"I'll fill you in later"

Question

I'm having trouble translating this idea, as in, "I'll explain the details to you later."

And I always have trouble with tenses.

I've got a machine translation for "fill somebody in" which uses "poner a alguien al tanto" - if that's the right place to start, would I say "pondré" for the future tense?

How do I get across the basic idea, when speaking to a close friend? Gracias.

Answer 1

Hello Owllady,

For "I'll explain the details to you later" --> Te explicaré los detalles luego/más tarde/en un rato is as close to a literal translation as you can get. And, it is perfectly fine when addressing a close friend.

You are right, pondré al tanto is the future of "poner al tanto". (I usually use poner al día just because it is more common where I live).

And why corriente? You are probably familiar with corriente as a "current" (noun) or "ordinary" (adj), but it is commonly used as an idiomatic expression when referring to "bringing someone up to speed" or "informing someone about something".

Hope that helps

Agree...but wouldn't it be: "Te pondré..."? - Goldie_Miel, Sep 28, 2011

you're right, but it can also be "lo pondré al dia"/"los pondré al día", etc...I left it open so that it would be more general - MariaAlejandraA, Sep 28, 2011

Answer 2

Ponerse al corriente - To bring up to date.

This is a Spanish idiom which has to be paraphrased rather than translated into English. It conveys the sense of telling what has happened.

Muchas gracias. Idioms can be so useful, but can also be trouble in another language! - owllady, Sep 28, 2011

Answer 3

(not a native Spanish speaker)

Maybe try "Ya te explicaré". The "ya + future tense" construct means something like soon.

Answer 4

I didn't think of using "corriente". Why do you suggest that word?

Answer 5

You can use ponerse al corriente,

Más tarde voy a ponerte al corriente.