What are you doing tonight?
Literally 'What are you going to do tonight?'. This is extremely common and interchangeable with the main phrase.
This means 'Do you have plans for tonight?'. It's a slightly more indirect way to ask, often used to lead into an invitation.
A very casual and friendly way to ask, like 'What's on for tonight?'. Best used with close friends.
Hi, Ana. What are you doing tonight? Do you want to go to the movies?
My friend asks me, 'What are you going to do tonight? There's a party.'
Hey, do you have plans for tonight? We can have dinner together.
Mrs. Lopez, what are you doing tonight? Are you going to the dinner?
The phrases '¿Qué haces esta noche?' (using the 'tú' form) and '¿Qué vas a hacer esta noche?' are standard and widely understood.
The 'voseo' is used, so you will hear '¿Qué hacés esta noche?'. The 'vos' form of 'hacer' is 'hacés'.
It's common to use the formal 'usted' even with friends, especially in cities like Bogotá. You may hear '¿Qué hace esta noche?' instead of '¿Qué haces...?'.
The phrases are the same, but for speaking to a group of friends, they use 'vosotros': '¿Qué hacéis esta noche?' or '¿Qué vais a hacer esta noche?'.
Using 'estar haciendo' for future plans. While grammatically possible ('¿Qué estás haciendo...?'), the simple present ('¿Qué haces?') or 'ir a + infinitive' ('¿Qué vas a hacer?') are far more natural for asking about tonight's plans.
Confusing 'noche' (night/evening) with 'tarde' (afternoon). Asking about 'esta tarde' refers to the afternoon, not the evening.
Forgetting the opening question mark. In Spanish, all questions must start with '¿' and end with '?', like this: '¿Qué haces esta noche?'.
Using the wrong verb. The correct verb is 'hacer' (to do/make). A common error is to try to translate directly from English and use the verb 'ser' or 'estar'.
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