve got.

When your plans have changed:

• We were going to go to Japan, but our plans fell through at the last minute (= what you had planned then didn’t happen)
• We’ve had to put off our trip as my husband got a new job  (= go at a later time than what was originally planned)
• Well, we were going to Greece but we had to call it off  (= cancel it)
• We’re leaving Prague in September so we’ve brought our holiday forward to next week! (= go earlier than originally planned)

9 more phrases to talk about your plans:

• This summer I plan to work as a lifeguard.
• I plan on getting a job.
• I‘m planning to go to Egypt.
• If all goes according to plan, this time next week I‘ll be lying on a beach in Croatia.

• I’ll be going to France for a modelling contract with L’Oreal. I really deserve it.
• I‘m really looking forward to hitting the beach, I can tell you that much!
• I can’t wait to see my family again.
• I doubt I’ll stay in Prague, I’m not really a city person, to be honest. 
• I’m not fully sure what I’m going to do, but I am sure it’ll involve copious amounts of sun and alcohol.

Over to you

What are your plans for summer? Leave a message below and let’s swap stories on what everyone is doing 🙂

Aussie classic hit: One summer – by Daryl Braithwaite

This made it to number 8 on the Australian charts in 1989. Do you have a summer song from your country?

Read more

Expressing future time: plans and arrangements
Small talk phrases

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