What does it mean word for word?
The core part of the phrase, hacer un seguimiento, literally translates to "to make a follow-up".
Which one should you use?
While Quería hacer un seguimiento is a standard way to express this, you can use Quisiera hacer un seguimiento to say "I would like to follow up", which provides an even more formal and polite tone. For a more direct inquiry about updates, you might use Me gustaría saber si hay alguna actualización con respecto a… (I would like to know if there is any update regarding…). In informal settings, you can use more casual versions like Quería seguirle el hilo a eso que estábamos hablando… (I wanted to follow up on what we were talking about…), Solo quería preguntarte si hay algo nuevo con respecto a… (I just wanted to ask if there is anything new regarding…), or even ¿Qué hay de aquella cosa que mencionaste? ¿Hay alguna novedad? (What about that thing you mentioned? Any updates?).
How does it change in a sentence?
The verb quería is in the imperfect tense.
How do you pronounce it?
/keɾia aθeɾ un seɡimjento/
Did you know?
- In professional Spanish, using the imperfect tense quería instead of the present quiero acts as a 'distancing' mechanism to make a request sound less demanding.
- The informal alternative seguirle el hilo literally means 'to follow the thread', imagining a conversation as a physical string that can be lost.
- The word seguimiento is built from the verb seguir, which shares a common ancestor with the English word 'sequence'.
Examples in context
- Quería hacer un seguimiento de mi solicitud.I wanted to follow up on my application.
- Quería hacer un seguimiento de nuestro correo anterior.I wanted to follow up on our previous email.
Example conversation
Alejandro calls Elena at her office to check on a pending report.
- AlejandroHola Elena, quería hacer un seguimiento del informe.Hello Elena, I wanted to follow up on the report.
- ElenaHola Alejandro, lo estoy terminando ahora mismo.Hello Alejandro, I am finishing it right now.
- AlejandroPerfecto, ¿me lo puedes enviar hoy?Perfect, can you send it to me today?
- ElenaSí, te lo envío por la tarde.Yes, I will send it to you in the afternoon.
Sources
- IPA marked “from spelling rules” is derived from standard Spanish spelling, where Wiktionary gives none.
