Can it be same that " What have you been?" without "up to"?
-------------------------------------------------------------------- Ross: Hi! Phoebe: Hey! Ross: Hey, what have you guys been up to? Phoebe: Ohh! We went to a self-defense class today!
Top answer
No, "been" is a helper verb, you need a verb to complete the sentence. "
— Vorpar
No, "been" is a helper verb, you need a verb to complete the sentence.
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Where have you been?: present perfect, "been" is the verb of location.
How have you been?: elided from How have you been doing? This is a common idiom.
What have you been?: Not an idiom, only appropriate in questions about costumes and such. In general conversation, it is implying that someone isn't a person.