Today's English Expression 10/30 · Stage: PR Description. All example sentences are invented for this post. They are not taken from actual repository PRs, and the numbers are just examples.
Table of Contents
- At a Glance
- 1. Meaning and Nuance
- 2. Example Sentences
- 3. Similar Expressions and Differences
- 4. Common Mistakes by Koreans
- 5. One-Line Practice
- Model Answer
- Reference
At a Glance
| Expression | I'll address this in a follow-up (PR). |
| Meaning | I will handle this part in a follow-up PR. |
| Usage Context | Review replies, remaining work sections in PR descriptions |
| Politeness | Moderate. Adds credibility when used with a reason |
1. Meaning and Nuance
"Follow-up" is a noun and adjective meaning "subsequent work or action." "A follow-up PR" means a subsequent PR, and "a follow-up issue" means a subsequent issue. Even if you just write "in a follow-up" briefly, it is understood to mean a PR. Here, "address" means "to deal with or handle (a problem)."
This expression conveys the meaning that it is "not a rejection, but a matter of sequencenot a rejection, but a matter of sequence." It pairs with "out of scope" from part 9. You draw the line by saying it is out of scope, and instead use this expression to promise when and where it will be handled.
There is something to keep in mind. Reviewers can sometimes be wary of this phrase. Google's code review guidelines advise reviewers to usually demand cleanup before merging rather than accepting promises to "clean it up later," because follow-up cleanups often do not actually happen. Therefore, when using this phrase, you should provide grounds for trust. This can be done by linking a follow-up issue number, writing down the reason why the current PR needs to be kept small, or opening the follow-up PR right away. If the reviewer asks you again to "please do it in this PR," it is usually faster to just follow their request.
When used as a verb, it is written with a space. "To take subsequent action" is "follow up (on something)." It is used like "I'll follow up on this next week."
2. Example Sentences
Situation 1: Review Reply
Agreed that the error messages could be clearer. I'd like to keep this PR small, so I'll address it in a follow-up. Opened #3101 to track it.
Situation 2: Remaining work section in PR description
Follow-ups:
- Add e2e coverage for the IPv6 path (#3102)
- Update the user guide once the API is finalized
Listing remaining tasks in the PR description gives reviewers peace of mind to approve.
Scenario 3: Opening a follow-up PR and notifying the original PR
Follow-up PR is up: #3110. It addresses the remaining comments from this review.
"is up" is a colloquial expression meaning it has been posted or opened.
3. Similar expressions and differences
- Let's do this as a separate PR. This expression does not distinguish whether it is a follow-up or a separate task. Use it when the sequence does not matter.
- I'll follow up on this. This is the verb form. It is also used to mean you will follow up on a question or investigation later, not just for PRs.
- TODO(follow-up). This is a marker left in code comments. It must be accompanied by an issue number to actually be tracked.
4. Common mistakes made by Koreans
- I will follow-up this in next PR. The verb should not have a hyphen, and the article "a" and preposition "on" are missing.
- Corrected sentence: I'll follow up on this in a separate PR.
- I will fix it next time. It does not sound like a real promise because "next time" is ambiguous.
- Corrected sentence: I'll address this in a follow-up PR. Tracking it in #3101.
- This will be done later. Being in the passive voice, it omits who will do it.
- Corrected sentence: I'll take care of this in a follow-up.
5. One-line practice
Rewrite the following Korean sentence as a review reply.
I will add the tests in a follow-up PR. I want this PR to contain only the bug fix.
Sample answer
I'll add the tests in a follow-up PR. I'd like to keep this one focused on the bug fix.
"this one" is a pronoun to avoid repeating "this PR". "keep ... focused on" means to keep attention centered on something.
A word from TT: The word "later" only gains credibility when it has a number attached to it.
References
- Google Engineering Practices, Handling pushback in code reviews: https://google.github.io/eng-practices/review/reviewer/pushback.html
- Merriam-Webster, "follow-up": https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/follow-up