Phrasal verbs · Free lesson
Hang out with a friend: make a relaxed plan
A friend asks whether you are free on Saturday. You want to spend some relaxed time together. You do not need a formal meeting or a detailed activity schedule.
Professor Scott MendozaMeaning in this lesson
hang out
Spend relaxed, informal time somewhere or with someone.
Example
“We hung out at a café after class.”
We spent some relaxed time at a café after class.
The short answer
Hang out means spend relaxed, informal time in a place or with someone. Say “I hang out with Sam” for the person, or “We hang out at a café” for the place. The past form is hung out.
Name the shared time, then make the plan clearer.
Hang out is informal, so it fits a casual invitation to a friend. Use with before a person: hang out with Sam. Use a suitable place expression, such as at a café or in the park, for the location. The invitation does not automatically specify what you will do.
A person and a place need different connections.
I hang out with Sam.
We hang out at a café.
Do not move Sam between hang and out. In this meaning, say hang out with Sam, not hang Sam out.
Turn an invitation into a clear plan
Make the invitation
Do you want to hang out?
Suggest a place
We could hang out at the café.
Add a time
Let’s hang out at the café at three.
Try it now
Keep the social meaning clear.
Read all answers and explanations
You spent relaxed time chatting at a café after class. Which sentence describes that situation?
We hung out at a café after class.Hung out describes the relaxed time you actually spent together. Planning a later visit is different, and going to separate cafés does not describe your shared time.
Complete the person connection: “I like to hang out ___ Sam.”
withUse with before the person you spend time with. At can introduce a place, not Sam in this social-time pattern.
Choose the standard past-tense form for relaxed time yesterday.
I hung out with Sam yesterday.The past form in this meaning is hung out. Hanged is not the form for spending relaxed time; hang does not mark the completed past here.
Put it into practice
Invite a friend and choose a time.
You and Sam are free on Saturday. You want relaxed time together at the café at three. Make the invitation, then give those details.
- Sam
Are you free on Saturday?
See a model answer
- Sam
Are you free on Saturday?
- You
Yes. Do you want to hang out?
- Sam
Sounds good. Where and when?
- You
Let’s hang out at the café at three.
The first reply makes the invitation. The second supplies the place and time, rather than assuming hang out already contains those details.
A little more clarity
Common questions
A few useful details before you move on.
Does hang out name a particular activity?
No. You might talk, have a drink or do something else informal. Add the activity if it matters; hang out by itself does not identify it.
We hung out at home and listened to music.
Do I always have to name another person?
No. You can simply name a place where you spend informal time. That sentence does not have to say who else is there.
I like to hang out at this café.
Take it into your day
Use hang out for informal time, with for the person, and a place or time to make the plan concrete.
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Hang out is one way to talk about relaxed social time. The Phrasal Verbs course includes this meaning in its socialising material, with situations and guided practice to help you make plans and describe everyday interactions more naturally.
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