The mistake and the natural correction
Wrong
“I make follow up with the client.”
Correct
“I will follow up with the client.”
In English, “follow up” is usually used as a verb phrase. You follow up with a person, and you follow up on a topic, request, issue, or task. We do not usually say “make follow up” when we mean contact someone again or check progress.
Why Arabic speakers make this mistake
Many Arabic speakers translate directly from phrases like “أعمل متابعة” or “سويت متابعة”, where the meaning is close to “make” or “do” a follow-up. In English, the action is normally expressed with the phrasal verb “follow up”, not with “make”. This is a transfer mistake, not a lack of English ability. Once you learn the English pattern, it becomes simple.
How to use “follow up” in real professional situations
Meeting update
“I spoke to the vendor yesterday, and I’ll follow up with them again this afternoon.”
Email or message
“Hi Sara, I just wanted to follow up on the proposal I sent last week.”
Interview
“After each client meeting, I follow up with a clear summary and next steps.”
Daily work update
“Today I followed up on the pending approval and shared the latest status with the team.”
Manager conversation
“I’ll follow up with Finance and let you know once they confirm the payment date.”
Why does this matter in a professional context?
“I make follow up” is understandable, so people will usually know what you mean. However, in a professional setting, it can sound like a direct translation from Arabic rather than natural workplace English. This is especially noticeable in meetings, interviews, client calls, and written updates. Using “I’ll follow up with them” or “I followed up on the request” signals that you are comfortable with professional English patterns. It makes your speech sound smoother, more precise, and more confident.
Ready-to-use follow-up phrases
“I’ll follow up with them today.”
Use this when you will contact a person or team again.
“I followed up with the client yesterday.”
Use this when you already contacted someone again.
“Can you follow up on this request?”
Use “on” when you mean a task, issue, request, document, or topic.
“I’ll send a follow-up email after the meeting.”
Use “follow-up” with a hyphen when it describes a noun, like email, call, or meeting.
“Thanks for following up.”
A polite response when someone checks back with you.
“I’m following up regarding the invoice.”
A professional opening for an email about something pending.
What to say instead
What many Arabic speakers say
“I will make follow up with the client.”
It sounds like a direct translation from Arabic and does not use the natural English verb phrase.
What to say instead
“I will follow up with the client.”
This uses the correct verb phrase for contacting someone again.
Other phrases to double-check
- •Say “discuss the issue”, not “discuss about the issue”.
- •Say “reply to the email”, not “reply the email”.
- •Say “contact the client”, not “contact with the client”.
- •Say “attend the meeting”, not “attend to the meeting”.
- •Say “request approval”, not “request for approval” when using “request” as a verb.
- •Say “send a reminder”, not “make reminder”.
Frequently asked questions
Is “I make follow up” correct in English?▾
Why do Arabic speakers say “make follow up”?▾
What is the difference between “follow up with” and “follow up on”?▾
How do I remember which phrase to use?▾
Practise saying it in a real work update
Use Nabraty to practise short daily updates like “I followed up with the client” and “I’m waiting for their confirmation” until they feel natural in conversation.
Practise a daily work update