Standup English survival guide
How to Survive Your Daily Standup in English
July 15, 2026
A practical guide for Spanish-speaking developers. What to say, common mistakes, and how to handle moments when you do not understand something.
Key Takeaways
- The standup has three parts: yesterday, today, and blockers. Learn one or two phrases for each and you are covered for 95% of situations.
- Your turn should last 30 to 60 seconds. If you need more time, say 'Let us sync after the standup.'
- When you do not understand something, asking for clarification is always the right move. There are standard phrases for it.
- The most common mistake is translating word-for-word from Spanish. English standups use fixed patterns, not free-form sentences.
- Blockers are important information. Do not skip them because you are unsure how to say them in English.
The standup is the hardest 60 seconds of the day
Most developers who speak Spanish as their first language will tell you the same thing: they are fine writing code in English, fine reading documentation in English, and fine sending emails in English. But the daily standup is different.
The standup is live. Everyone is watching. You have to speak without preparation, be clear and concise, and do it again the next day. There is no spell checker. There is no time to look up a word.
This guide is a survival kit. It covers exactly what you need to get through the standup without freezing, without going blank, and without talking for five minutes when you only needed thirty seconds.
The three-part structure every standup follows
The standup answers three questions, always in the same order. Once you know this structure, the standup becomes predictable. You just need to fill in the blanks for your own work.
Yesterday
What did you finish or work on?
Today
What are you going to work on?
Blockers
Is anything stopping you from making progress?
The exact phrases you need
You do not need to improvise. These patterns cover the vast majority of standup situations. Read them, memorize the ones that fit your work, and use them tomorrow.
- –Yesterday I finished the [feature name].
- –I wrapped up the [task] yesterday.
- –I spent most of yesterday on [task]. It is [done / still in progress].
- –I merged the [PR name] PR.
- –I reviewed [two / three] pull requests.
- –I was in meetings most of the day. I made some progress on [task].
- –I did not have time to finish [task] yesterday. I will continue today.
- –Today I am working on [task].
- –I am going to start [task] today.
- –I am picking up [task] from where I left off.
- –I plan to finish [task] and then start [next task].
- –I am going to fix the bug we found in [feature].
- –My focus today is [task].
- –No blockers on my end.
- –I am blocked on [thing]. I need [what you need] from [who].
- –I have a dependency on [team or person] finishing [task] first.
- –I am waiting for a review on my PR before I can continue.
- –I need clarification on [requirement]. Can we sync after the standup?
- –I am stuck on a bug in [area]. I might need help later today.
Want more phrase templates? See the full 50 standup phrase templates.
A real standup, word by word
This is what a full standup sounds like for a developer named Ana. Read it out loud to get comfortable with the rhythm.
Ana, you are next.
Sure. Yesterday I finished the user profile page and merged the PR. Today I am working on the settings screen. No blockers on my end.
Great, thanks. Next is Carlos.
That is 35 words. That is all you need. Short, clear, and done.
Common mistakes and how to fix them
Most mistakes come from translating directly from Spanish or from trying to say too much. Here are the most common ones.
I was working yesterday in the login page.
I was working on the login page yesterday.
In English, you work ON something, not IN something. And the time expression goes at the end.
Today I will working on the payment module.
Today I am working on the payment module.
Use present continuous ('I am working on') for what you are doing today, not 'will working'.
I have a blocker because the API of the backend team is not ready yet so I cannot continue with my task.
I am blocked on the backend API. I have a dependency on the backend team.
Be concise. Say what is blocking you and who can unblock you. That is it.
Yesterday I did many things. First I reviewed the PR of Maria and then I also fixed a small bug in the checkout and then I started the refactor that we discussed.
Yesterday I reviewed Maria's PR, fixed a small bug in checkout, and started the refactor.
Use a list. Avoid 'first... then... also... and then.' It makes you sound uncertain and wastes time.
What to say when you do not understand
This is the situation that scares most developers most. Someone says something in the standup and you miss it. Maybe they spoke too fast. Maybe they used an acronym you did not know. Maybe the connection dropped for a second.
Asking for clarification is not a sign of weakness. It is what professionals do in every language. Here are the exact phrases to use.
You did not hear something
“Sorry, could you repeat that?”
or: “I did not catch that. Could you say it again?”
You heard it but did not understand it
“Could you clarify what you mean by [term]?”
or: “I am not sure I follow. Could you elaborate a bit?”
You do not know an acronym or word they used
“What does [term] stand for?”
or: “Could you explain what [term] means in this context?”
You understood but want to confirm
“Just to make sure I understood: you mean [your interpretation], right?”
or: “So if I understand correctly, [your summary]. Is that right?”
You want to discuss it outside the standup
“Let us sync after the standup on this.”
or: “Can we take this offline? I have some questions.”
Standup vocabulary you need to know
These terms appear in almost every standup at an international tech company. Know them cold.
| English | Espanol | Example |
|---|---|---|
| blocker | bloqueo, impedimento | I have a blocker: I am waiting for API access from the DevOps team. |
| to wrap up | terminar, concluir | I wrapped up the settings screen yesterday. |
| to pick up | retomar, tomar una tarea | I am picking up the refactor from where I left off. |
| to sync | coordinar, hablar brevemente | Can we sync after the standup on this issue? |
| to take offline | hablar en privado o fuera de la reunion | Let us take this offline, it is too detailed for the standup. |
| dependency | dependencia (de otro equipo o tarea) | I have a dependency on the backend team. They need to finish the endpoint first. |
| in progress | en progreso, en curso | The refactor is still in progress. I expect to finish it today. |
| to hand off | pasar a otra persona, transferir | I finished the design. I am going to hand it off to the dev team today. |
| ETA | estimated time of arrival, fecha estimada de entrega | What is the ETA on the database migration? |
| on my end | de mi parte, en mi lado | No blockers on my end. |
Five quick tips for your next standup
- 1
Prepare 15 seconds before the standup starts. Write down one line for yesterday, one for today, one for blockers. You do not need to read it out loud. Just having it written helps.
- 2
Speak slowly. When you are nervous, you speed up. Slow is clearer and easier to follow.
- 3
Do not apologize for your English. Just talk. 'Sorry for my English' takes three seconds and adds nothing useful.
- 4
If you go blank, use 'Give me one second' while you collect your thoughts. That is completely normal.
- 5
After the standup, listen to how your colleagues phrase things. Borrow their patterns. Good standup language is contagious.
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Written by
Roxana LafuenteLingua-e's founder
Roxana Lafuente is a software engineer with 8+ years of experience. At the beginning of her career, even though she had already passed the First Certificate in English, she still froze every time she had to speak up in the daily standup. That was a gap nobody was fixing. After 2,000+ standups, she figured out what actually builds fluency: practice that looks like your real work. She built Lingua-e so other developers wouldn't have to take the long road to feel confident working in an international development environment.