{"id":11740,"date":"2021-03-23T14:36:38","date_gmt":"2021-03-23T14:36:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/?p=11740"},"modified":"2024-09-16T11:33:16","modified_gmt":"2024-09-16T11:33:16","slug":"what-are-you-up-to-meaning","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/what-are-you-up-to-meaning\/","title":{"rendered":"&#8220;What are you up to?&#8221; \u2014 Master This Expression With Ease!"},"content":{"rendered":"<style>img#mv-trellis-img-1::before{padding-top:56.25%; }img#mv-trellis-img-1{display:block;}img#mv-trellis-img-2::before{padding-top:56.25%; }img#mv-trellis-img-2{display:block;}img#mv-trellis-img-3::before{padding-top:56.25%; }img#mv-trellis-img-3{display:block;}img#mv-trellis-img-4::before{padding-top:56.25%; }img#mv-trellis-img-4{display:block;}img#mv-trellis-img-5::before{padding-top:56.25%; }img#mv-trellis-img-5{display:block;}<\/style><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">You&rsquo;ve just received an email from your friend whom you haven&rsquo;t seen for quite some time asking &ldquo;What are you up to?&rdquo;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">How should you respond? And, what exactly does the question mean?<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Would you say that you&rsquo;re a little busy? Or, would you respond by saying &ldquo;nothing much really?&rdquo;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">If so, how do you think the conversation would go afterward? All you need to do is scroll down to the bottom of this page to<\/span> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">have a full grasp.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2><b>What does &ldquo;what are you up to&rdquo; mean?<\/b><\/h2>\n<p><strong>The question &ldquo;what are you up to&rdquo; literally means &ldquo;what are you doing.&rdquo; But, more often than not, it either implies that the sender of the message wants to catch up or needs to ask a little favor from you. It is used in casual discussions between or among people with intimate relationships, as opposed to formal ones. If you&rsquo;re not busy and you&rsquo;re &ldquo;up to&rdquo;&nbsp; hanging out or talking with the sender, you can say &ldquo;nothing much&rdquo; and maybe ask a follow-up question right away. But if your gut tells you not to, then you can indirectly decline by saying &ldquo;I&rsquo;m sorry, but I&rsquo;m a little busy right now.&rdquo;<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2><b>&ldquo;What are you up to?&rdquo; in ample detail<\/b><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Humans are social beings which means we need to relate and interact with others as <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/comma-after-often-the-definitive-guide\/\"><b>often<\/b><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> as daily.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This is the reason why we have people who we consider as friends or peers <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/whether-or-not-vs-whether\/\"><b>whether<\/b><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> at school, at work, or somewhere else.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">These people tend to tap on us every once <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/how-long-is-a-while\/\"><b>in a while<\/b><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> to check for updates or share stories: the good, the bad, and especially the most nonsensical ones.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">If you know some as described, and <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/comma-before-or-after-yet\/\"><b>yet<\/b><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, you still keep talking with them, then you&rsquo;ve got the most genuine people around you, so <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/comma-before-please\/\"><b>please<\/b><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> take care of them.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This is why the question &ldquo;what are you up to&rdquo; matters, at least generally speaking.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/comma-before-or-after-now\/\"><b>Now<\/b><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, let&rsquo;s dig a few miles deeper to understand its meaning, function, and usage in English.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2><b>The context in which to use <\/b><b>&ldquo;What are you up to?&rdquo;<\/b><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">As mentioned, if you receive this expression via any <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/kb.plu.edu\/page.php?id=104027\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><b>direct messaging<\/b><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> app, or hear it when someone calls, <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/comma-before-that\/\"><b>that<\/b><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> person is simply asking whether you&rsquo;re busy or not.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Therefore, it can also be translated into &ldquo;what&rsquo;s keeping you busy at the moment&rdquo; or simply &ldquo;what are you doing right now.&rdquo;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Your interpretation is context-dependent, which is why this expression is <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/comma-before-not\/\"><b>not <\/b><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">that suitable in formalistic situations because of its ambiguity.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">So, as the message receiver, you can use your social acuity to interpret the underlying implication of the message.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This means that if the sender of the message is someone you consider as a &ldquo;good&rdquo; friend, <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/comma-before-then\/\"><b>then<\/b><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> it usually just means the way it is.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">But, if you suddenly get this from someone who isn&rsquo;t that close to your heart or from a sales agent, I&rsquo;d understand if you&rsquo;re going to say you&rsquo;re &ldquo;quite busy.&rdquo;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/comma-after-and\/\"><b>And<\/b><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, now let&rsquo;s discuss the function or purpose of this expression.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2><b>The Function of&nbsp; <\/b><b>&ldquo;What are you up to?&rdquo;<\/b><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">What purpose does using this question in conversations serve? Is it really just to ask if someone was busy? Or does it go beyond <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/that-that\/\"><b>that<\/b><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">?<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Well, the answer to this can only be accurately interpreted within the language user&rsquo;s mental framework.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/comma-after-sometimes\/\"><b>Sometimes<\/b><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, it can be used as an innocent remark to get someone to mention the condition they are in, such as whether they are busy or not.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">But other times, it can also be used as a precursory question to an upcoming favor or request.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Of course, being able to know the real intent is dependent on the overall context involved, particularly the relationship <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/comma-before-with\/\"><b>with<\/b><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> the sender.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">So, again, our natural wit would let us determine <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/which-vs-what\/\"><b>what<\/b><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> the real message is, as long as we are keen enough at the time of delivery.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2><b>The Level of Formality of <\/b><b>&ldquo;What are you up to?&rdquo;<\/b><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">At the beginning of this post, it was mentioned that your friend sent you an email asking &ldquo;what are you up to.&rdquo;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Would that suggest that you can <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/comma-before-or-after-also-the-definitive-guide\/\"><b>also<\/b><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> send this kind of email message to your superiors, clients, and professors whenever you want?<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Well, you can freely do that, of course. But <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/comma-after-apparently\/\"><b>apparently<\/b><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, you should not expect any response from them, unless they really are that friendly.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This is because &ldquo;what are you up to&rdquo; is an informal expression that is supposed to be used between or among intimately-related individuals.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">So, this would come across as awkward or even a bit offensive when used as mentioned, a phenomenon called &ldquo;register clash.&rdquo;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Register clash is only effective when and if the intention is to inject humor during conversations, and <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/comma-after-hence\/\"><b>hence<\/b><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, the necessary caution.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2><b>Variations of &ldquo;What are you up to?&rdquo;<\/b><\/h2>\n<p><noscript><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-mv_trellis_16x9 wp-image-11760\" src=\"https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/Whats-Up-720x405.jpeg\" alt=\"What's Up\" width=\"720\" height=\"405\" srcset=\"https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/Whats-Up-720x405.jpeg 720w, https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/Whats-Up-300x169.jpeg 300w, https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/Whats-Up-1024x576.jpeg 1024w, https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/Whats-Up-768x432.jpeg 768w, https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/Whats-Up-480x270.jpeg 480w, https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/Whats-Up-320x180.jpeg 320w, https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/Whats-Up-735x413.jpeg 735w, https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/Whats-Up-335x188.jpeg 335w, https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/Whats-Up-347x195.jpeg 347w, https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/Whats-Up-520x293.jpeg 520w, https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/Whats-Up-640x360.jpeg 640w, https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/Whats-Up-960x540.jpeg 960w, https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/Whats-Up-1080x608.jpeg 1080w, https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/Whats-Up.jpeg 854w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 760px) calc(100vw - 20px), 720px\" data-pin-media=\"https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/Whats-Up.jpeg\"><\/noscript><img loading=\"eager\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-mv_trellis_16x9 wp-image-11760 eager-load\" src=\"data:image\/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20xmlns='http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg'%20viewBox='0%200%20720%20405'%3E%3Crect%20width='720'%20height='405'%20style='fill:%23e3e3e3'\/%3E%3C\/svg%3E\" alt=\"What's Up\" width=\"720\" height=\"405\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 760px) calc(100vw - 20px), 720px\" data-pin-media=\"https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/Whats-Up.jpeg\" id=\"mv-trellis-img-1\" data-src=\"https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/Whats-Up-720x405.jpeg\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/Whats-Up-720x405.jpeg 720w, https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/Whats-Up-300x169.jpeg 300w, https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/Whats-Up-1024x576.jpeg 1024w, https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/Whats-Up-768x432.jpeg 768w, https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/Whats-Up-480x270.jpeg 480w, https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/Whats-Up-320x180.jpeg 320w, https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/Whats-Up-735x413.jpeg 735w, https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/Whats-Up-335x188.jpeg 335w, https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/Whats-Up-347x195.jpeg 347w, https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/Whats-Up-520x293.jpeg 520w, https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/Whats-Up-640x360.jpeg 640w, https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/Whats-Up-960x540.jpeg 960w, https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/Whats-Up-1080x608.jpeg 1080w, https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/Whats-Up.jpeg 854w\" data-svg=\"1\" data-trellis-processed=\"1\"><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">And now, let&rsquo;s go over some variations of this expression that you can easily use in colloquial <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/comma-before-or-after-or\/\"><b>or<\/b><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> informal English.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Unless you&rsquo;re talking with someone intimately close, the following phrases are not applicable in the formal setting such as in business correspondence.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h3><b>Whatcha up to?<\/b><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">You might have heard of &ldquo;whatcha up to&rdquo; in movies or other forms of natural conversation among native speakers of English.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This expression is a good way to start a conversation with your friend that you want to catch up with.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/for-example-alternatives\/\"><b>For example<\/b><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, you can call your friend right after his or her office hours and ask this question.<\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"su-note\" style=\"border-color:#e5e54c;border-radius:3px;-moz-border-radius:3px;-webkit-border-radius:3px;\"><div class=\"su-note-inner su-u-clearfix su-u-trim\" style=\"background-color:#FFFF66;border-color:#ffffff;color:#333333;border-radius:3px;-moz-border-radius:3px;-webkit-border-radius:3px;\">\n<p><strong>A:<\/strong> Hello, Sam! Whatcha up to?<\/p>\n<p><strong>B:<\/strong> I just got out of the office. I&rsquo;m starving. Wanna grab some dinner?<\/p><\/div><\/div>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">As you can observe, the direct interaction between the interlocutors suggests that they are relatively close to each other rather than just acquaintances.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h3><b>Whatup today?<\/b><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Similarly, we can also use &ldquo;whatup today&rdquo; if we want to make some plans for activities with a friend within the day.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A client or business acquaintance may not be very impressed when you say this to them, but a bored friend will.<\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"su-note\" style=\"border-color:#e5e54c;border-radius:3px;-moz-border-radius:3px;-webkit-border-radius:3px;\"><div class=\"su-note-inner su-u-clearfix su-u-trim\" style=\"background-color:#FFFF66;border-color:#ffffff;color:#333333;border-radius:3px;-moz-border-radius:3px;-webkit-border-radius:3px;\">\n<p><strong>A:<\/strong> Hey, Sarah! Whatup today?<\/p>\n<p><strong>B:<\/strong> Nothing on the list really. Got any plans?<\/p><\/div><\/div>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In the <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/comma-after-e-g\/\"><b>example<\/b><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> response above, the question response is suggestive of the openness to commit to an activity.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h3><b>What&rsquo;s up?<\/b><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Lastly, we can also make use of &ldquo;what&rsquo;s up,&rdquo; which is probably the most-popularly used phrase because of its briefness and simplicity.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">&ldquo;What&rsquo;s up&rdquo; can be conveniently used when you bump into a friend unexpectedly in the same venue.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Or, it can be used as the simplest greeting upon arriving at a party or gathering.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The message receiver is not necessarily obliged to answer the question at length, as it may also be used as a replacement for &ldquo;hello&rdquo; or &ldquo;hi.&rdquo;<\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"su-note\" style=\"border-color:#e5e54c;border-radius:3px;-moz-border-radius:3px;-webkit-border-radius:3px;\"><div class=\"su-note-inner su-u-clearfix su-u-trim\" style=\"background-color:#FFFF66;border-color:#ffffff;color:#333333;border-radius:3px;-moz-border-radius:3px;-webkit-border-radius:3px;\">\n<p><strong>A:<\/strong> Hey! Calvin, Walter, Paul, what&rsquo;s up?<\/p>\n<p><strong>B:<\/strong> Nah. Just hanging out. Go grab yourself a beer.<\/p><\/div><\/div>And now, let&rsquo;s try to have a look at other differently-phrased expressions that mean the same as &ldquo;what are you up to.&rdquo;\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2><b>Other ways to say or synonyms of &ldquo;What are you up to?&rdquo;<\/b><\/h2>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/how-did-english-become-widely-diffused\/\"><b>In English<\/b><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, there isn&rsquo;t only one prescriptive way to structure how we express our greetings, just like most languages.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The next couple of examples are related to &ldquo;what are you up to&rdquo; in the sense that they can be used as initial greeting lines <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/comma-before-or-after-either\/\"><b>either<\/b><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> in spoken or written conversations.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h3><b>How&rsquo;s everything going?<\/b><\/h3>\n<p><noscript><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-mv_trellis_16x9 wp-image-11757\" src=\"https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/Hows-Everything-Going-Update-720x405.jpeg\" alt=\"How's Everything Going Update\" width=\"720\" height=\"405\" srcset=\"https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/Hows-Everything-Going-Update-720x405.jpeg 720w, https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/Hows-Everything-Going-Update-300x169.jpeg 300w, https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/Hows-Everything-Going-Update-1024x576.jpeg 1024w, https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/Hows-Everything-Going-Update-768x432.jpeg 768w, https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/Hows-Everything-Going-Update-480x270.jpeg 480w, https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/Hows-Everything-Going-Update-320x180.jpeg 320w, https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/Hows-Everything-Going-Update-735x413.jpeg 735w, https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/Hows-Everything-Going-Update-335x188.jpeg 335w, https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/Hows-Everything-Going-Update-347x195.jpeg 347w, https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/Hows-Everything-Going-Update-520x293.jpeg 520w, https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/Hows-Everything-Going-Update-640x360.jpeg 640w, https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/Hows-Everything-Going-Update-960x540.jpeg 960w, https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/Hows-Everything-Going-Update-1080x608.jpeg 1080w, https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/Hows-Everything-Going-Update.jpeg 854w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 760px) calc(100vw - 20px), 720px\" data-pin-media=\"https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/Hows-Everything-Going-Update.jpeg\"><\/noscript><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-mv_trellis_16x9 wp-image-11757 lazyload\" src=\"https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/Hows-Everything-Going-Update-720x405.jpeg\" alt=\"How's Everything Going Update\" width=\"720\" height=\"405\" srcset=\"https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/Hows-Everything-Going-Update-720x405.jpeg 720w, https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/Hows-Everything-Going-Update-300x169.jpeg 300w, https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/Hows-Everything-Going-Update-1024x576.jpeg 1024w, https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/Hows-Everything-Going-Update-768x432.jpeg 768w, https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/Hows-Everything-Going-Update-480x270.jpeg 480w, https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/Hows-Everything-Going-Update-320x180.jpeg 320w, https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/Hows-Everything-Going-Update-735x413.jpeg 735w, https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/Hows-Everything-Going-Update-335x188.jpeg 335w, https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/Hows-Everything-Going-Update-347x195.jpeg 347w, https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/Hows-Everything-Going-Update-520x293.jpeg 520w, https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/Hows-Everything-Going-Update-640x360.jpeg 640w, https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/Hows-Everything-Going-Update-960x540.jpeg 960w, https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/Hows-Everything-Going-Update-1080x608.jpeg 1080w, https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/Hows-Everything-Going-Update.jpeg 854w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 760px) calc(100vw - 20px), 720px\" data-pin-media=\"https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/Hows-Everything-Going-Update.jpeg\" id=\"mv-trellis-img-2\" data-trellis-processed=\"1\"><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">&ldquo;How&rsquo;s everything going&rdquo; is a little less direct than &ldquo;what are you up to.&rdquo;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The former usually prompts a shorter response, perhaps with a positive, neutral, or negative connotation such as &ldquo;fine,&rdquo; &ldquo;not bad,&rdquo; or &ldquo;terrible.&rdquo;<\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"su-note\" style=\"border-color:#e5e54c;border-radius:3px;-moz-border-radius:3px;-webkit-border-radius:3px;\"><div class=\"su-note-inner su-u-clearfix su-u-trim\" style=\"background-color:#FFFF66;border-color:#ffffff;color:#333333;border-radius:3px;-moz-border-radius:3px;-webkit-border-radius:3px;\">\n<p><strong>A:<\/strong> How&rsquo;s everything going?<\/p>\n<p><strong>B:<\/strong> Things are great. Thanks.<\/p><\/div><\/div>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The mood of the message receiver will also give some signs <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/how-to-use-whether-or-not-in-a-sentence\/\"><b>whether<\/b><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> he or she wants to keep the conversation going.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">If so, a follow-up question will likely be heard, as well as an introduction of a topic to talk about.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h3><b>What are you doing?<\/b><\/h3>\n<p><noscript><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-mv_trellis_16x9 wp-image-11754\" src=\"https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/What-are-You-Doing--720x405.jpeg\" alt=\"What are You Doing\" width=\"720\" height=\"405\" srcset=\"https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/What-are-You-Doing--720x405.jpeg 720w, https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/What-are-You-Doing--300x169.jpeg 300w, https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/What-are-You-Doing--1024x576.jpeg 1024w, https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/What-are-You-Doing--768x432.jpeg 768w, https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/What-are-You-Doing--480x270.jpeg 480w, https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/What-are-You-Doing--320x180.jpeg 320w, https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/What-are-You-Doing--735x413.jpeg 735w, https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/What-are-You-Doing--335x188.jpeg 335w, https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/What-are-You-Doing--347x195.jpeg 347w, https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/What-are-You-Doing--520x293.jpeg 520w, https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/What-are-You-Doing--640x360.jpeg 640w, https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/What-are-You-Doing--960x540.jpeg 960w, https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/What-are-You-Doing--1080x608.jpeg 1080w, https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/What-are-You-Doing-.jpeg 854w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 760px) calc(100vw - 20px), 720px\" data-pin-media=\"https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/What-are-You-Doing-.jpeg\"><\/noscript><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-mv_trellis_16x9 wp-image-11754 lazyload\" src=\"https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/What-are-You-Doing--720x405.jpeg\" alt=\"What are You Doing\" width=\"720\" height=\"405\" srcset=\"https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/What-are-You-Doing--720x405.jpeg 720w, https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/What-are-You-Doing--300x169.jpeg 300w, https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/What-are-You-Doing--1024x576.jpeg 1024w, https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/What-are-You-Doing--768x432.jpeg 768w, https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/What-are-You-Doing--480x270.jpeg 480w, https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/What-are-You-Doing--320x180.jpeg 320w, https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/What-are-You-Doing--735x413.jpeg 735w, https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/What-are-You-Doing--335x188.jpeg 335w, https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/What-are-You-Doing--347x195.jpeg 347w, https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/What-are-You-Doing--520x293.jpeg 520w, https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/What-are-You-Doing--640x360.jpeg 640w, https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/What-are-You-Doing--960x540.jpeg 960w, https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/What-are-You-Doing--1080x608.jpeg 1080w, https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/What-are-You-Doing-.jpeg 854w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 760px) calc(100vw - 20px), 720px\" data-pin-media=\"https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/What-are-You-Doing-.jpeg\" id=\"mv-trellis-img-3\" data-trellis-processed=\"1\"><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A more straightforward synonym for &ldquo;what are you up to&rdquo; is &ldquo;what are you doing,&rdquo; which has a much clearer meaning.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">If a person asks this question, he or she simply wants to know what activity you are engaged in at the time of asking the question.<\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"su-note\" style=\"border-color:#e5e54c;border-radius:3px;-moz-border-radius:3px;-webkit-border-radius:3px;\"><div class=\"su-note-inner su-u-clearfix su-u-trim\" style=\"background-color:#FFFF66;border-color:#ffffff;color:#333333;border-radius:3px;-moz-border-radius:3px;-webkit-border-radius:3px;\">\n<p><strong>A:<\/strong> Hello, Fiona. What are you doing?<\/p>\n<p><strong>B:<\/strong> I&rsquo;m waiting for the laundry to get done. And you?<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/comma-before-or-after-however\/\"><b>However<\/b><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, this question may also be used rhetorically wherein the user is not really asking for the activity, <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/but-rather-in-a-sentence\/\"><b>but rather<\/b><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> wants to rebuke or reprimand someone doing something wrong or awkward.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This could happen, for instance, when your sibling suddenly hugs you for no reason.<\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"su-note\" style=\"border-color:#e5e54c;border-radius:3px;-moz-border-radius:3px;-webkit-border-radius:3px;\"><div class=\"su-note-inner su-u-clearfix su-u-trim\" style=\"background-color:#FFFF66;border-color:#ffffff;color:#333333;border-radius:3px;-moz-border-radius:3px;-webkit-border-radius:3px;\">\n<p><strong>A:<\/strong> (suddenly hugs B)<\/p>\n<p><strong>B:<\/strong> Eeww! What are you doing? Get off me!&nbsp;<\/p><\/div><\/div>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h3><b>Are you busy right now?<\/b><\/h3>\n<p><noscript><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-mv_trellis_16x9 wp-image-11752\" src=\"https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/Are-You-Busy-Right-Now-720x405.jpeg\" alt=\"Are You Busy Right Now\" width=\"720\" height=\"405\" srcset=\"https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/Are-You-Busy-Right-Now-720x405.jpeg 720w, https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/Are-You-Busy-Right-Now-300x169.jpeg 300w, https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/Are-You-Busy-Right-Now-1024x576.jpeg 1024w, https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/Are-You-Busy-Right-Now-768x432.jpeg 768w, https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/Are-You-Busy-Right-Now-480x270.jpeg 480w, https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/Are-You-Busy-Right-Now-320x180.jpeg 320w, https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/Are-You-Busy-Right-Now-735x413.jpeg 735w, https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/Are-You-Busy-Right-Now-335x188.jpeg 335w, https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/Are-You-Busy-Right-Now-347x195.jpeg 347w, https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/Are-You-Busy-Right-Now-520x293.jpeg 520w, https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/Are-You-Busy-Right-Now-640x360.jpeg 640w, https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/Are-You-Busy-Right-Now-960x540.jpeg 960w, https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/Are-You-Busy-Right-Now-1080x608.jpeg 1080w, https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/Are-You-Busy-Right-Now.jpeg 854w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 760px) calc(100vw - 20px), 720px\" data-pin-media=\"https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/Are-You-Busy-Right-Now.jpeg\"><\/noscript><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-mv_trellis_16x9 wp-image-11752 lazyload\" src=\"https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/Are-You-Busy-Right-Now-720x405.jpeg\" alt=\"Are You Busy Right Now\" width=\"720\" height=\"405\" srcset=\"https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/Are-You-Busy-Right-Now-720x405.jpeg 720w, https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/Are-You-Busy-Right-Now-300x169.jpeg 300w, https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/Are-You-Busy-Right-Now-1024x576.jpeg 1024w, https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/Are-You-Busy-Right-Now-768x432.jpeg 768w, https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/Are-You-Busy-Right-Now-480x270.jpeg 480w, https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/Are-You-Busy-Right-Now-320x180.jpeg 320w, https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/Are-You-Busy-Right-Now-735x413.jpeg 735w, https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/Are-You-Busy-Right-Now-335x188.jpeg 335w, https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/Are-You-Busy-Right-Now-347x195.jpeg 347w, https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/Are-You-Busy-Right-Now-520x293.jpeg 520w, https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/Are-You-Busy-Right-Now-640x360.jpeg 640w, https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/Are-You-Busy-Right-Now-960x540.jpeg 960w, https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/Are-You-Busy-Right-Now-1080x608.jpeg 1080w, https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/Are-You-Busy-Right-Now.jpeg 854w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 760px) calc(100vw - 20px), 720px\" data-pin-media=\"https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/Are-You-Busy-Right-Now.jpeg\" id=\"mv-trellis-img-4\" data-trellis-processed=\"1\"><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Finally, the most honest equivalent to &ldquo;what are you up to&rdquo; is most likely &ldquo;are you busy right now.&rdquo;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The most practical implication of the expression<\/span> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">being discussed is to know whether <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">the intended receiver is available for a chat, and that&rsquo;s it.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/comma-before-or-after-obviously\/\"><b>Obviously<\/b><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> enough, we can interpret it however we want.&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">But, if we don&rsquo;t want to get stressed about it, we can always go back to this meaning as a default process.<\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"su-note\" style=\"border-color:#e5e54c;border-radius:3px;-moz-border-radius:3px;-webkit-border-radius:3px;\"><div class=\"su-note-inner su-u-clearfix su-u-trim\" style=\"background-color:#FFFF66;border-color:#ffffff;color:#333333;border-radius:3px;-moz-border-radius:3px;-webkit-border-radius:3px;\">\n<p><strong>A:<\/strong> Billy, are you busy right now?<\/p>\n<p><strong>B:<\/strong> Actually, I&rsquo;m driving. Can I call you later? A: Yeah, okay. Talk to you later.<\/p><\/div><\/div>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2><b>How to respond to &ldquo;What are you up to?&rdquo;<\/b><\/h2>\n<p><noscript><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-mv_trellis_16x9 wp-image-11750\" src=\"https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/How-to-Respond-to-What-are-you-up-to_-720x405.jpeg\" alt=\"How to Respond to What are you up to_\" width=\"720\" height=\"405\" srcset=\"https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/How-to-Respond-to-What-are-you-up-to_-720x405.jpeg 720w, https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/How-to-Respond-to-What-are-you-up-to_-300x169.jpeg 300w, https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/How-to-Respond-to-What-are-you-up-to_-1024x576.jpeg 1024w, https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/How-to-Respond-to-What-are-you-up-to_-768x432.jpeg 768w, https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/How-to-Respond-to-What-are-you-up-to_-480x270.jpeg 480w, https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/How-to-Respond-to-What-are-you-up-to_-320x180.jpeg 320w, https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/How-to-Respond-to-What-are-you-up-to_-735x413.jpeg 735w, https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/How-to-Respond-to-What-are-you-up-to_-335x188.jpeg 335w, https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/How-to-Respond-to-What-are-you-up-to_-347x195.jpeg 347w, https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/How-to-Respond-to-What-are-you-up-to_-520x293.jpeg 520w, https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/How-to-Respond-to-What-are-you-up-to_-640x360.jpeg 640w, https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/How-to-Respond-to-What-are-you-up-to_-960x540.jpeg 960w, https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/How-to-Respond-to-What-are-you-up-to_-1080x608.jpeg 1080w, https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/How-to-Respond-to-What-are-you-up-to_.jpeg 854w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 760px) calc(100vw - 20px), 720px\" data-pin-media=\"https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/How-to-Respond-to-What-are-you-up-to_.jpeg\"><\/noscript><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-mv_trellis_16x9 wp-image-11750 lazyload\" src=\"https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/How-to-Respond-to-What-are-you-up-to_-720x405.jpeg\" alt=\"How to Respond to What are you up to_\" width=\"720\" height=\"405\" srcset=\"https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/How-to-Respond-to-What-are-you-up-to_-720x405.jpeg 720w, https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/How-to-Respond-to-What-are-you-up-to_-300x169.jpeg 300w, https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/How-to-Respond-to-What-are-you-up-to_-1024x576.jpeg 1024w, https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/How-to-Respond-to-What-are-you-up-to_-768x432.jpeg 768w, https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/How-to-Respond-to-What-are-you-up-to_-480x270.jpeg 480w, https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/How-to-Respond-to-What-are-you-up-to_-320x180.jpeg 320w, https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/How-to-Respond-to-What-are-you-up-to_-735x413.jpeg 735w, https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/How-to-Respond-to-What-are-you-up-to_-335x188.jpeg 335w, https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/How-to-Respond-to-What-are-you-up-to_-347x195.jpeg 347w, https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/How-to-Respond-to-What-are-you-up-to_-520x293.jpeg 520w, https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/How-to-Respond-to-What-are-you-up-to_-640x360.jpeg 640w, https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/How-to-Respond-to-What-are-you-up-to_-960x540.jpeg 960w, https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/How-to-Respond-to-What-are-you-up-to_-1080x608.jpeg 1080w, https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/How-to-Respond-to-What-are-you-up-to_.jpeg 854w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 760px) calc(100vw - 20px), 720px\" data-pin-media=\"https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/How-to-Respond-to-What-are-you-up-to_.jpeg\" id=\"mv-trellis-img-5\" data-trellis-processed=\"1\"><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/comma-before-or-after-although\/\"><b>Although<\/b><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> the basic meaning of &ldquo;what are you up to&rdquo; is &ldquo;what are you doing,&rdquo; you can&rsquo;t just respond by stating whatever action you&rsquo;re doing at the exact moment you receive the message.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">That means you can&rsquo;t just say &ldquo;I&rsquo;m standing,&rdquo; &ldquo;I&rsquo;m sitting, or &ldquo;I&rsquo;m eating.&rdquo; But, &ldquo;I&rsquo;m driving&rdquo; is an exception of course.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">I mean, <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/comma-after-yes\/\"><b>yes<\/b><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, you may say those things, but just <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/bare-in-mind-vs-bear-in-mind\/\"><b>bear in mind<\/b><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> that such literal responses are sarcastic, which is quite rude rather than humorous when done out of context.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">And, rudeness may lead to aggression, so this simply isn&rsquo;t the best kind of response to give in most scenarios.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">If you think you&rsquo;re busy and you can&rsquo;t talk, or perhaps you just don&rsquo;t want to talk, then simply say &ldquo;I&rsquo;m a bit busy at the moment&rdquo; to kill the conversation.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">But, if you&rsquo;re interested in having a discourse, then you can open up the discussion by saying &ldquo;not much&rdquo; and then asking a follow-up question.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Again, the response is essentially based on the context, rather than any standardized language rules.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2><b>&ldquo;What have you been up to?&rdquo; vs. &ldquo;What are you up to?&rdquo;<\/b><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Another question that this post wants to address is related to the grammatical difference between &ldquo;what have you been up to&rdquo; and &ldquo;what are you up to.&rdquo;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The main difference lies in the tenses used, <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/how-to-use-in-which-in-a-sentence\/\"><b>in which<\/b><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> the first is in the present perfect, and the second is in the simple present tense.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The timeline of the present perfect can be simplified into the meaning of &ldquo;from before until now,&rdquo; <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/comma-before-whereas\/\"><b>whereas<\/b><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> the simple present into &ldquo;always.&rdquo;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">However, the first question is more context-dependent rather than the second structure.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">If someone asks you using the present perfect tense, the person is interested in hearing your life events in the relatively recent past.<\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"su-note\" style=\"border-color:#e5e54c;border-radius:3px;-moz-border-radius:3px;-webkit-border-radius:3px;\"><div class=\"su-note-inner su-u-clearfix su-u-trim\" style=\"background-color:#FFFF66;border-color:#ffffff;color:#333333;border-radius:3px;-moz-border-radius:3px;-webkit-border-radius:3px;\">\n<p><strong>A:<\/strong> Is that you, Brandon?! It&rsquo;s been forever, man. What have you been up to these days?<\/p>\n<p><strong>B:<\/strong> I just got married last year, and we&rsquo;re having a baby soon.<\/p><\/div><\/div>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The time being referred to could mean &ldquo;today,&rdquo; &ldquo;these days,&rdquo; &ldquo;these past few weeks,&rdquo; or &ldquo;these past few months,&rdquo; depending on the last time you&rsquo;ve interacted with the speaker.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Whereas, the question &ldquo;what are you up to&rdquo; suggests more of an inquiry to the receiver&rsquo;s plan of activities &ldquo;at the moment,&rdquo; &ldquo;within the same day,&rdquo; or even &ldquo;a couple of days later.&rdquo;<\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"su-note\" style=\"border-color:#e5e54c;border-radius:3px;-moz-border-radius:3px;-webkit-border-radius:3px;\"><div class=\"su-note-inner su-u-clearfix su-u-trim\" style=\"background-color:#FFFF66;border-color:#ffffff;color:#333333;border-radius:3px;-moz-border-radius:3px;-webkit-border-radius:3px;\">\n<p><strong>A:<\/strong> Hey, George! I feel kind of bored. What are you up to?<\/p>\n<p><strong>B:<\/strong> Nothing much, too. Come over here. Let&rsquo;s play ping-pong.<\/p><\/div><\/div>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Put simply, the former question simply aims to prompt a general update, but the second expression&rsquo;s goal is to inquire whether one is available at the time of speaking.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2><b>Frequently Asked Questions on &ldquo;What are You Up To?&rdquo;<\/b><\/h2>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h3><b>How can we answer &ldquo;what are you up to?&rdquo;<\/b><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">We can simply answer it by stating the activity we are doing at the time of asking the question like &ldquo;I&rsquo;m driving.&rdquo; Or, we can even respond with our location &ldquo;I&rsquo;m just at home,&rdquo; which implies that one is not busy and is available for an activity.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h3><b>What does &ldquo;what are you up to today&rdquo; mean?<\/b><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">&ldquo;What are you up to today&rdquo; means &ldquo;what are your plans today.&rdquo; Thus, it is often interpreted as an implicit invitation to do something for the day.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h3><b>Should it be &ldquo;what are you up &lsquo;to&rsquo; or &lsquo;too&rsquo;?&rdquo;<\/b><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">&ldquo;Too&rdquo; is an adverb and &ldquo;to&rdquo; is a preposition. The question requires a preposition, rather than an adverb, to complete the phrasal verb &ldquo;to be up to&rdquo; which means &ldquo;to be doing&rdquo; something.<\/span><br>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\">\n{\n  \"@context\": \"https:\/\/schema.org\",\n  \"@type\": \"FAQPage\",\n  \"mainEntity\": [\n    {\n      \"@type\": \"Question\",\n      \"name\": \"How can we answer &ldquo;what are you up to?&rdquo;\",\n      \"acceptedAnswer\": {\n        \"@type\": \"Answer\",\n        \"text\": \"We can simply answer it by stating the activity we are doing at the time of asking the question like &ldquo;I&rsquo;m driving.&rdquo; Or, we can even respond with our location &ldquo;I&rsquo;m just at home,&rdquo; which implies that one is not busy and is available for an activity.\"\n      }\n    },\n    {\n      \"@type\": \"Question\",\n      \"name\": \"What does &ldquo;what are you up to today&rdquo; mean?\",\n      \"acceptedAnswer\": {\n        \"@type\": \"Answer\",\n        \"text\": \"&ldquo;What are you up to today&rdquo; means &ldquo;what are your plans today.&rdquo; Thus, it is often interpreted as an implicit invitation to do something for the day.\"\n      }\n    },\n    {\n      \"@type\": \"Question\",\n      \"name\": \"Should it be &ldquo;what are you up &lsquo;to&rsquo; or &lsquo;too&rsquo;?&rdquo;\",\n      \"acceptedAnswer\": {\n        \"@type\": \"Answer\",\n        \"text\": \"&ldquo;Too&rdquo; is an adverb and &ldquo;to&rdquo; is a preposition. The question requires a preposition, rather than an adverb, to complete the phrasal verb &ldquo;to be up to&rdquo; which means &ldquo;to be doing&rdquo; something.\"\n      }\n    }\n  ]\n}\n<\/script><br>\n<!--FAQPage Code Generated by https:\/\/saijogeorge.com\/json-ld-schema-generator\/faq\/--><\/p>\n<h2><b>Conclusion<\/b><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">We use language to indicate meaningful utterances, prompt the hearer to do something, or create a certain effect on the message receiver.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The question &ldquo;what are you up to&rdquo; can be interpreted in several ways depending on the context of the conversation.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">With these, we can, therefore, deduce that a statement is not always as innocent as it seems, <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/comma-before-thereby\/\"><b>thereby<\/b><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> highlighting the role of pragmatics in language use.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>You&rsquo;ve just received an email from your friend whom you haven&rsquo;t seen for quite some time asking &ldquo;What are you up to?&rdquo; How should you respond? And, what exactly does the question mean? Would you say that you&rsquo;re a little busy? Or, would you respond by saying &ldquo;nothing much really?&rdquo; If so, how do you &hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":11749,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"disable-in-feed":false,"article-schema-type":"","disable-critical-css":false,"_convertkit_action_broadcast_export":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[35,1117],"tags":[456],"class_list":["post-11740","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-english","category-vocabulary","tag-what-are-you-up-to"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11740","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11740"}],"version-history":[{"count":19,"href":"https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11740\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":40184,"href":"https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11740\/revisions\/40184"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/11749"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11740"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11740"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11740"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}