In some cases, you ask someone what are you doing maybe want to chat with someone.
You may be working together, studying together, or you are on the phone.
Common scenarios
(A and B work in the same office)
A: What are you doing right now?
A: What are you doing now?
B: Looking through this code to check for bugs.
B: I'm checking the code for bugs.
A: That looks tedious. Wanna take a lunch break in a bit?
A: This looks boring. Do you want to have lunch together and have a rest?
In this scene, A asks what are you doing? I want to chat with B . In this case, what are you doing is what are you up to?
A: What are you up to right now?
A: What are you doing now?
B: Looking through this code to check for bugs.
B: I'm checking the code for bugs.
A: That looks tedious. Wanna take a lunch break in a bit?
A: This looks boring. Do you want to have lunch together and have a rest?
The rest of the opening remarks
Of course, in most cases, you can also use many other sentences as the opening remarks of the conversation:
What’s up? How is it lately?
How’s it going?
How has it been recently?
What’s going on (with you)?
(you) what’s wrong?
How are you (doing)?
What are you doing?
What are you doing these days?
What are you doing these days?
Let's take a look at the following conversation:
Kenny: Nate! Long time no see!
Kenny: Nate, long time no see!
Nate: I know! Good to see you.
Nate: Yes! It's great to see you.
Kenny: What are you doing these days?
Kenny: What are you busy with recently?
Nate: I’ve been working and taking classes part-time. You?
Nate: I have been working and taking classes in my free time. What about you?
In this conversation, Kenny meets Nate, and Kenny asks him what he is busy with recently?
Kenny asked this to understand what Nate was doing during the time when had not met.
This is a common way of asking, but you can't simply ask What are you doing.
If you use "What are you doing", it means you are asking the other party what was doing when was doing.
On the contrary, Kenny used these days to modify what are you doing to illustrate that he was asking Nate 's recent life . In this case, you can also use other phrases.
What are you doing lately?
What are you busy with recently?
What are you doing with your life?
What are you busy with recently?
What are you up to lately?
What are you busy with recently?
How is it going these days? How is
lately?
How is it going lately? How is
lately?
You can also use to complete the tense now to ask questions because it describes an action that continues continuously until now.
What have you have been doing lately?
What are you busy with recently?
What have you have been doing with your life?
What are you busy with recently?
What have you have been up to lately?
What are you busy with recently?
How’s it has been going these days?
What are you busy with recently?
How’s it was going lately?
How are you doing recently?
Below is the conversation between Kenny and Nate after using the common usage mentioned above.
Kenny: Nate! Long time no see!
Kenny: Nate, long time no see!
Nate: I know! Good to see you.
Nate: Yes! It's great to see you.
Kenny: What have you been up to lately?
Kenny: What are you busy with recently?
Nate: Working and taking classes part-time. You?
Nate: I have been working and I am in class in my spare time. What about you? The difference between
and what do you do
Finally, make sure not to confuse the following two questions, because the meaning of these two questions is very different.
What are you doing?
What are you doing?
What do you do?
What is your job?
Although we have seen various usages of the first question, the second question is about other people's professions .
You can also ask What do you do for a living? instead of what do you do?
A: What do you do for a living?
A: What work do you do?
B: I work at a consulting firm. And you? What do you do?
B: I work in a consulting company, what about you? What's your job?
A: I’m a professor.
A: I am a professor.
As you can see, despite the similar wording, these are two very different questions. Remember!
