French Phrase
Quels plans tu prends ?
Meaning
Literally ‘What plans you take?’, this informal question asks someone about their upcoming activities or intentions – essentially ‘What are your plans?’ or ‘What are you planning to do?’
When to use
Use it with friends, family, or peers in a relaxed setting when you want to know what they’re up to later that day, weekend, or in the near future. It’s too casual for formal business meetings or with strangers.
✦Grammar Breakdown
Quelsplanstuprends?
Quel(s) (interrogative adjective)
‘Quel’ changes to ‘Quels’ to agree in gender (masc.) and number (plural) with the noun it modifies.
plans (noun)
‘Plan’ is a masculine noun; in the plural it becomes ‘plans’, meaning ‘plans, arrangements, ideas’.
tu (subject pronoun)
Informal second‑person singular pronoun used in casual conversation.
prends (verb prendre)
Present‑tense form of ‘prendre’ for ‘tu’; here it means ‘to make/arrange’ rather than the literal ‘to take’.
Colloquial word order
In spoken French the question can drop ‘est‑ce que’ or inversion, giving a simple declarative order with a rising intonation.
🗨In Conversation
Quels plans tu prends ce week‑end ?
What are your plans for the weekend?
Je vais faire du vélo et passer chez ma sœur.
I’m going cycling and stopping by my sister’s place.
✕Common Mistakes
Quel plans tu prends ?
‘Quel’ must agree in number; use ‘Quels’ for plural ‘plans’.
Quels plans tu prenez ?
If you switch to the formal ‘vous’, the verb must change to ‘prenez’.
Quelle plan tu prends ?
‘Plan’ is masculine; avoid using the feminine form ‘la plan’.
Quels plans tu prends‑tu ?
In very formal writing you’d use ‘prenez‑vous’ or ‘est‑ce que vous prenez’. The casual order is fine only in spoken or informal text.
↔Alternatives
Qu'est‑ce que tu prévois ?
What are you planning?
Tu as quels projets ?
What projects do you have?
Quels sont tes plans ?
What are your plans?
Cultural Tip
In everyday French, especially among young people, ‘plan’ is used like the English ‘plan’ to talk about outings, activities, or future intentions. The sentence drops the formal ‘est‑ce que’ or inversion, which is perfectly natural in spoken language but would sound too abrupt in writing. If you need a more polite version, use ‘Quels sont vos plans ?’ or ‘Qu’est‑ce que vous prévoyez ?’. Also, note that ‘prendre’ in this context means ‘to make/arrange’ rather than the literal ‘to take’.