Checking an email tone before sending | Learn Spanish in English

Sentence explanations

1. ¿Podrías revisar el tono de este correo antes de que lo envíe?

   Could you check the tone of this email before I send it?

   Podrías

   could you

   revisar

   check; review

   tono

   tone

   este

   this

   correo

   email

   antes de que

   before

   lo

   it

   envíe

   send

   More detail

   Podrías comes from poder (“to be able to”) and is the conditional form for a singular second-person addressee. In this request, the conditional makes the question courteous: “Could you…?” The exact form does not by itself distinguish tú from usted; that choice depends on the address system and context. revisar is the infinitive “to check” or “to review.” After a conjugated form of poder, Spanish uses the infinitive: ¿Podrías revisar...? (“Could you review...?”). Example: ¿Podrías llamar mañana? — “Could you call tomorrow?” tono is a masculine singular noun meaning “tone,” here the tone of the email. Its plural is tonos. este is the masculine singular demonstrative “this.” It agrees with the masculine singular noun correo: este correo (“this email”). correo is a masculine noun meaning “email” in this context; it can also mean “mail” or “post” in other contexts. Here, este correo identifies the email whose tone should be reviewed. antes de que means “before” and introduces an action expressed as a subordinate clause. With this time expression, Spanish uses the subjunctive for the not-yet-completed action: antes de que lo envíe (“before I send it”). lo is a masculine singular direct-object pronoun. Here it refers to el correo, so lo envíe means “I send it.” Its form matches the noun it replaces; for example, la solicitud would be replaced by la, not lo. envíe is the present subjunctive, first-person singular form of enviar (“to send”), supported here by the English subject “I.” The accent marks the pronunciation and spelling of this form. Example: Antes de que lo envíe, lo revisaré. — “Before I send it, I will review it.” Together, ¿Podrías revisar el tono de este correo asks courteously whether the listener can review the tone of this email. antes de que lo envíe adds the time condition “before I send it,” with lo referring back to the email. The complete meaning is: “Could you check the tone of this email before I send it?”

2. Es profesional, pero el inicio suena un poco brusco.

   It is professional, but the opening feels a little sharp.

   Es

   is

   profesional

   professional

   pero

   but

   inicio

   opening; start

   suena

   sounds

   un poco

   a little

   brusco

   sharp; abrupt

   More detail

   Es is the present-tense third-person singular form of ser (“to be”). Here it states a characteristic: something is professional. Ser is commonly used for qualities or classifications, while estar is often used for a state or condition; the choice depends on the intended meaning, not just on English “is.” profesional means “professional.” It is an adjective that has the same written form for masculine and feminine singular nouns; its plural is profesionales. In this sentence, it describes the item being evaluated. pero introduces a contrast: “but.” It keeps the first point valid while adding a different point. Example: Es claro, pero es largo. — “It is clear, but it is long.” el inicio means “the opening” or “the beginning.” Inicio is a masculine singular noun, so it appears with the masculine singular article el. In this context, it refers to the opening portion of the text being discussed, not necessarily to the whole text. suena is the third-person singular present form of sonar (“to sound”). Its subject here is el inicio, so the form is singular. Sonar can describe how something comes across when heard or read: El mensaje suena claro. — “The message sounds clear.” un poco means “a little” and softens the following description. It indicates a small degree here; it does not change the adjective’s agreement. brusco means “sharp,” “abrupt,” or “blunt” in this context. It is masculine singular because it describes el inicio; the feminine singular form is brusca, and the plural forms are bruscos and bruscas. Example: La respuesta suena brusca. — “The response sounds abrupt.” Together, Es profesional gives the positive assessment, while pero introduces a qualification. El inicio suena un poco brusco says that the opening comes across as slightly sharp or abrupt. Thus the complete utterance means: “It is professional, but the opening feels a little sharp.”

3. Quiero recordarles la solicitud sin parecer impaciente.

   I want to remind them about the request without sounding impatient.

   Quiero

   I want

   recordarles

   remind them

   solicitud

   request

   parecer

   seem; sound

   impaciente

   impatient

   More detail

   Quiero is the first-person singular present form of querer (“to want”): quiero = “I want.” The stem changes from quer- to quier- in several present-tense forms. Example: Quiero escribir. — “I want to write.” recordarles combines the infinitive recordar (“to remind” or “to remember,” depending on context) with the attached indirect-object pronoun les (“to them”). Here, the intended meaning is “to remind them.” The infinitive keeps its final -r before the attached pronoun: recordar + les → recordarles. Example: Voy a recordarles la fecha. — “I am going to remind them of the date.” solicitud is a feminine noun meaning “request” here. Its usual article is la: la solicitud. The same noun can refer to a formal application in another context, but the fixed translation supports “request” here. Example: Recibimos la solicitud. — “We received the request.” parecer is the infinitive “to seem” or “to appear.” In sin parecer, it follows sin and means “without seeming.” The subject understood here remains the speaker: “without me seeming/sounding impatient.” Example: Lo dije sin parecer enojado. — “I said it without seeming angry.” impaciente is a descriptive adjective meaning “impatient.” It has the same form for masculine and feminine singular nouns or people; plural forms add -s: impaciente, impacientes. Example: No quiero parecer impaciente. — “I do not want to seem impatient.” Together, Quiero recordarles la solicitud means “I want to remind them about the request.” Sin parecer impaciente adds the manner or limitation “without sounding impatient.” The complete utterance is therefore: “I want to remind them about the request without sounding impatient.”

4. Prueba con un inicio más suave que diga que estás dando seguimiento.

   Try a softer opening that says you are following up.

   Prueba

   Try

   inicio

   opening

   más suave

   softer

   que diga

   that says

   estás dando seguimiento

   you are following up

   More detail

   Prueba is an affirmative command addressed to one tú listener: “Try.” It comes from probar. The same form can also be the third-person singular present form (“he/she tries”), but here the request context makes the command reading clear. For a plural ustedes command, use prueben. inicio means “opening” or “beginning.” It is a masculine noun, so the article is un inicio. Here it refers to the opening wording of the message, not necessarily to the beginning of an event. más suave means “softer.” Suave is the base adjective, and más suave is its comparative form with más. The adjective modifies inicio; because suave ends in -e, its written form does not change for masculine and feminine nouns. For example: Un tono más suave ayuda. — “A softer tone helps.” que diga introduces a description of the opening: “that says.” Diga is the present subjunctive form of decir for a third-person singular subject, matching inicio. The subjunctive presents the proposed opening as something being specified, rather than as a separately asserted fact. Decir means “to say”; for example, El mensaje dice la verdad. — “The message tells the truth.” estás dando seguimiento uses estar plus the gerund dando to describe an action in progress: “you are following up.” Estás is the present-tense tú form of estar, and dando is the gerund of dar. In dar seguimiento, seguimiento is a noun in the expression meaning “to follow up” or “follow-up.” For example: Estoy dando seguimiento a la solicitud. — “I am following up on the request.” Together, Prueba con un inicio más suave asks the listener to try a softer opening, and que diga que estás dando seguimiento specifies that the opening should say that the listener is following up. The complete meaning is: “Try a softer opening that says you are following up.”

5. Eso suena mejor. ¿Mi solicitud es suficientemente clara?

   That sounds better. Is my request clear enough?

   Eso

   That

   suena

   sounds

   mejor

   better

   Mi

   my

   solicitud

   request

   es

   is

   suficientemente

   sufficiently; enough

   clara

   clear

   More detail

   Eso is a demonstrative pronoun meaning “that.” It refers to something already under discussion, without naming that referent in this sentence. It is the neuter demonstrative form; unlike ese and esa, it does not agree with a stated masculine or feminine noun. Suena comes from sonar, “to sound.” It is the present-tense third-person singular form: suena. Here it describes how the previously discussed thing comes across: “sounds.” Example: La propuesta suena bien. — “The proposal sounds good.” Mejor is the comparative form meaning “better.” In this sentence it compares the current version with an earlier version. As an adverb, it modifies suena; it is not an adjective agreeing with a noun. A useful contrast is bien “well” versus mejor “better.” Mi is the possessive determiner “my.” It does not change for the gender of the possessed noun: mi solicitud and mi mensaje both use mi; number changes it to mis before plural nouns. Solicitud is a feminine noun meaning “request” here. The feminine gender is reflected by the agreeing adjective clara, not by mi, which has no gender distinction. The noun can also mean an application or formal request in other contexts; the fixed translation supports “request” here. Es comes from ser and is the present-tense third-person singular form, “is.” It links the subject mi solicitud with the description that follows. Ser is used here for identifying or characterizing the request as clear, rather than describing a temporary action. Suficientemente is an adverb meaning “sufficiently” or “enough.” It modifies clara, setting the required degree: “clear enough.” The pattern suficientemente + adjective is reusable, as in suficientemente grande — “big enough.” Clara is the feminine singular form of the adjective claro, “clear.” It agrees with solicitud, which is feminine singular. The masculine singular form would be claro, as in un mensaje claro; the adjective, not the possessive mi, carries this gender and number agreement. Together, Eso suena mejor means “That sounds better”: eso is the thing being evaluated, suena expresses how it comes across, and mejor compares it favorably with the earlier version. The question ¿Mi solicitud es suficientemente clara? means “Is my request clear enough?” The subject is mi solicitud, es links it to the adjective, and suficientemente clara asks whether it reaches the needed degree of clarity. Spanish can form this yes-or-no question without changing the word order; the opening and closing question marks mark the question in writing.

6. Explica el siguiente paso en el mismo párrafo.

   Explain the next step in the same paragraph.

   Explica

   explain

   siguiente

   next

   paso

   step

   mismo

   same

   párrafo

   paragraph

   More detail

   Explica is the affirmative command form of explicar for tú singular: “explain.” It addresses one person informally. The polite singular command is explique (usted), while the plural forms are expliquen (ustedes) and explicad (vosotros); these are different forms, not interchangeable. siguiente means “next” here and describes paso. In this expression, the adjective comes before the noun: el siguiente paso. Example: la siguiente pregunta = “the next question.” paso means “step” here: one stage or action in a process. Its base form is paso; the plural is pasos. Example: Este paso es importante. = “This step is important.” mismo means “same” and agrees with the masculine singular noun párrafo in el mismo párrafo. Its feminine and plural forms are misma, mismos, and mismas. Example: en la misma sección = “in the same section”; misma agrees with feminine singular sección. párrafo means “paragraph.” The chunk en el mismo párrafo means “in the same paragraph”: en introduces the location, and el mismo párrafo identifies the paragraph as the one intended to be the same. Together, Explica el siguiente paso gives the command “Explain the next step,” and en el mismo párrafo specifies where that explanation should be placed: “in the same paragraph.” The complete utterance is therefore “Explain the next step in the same paragraph.”

7. También añadí más contexto cerca del final.

   I also added extra context near the end.

   También

   also

   añadí

   I added

   más

   more; extra

   contexto

   context

   cerca del final

   near the end

   More detail

   También means “also” here: it adds this action to something already mentioned, without replacing or excluding that earlier information. It normally appears before the verb, as in También revisé el documento (“I also reviewed the document”). añadí is the first-person singular preterite of añadir (“to add”). The ending -í marks “I” in this completed past form: añadir → añadí. Compare the present añado (“I add / I am adding”) with the preterite añadí (“I added”). más means “more” or “extra” and modifies contexto here. It expresses an additional amount, not the English conjunction “but.” For example, Necesito más tiempo means “I need more time.” contexto is a masculine noun meaning “context.” Its plural is contextos. In this sentence, it is the direct object of añadí: it is what was added. cerca del final means “near the end.” cerca de is a reusable expression for approximate proximity. del is the contraction of de + el; therefore del final literally contains “of the end,” with final referring to the endpoint. For example, La nota aparece cerca del final means “The note appears near the end.” Together, También + añadí says that the speaker performed an additional completed action. más contexto identifies what was added, and cerca del final locates that addition near the endpoint of the relevant text or sequence. The whole utterance means: “I also added extra context near the end.”

8. El contexto es útil. Revisa la lista de destinatarios antes de enviarlo.

   The context is helpful. Check the recipient list before you send it.

   contexto

   context

   útil

   helpful; useful

   Revisa

   check; review

   lista

   list

   destinatarios

   recipients

   antes de

   before

   enviarlo

   send it

   More detail

   contexto means “context” here. Its base form is contexto, a masculine singular noun; the article El agrees with it. Example: El contexto importa. — “The context matters.” útil describes contexto as helpful or useful. It is an adjective whose form does not change for masculine versus feminine; number can be shown as útil (singular) and útiles (plural). Example: La información es útil. — “The information is useful.” Revisa means “check” or “review” here. It is the affirmative command form of revisar for tú singular. The command addresses one listener informally; revise is a different form used for usted. Example: Revisa el documento. — “Check the document.” lista means “list.” It is the feminine singular noun in la lista; its gender is grammatical and is shown by the article, not by the meaning of “list.” Example: La lista está aquí. — “The list is here.” destinatarios means “recipients.” It is the plural form of the masculine noun destinatario; in Spanish, this masculine plural form can also refer to a mixed group. Example: Los destinatarios recibieron el mensaje. — “The recipients received the message.” antes de means “before.” In this sentence it introduces an infinitive, creating the reusable pattern antes de + infinitive: “before doing something.” Example: Lee el texto antes de responder. — “Read the text before answering.” enviarlo means “to send it.” It combines the infinitive enviar (“to send”) with the attached direct-object pronoun lo (“it,” masculine singular). The pronoun’s form must match the gender and number of the thing it replaces: enviarla for a feminine singular object, enviarlos for masculine plural, and enviarlas for feminine plural. Here, the translation supports an unspecified singular “it”; the exact referent is not identified more specifically. Example: Voy a enviarlo hoy. — “I am going to send it today.” Together, El contexto es útil says “The context is helpful,” with es linking the subject El contexto to the adjective útil. Then Revisa la lista de destinatarios means “Check the recipient list”: de destinatarios specifies what kind of list it is. Finally, antes de enviarlo places that checking before the act of sending it. The complete utterance is therefore: “The context is helpful. Check the recipient list before you send it.”

9. Era fácil no darse cuenta. La persona equivocada quedó incluida por error.

   That was easy to miss. The wrong person was included by mistake.

   fácil

   easy

   darse cuenta

   notice; realize

   persona

   person

   equivocada

   wrong

   quedó incluida

   was included

   por error

   by mistake

   More detail

   fácil means “easy” here. It is an adjective; its singular form is fácil, while the plural is fáciles. It does not change for masculine versus feminine: un ejercicio fácil and una tarea fácil. darse cuenta is the reusable expression “to notice” or “to realize.” The reflexive pronoun changes with the subject: me doy cuenta = “I realize,” te das cuenta = “you realize,” and se da cuenta = “he, she, or you formal realize.” It is normally followed by de: Me di cuenta del error = “I realized the mistake.” Here, no darse cuenta is an infinitive expression meaning “not to notice.” persona means “person.” It is a feminine noun, so a feminine singular form can agree with it. Its grammatical gender does not by itself assert that the person is biologically female. equivocada means “wrong” in the sense of being the incorrect one. Its base form is the adjective equivocado; equivocada is feminine singular because it describes persona in la persona equivocada. The masculine singular form is el candidato equivocado, and the feminine plural form is las personas equivocadas. quedó incluida presents the person’s inclusion as an outcome. quedó is the third-person singular preterite of quedar; incluida is the feminine singular past participle of incluir, agreeing with persona in gender and number. The verb quedó agrees with the subject in person and number, but it does not mark gender. This construction is not identical in form to fue incluida, the simple passive of incluir, although both can mean “was included” in suitable contexts. por error means “by mistake” or “because of an error.” It gives the reason for what happened. Example: Lo hice por error = “I did it by mistake.” Together, Era fácil no darse cuenta means “That was easy to miss”: era supplies the past description “was,” fácil describes the difficulty, and no darse cuenta identifies what could fail to happen. La persona equivocada quedó incluida por error means “The wrong person was included by mistake”: the noun phrase identifies the incorrect person, quedó incluida presents the inclusion as an outcome, and por error gives its reason.

10. Quita a esa persona de la lista.

    Remove that person from the list.

    Quita

    remove

    esa

    that

    persona

    person

    lista

    list

    More detail

    Quita is the affirmative command form of quitar (“to remove”). Its exact form addresses one person informally: it is the tú command. For a formal singular command, Spanish uses quite; for an informal plural command, quitad; for a plural ustedes command, quiten. esa means “that” in its feminine singular form. It agrees with the feminine singular noun persona. Demonstratives change form to match the noun they modify: compare ese with a masculine singular noun and esas with a feminine plural noun. persona means “person.” It is grammatically feminine in this phrase, which is why the demonstrative is esa; this grammatical gender does not by itself identify who the person is. lista means “list.” Here it appears in the feminine singular phrase la lista. The preposition de links the removal to its source or location: de la lista means “from the list.” The pattern quitar algo/a alguien de un lugar means “remove something/someone from a place.” Spanish commonly uses the personal a before a specific human object, so a esa persona is “that person” as the object of the command. Together, Quita a esa persona de la lista. means “Remove that person from the list.”

11. Entonces, el correo está listo para enviarlo.

    Then the email is ready to send.

    Entonces

    then

    el correo

    the email

    está

    is

    listo

    ready

    para

    to; for

    enviarlo

    to send it

    More detail

    Entonces means “then” here and connects this statement with what came before. It can also introduce a conclusion, meaning “so” in a different context. el correo means “the email” here. correo is a masculine singular noun, which is why it appears with el. In other contexts, correo can also mean mail or postal service. está is the third-person singular present form of estar, “to be.” The subject here is el correo, so this form describes its current state. A useful contrast is están, used with a plural subject: Los documentos están listos means “The documents are ready.” listo is an adjective meaning “ready” here. It is masculine singular to agree with el correo. Its feminine singular form is lista, and plural forms include listos and listas when the noun requires them. Es listo commonly means “is clever,” whereas está listo means “is ready” in this sentence. para introduces the action associated with the state: estar listo para + infinitive is a reusable pattern meaning “to be ready to do something.” enviarlo contains the infinitive enviar, “to send,” followed by the masculine singular direct-object clitic lo, “it.” In this sentence, lo refers to the email identified by el correo, so enviar + lo becomes enviarlo. A clitic can attach to an infinitive: Voy a enviarlo means “I am going to send it.” With a feminine singular object, the corresponding form is enviarla, as in Voy a enviarla (“I am going to send it,” referring to a feminine singular object). Together, para enviarlo specifies the action for which the email is ready. The whole utterance, Entonces, el correo está listo para enviarlo., means “Then the email is ready to send”: Entonces links the statement to what came before, el correo is the subject, está listo describes its current state, and para enviarlo identifies the intended action.