How To Answer “What Are You Up To Tonight?”

Have you ever been just chilling at home, minding your own business, when a friend comes up to you and asks, “what are you up to”? You might begin to panic because what does that even mean: what are you up to telling what exactly? Is my friend asking me where I’m going next, or maybe if I am planning on sitting down for dinner any time soon? Confusing.

To add to the confusion, some words before the last one in the question seem optional with a “to” at the end, and we may begin to think, “is my friend asking me where I would like to go next or how far I would like to stick my foot in my mouth considering this subject matter. Well, fret no more! That’s why I’m here. Here is a guide on exactly what you are up to.

The Meaning of “What are you up to?”

Essentially, what you are up to means “What are you doing?” Now, this can be interpreted in many ways. What are you doing now? What have you done today? Or what do you plan on doing later today? But often, when people ask what you are up to, they assume they want to know about your day in general.

They probably aren’t asking for the specifics of what happened during those hours on a particular day. They’re just asking, “What have you been doing lately?” Now, there’s more than one way to interpret this question, but for the most part – when someone asks what are you up to and if you’re unsure about how best to respond – it’s best to stick with what or who is occupying most of your time at present.

Another way of greeting

Now you know how to respond to the question: “what are you up to?” at work. So, for example, let’s say you’re keeping busy with work or other tasks when a coworker approaches and asks you this same question. You’d proceed by saying something like “nothing much, just hitting my stride, and I can’t wait until my lunch break is over,” which could lead to friends asking each other more detailed questions about the tasks that keep them so busy; whether it be personal or business-related matters.

What are you up to? Answers may vary on what keeps people who ask this question busy with their days, but it generally stands as another way of starting a conversation. So, as you can see, there is no specific correct answer regarding initiating conversation while in the workplace, such as breaking down barriers with new coworkers through some lively debate or recounting events from your day over lunch; it’s all good!

Way of asking if you are busy right now

Now we know that the word “up,” in this case, is used as an adjective. We learned it has multiple meanings. For example, we discovered that a great life lesson involves choosing what you do to be up to something good and that your life can be up to you if you decide to take responsibility for its direction. We also learned that it could refer to being in a particular position or location.

For example, if I ask where you are from, I am referring to just where your physical location is. Last but not least, we clarified that it could also go as far as being about a person’s mental state or feelings – for instance, when someone may ask, “how are you?” meaning how are you feeling? As for the last point, we discovered that it had turned out well with some satisfaction.

Nothing Much

Nothing much is a very commonly used phrase in English when people pen up their response to this kind of question. Linguists tell us that natives are often modest enough not to demand attention by boasting or drawing attention to themselves. In most cases, they’ll use “nothing much” even though the doodad may interest you!

For example, if someone says, “I’ve found a cure for cancer, but I keep forgetting it, ” don’t be surprised if he/she responds with ‘nothing much.’ There is more to this initially casual response than could be understood at first blush. Could it be that the person feels disinclined about brags? If so, why not ask further about their interests (if you like them) because there might be something shared between the two parties.

Do remember, though, that probing too deeply into someone’s object of pride has its downside at times; “Nothing much” is one such sign when things aren’t going well.

What are you up to?

Nothing much. I don’t think you’d be very interested in this.
What are you up to?

Oh, nothing much! Sorry, I didn’t even notice you come in.

Nothing New

“Nothing new” is appropriate in cases when someone may have already asked us what we had been up to recently. “Nothing new” is also helpful for when we don’t have any “new” things to tell the questioner as we are doing the same thing as the last time they inquired (or nothing at all, of course).

What are you up to, then?
Nothing new. I haven’t stood up from this spot for a while.

What are you up to?
Nothing new. Did you want to do anything with me, then?
Whatcha up to?

Oh, nothing new! Sorry, I’ve just been staring blankly at this wall for hours!

I’m Just Doing

“I’m doing X, Y, and Z right now.” With that, any individual can respond simply without giving too many details while pointing out the finer points of what they’re currently taking part in.

Pick whatever activities you’re currently involved with or have just recently concluded, whether it be a meal you cooked for work or an exam you recently took, as doing so will make it a little easier to follow along with how things were done, but if we had more than three points listed such as ‘I did X, Y, and Z; A, B, and C happened after 1st activity; D, E, F & G were done afterward…” etc.

This would help to give our response some additional relevancy by showing off two traits: punctuation use (;) & vocabulary skills.

What are you up to right now?
I’m just doing some homework. I thought it would be good to catch up on it.

What are you up to?
I’m just doing what I can for this project. I want it to be perfect.
Whatcha up to?

I’m just doing a bit of sudoku. Do you fancy doing some with me?