French Phrase
Tu as fait quoi le week‑end dernier ?
Meaning
Literally, “You have done what the weekend last?” – the idiomatic English equivalent is “What did you do last weekend?” It’s a casual, spoken‑language way to ask a friend about their recent activities.
When to use
Use this sentence in informal settings – chatting with a friend, a classmate, or a colleague you know well. It’s too familiar for a formal interview or a conversation with a stranger you’d address with ‘vous’.
✦Grammar Breakdown
Tuasfaitquoileweek-enddernier?
Subject pronoun (Tu)
‘Tu’ is the informal second‑person singular pronoun used with friends, family, or peers.
Auxiliary ‘avoir’ (as)
In the passé composé, ‘avoir’ is conjugated to match the subject; here it is ‘as’ for ‘tu’.
Past participle (fait)
‘Faire’ (to do/make) uses the past participle ‘fait’; with ‘avoir’ it forms ‘as fait’ = ‘have done’.
Interrogative ‘quoi’ after the verb
In spoken French, the question word ‘quoi’ can follow the verb, giving a very informal tone.
Definite article + noun (le week‑end)
‘Le week‑end’ is a masculine noun borrowed from English; the article agrees in gender and number.
Adjective placement (dernier)
‘Dernier’ follows the noun it modifies, as is standard for most adjectives after a noun.
🗨In Conversation
Tu as fait quoi le week‑end dernier ?
What did you do last weekend?
J’ai fait du vélo et je suis allé au cinéma.
I went cycling and I went to the movies.
✕Common Mistakes
Tu as fait que le week‑end dernier ?
‘Que’ is used before the verb in formal questions; placing it after the verb (as in ‘Tu as fait que…’) is ungrammatical.
Tu as fait quoi le week end dernier ?
The noun is written with a hyphen and an accent on the ‘e’ in ‘week‑end’.
Tu fait quoi le week‑end dernier ?
The auxiliary and past participle must be contracted to ‘as fait’; writing ‘as fait’ without the space is correct, but forgetting the auxiliary (e.g., ‘Tu fait quoi…’) is a common omission.
↔Alternatives
Qu’est‑ce que tu as fait le week‑end dernier ?
What did you do last weekend?
Qu’as‑tu fait le week‑end dernier ?
What did you do last weekend?
Tu as fait quoi ce week‑end ?
What did you do this weekend?
Cultural Tip
In France, the weekend (le week‑end) is a prime time for social activities, family meals, and short trips. Using ‘quoi’ after the verb is typical of spoken, youthful French; older speakers may prefer the full ‘Qu’est‑ce que…’ construction. Also, remember that ‘week‑end’ is an Anglicism that is fully accepted in everyday French, but you’ll still hear the more formal ‘le week‑end’ rather than the older ‘le week‑end’ spelling without the hyphen in formal writing.