Meet the "Seguir" Family

Like many other common Spanish verbs seguir can be used with prefixes to make new verbs with related meanings. Seguir typically means "to continue" or "to follow"; verbs with prefixes in the seguir family typically are suggestive of a type or intensity of following.

Here are the most common verbs derived from seguir:

Perseguir: This verb conveys the idea of an intense following. With a neutral meaning, it can mean merely "to chase" or "to pursue." When used with a negative connotation, it can have the meaning of the English cognate, "to persecute."

• Una mujer persiguió a un ladrón que le robó y lo mató de un balazo. A woman chased a thief who robbed her and fatally shot him.
• Te perseguimos fuera de la sala de baile. We chased you outside the dance hall.
• Siempre perseguimos aquello que se nos escapa. We always go after that which escapes us.
• Durante tres siglos, el imperio persiguió a los paganos. For three centuries, the empire persecuted the pagans.

Proseguir: Typical translations include "to carry on" or "to continue (an activity)." It is a cognate of the English verb "to prosecute" and can have that meaning in the sense of "to carry out." (The verb in legal usage for "to prosecute" is procesar, however.)

• Prosiguen búsqueda de sacerdote secuestrado. They are carrying out a search for the kidnapped priest.
• Proseguiremos viaje hasta Madrid. We will continue our trip toward Madrid.
• Anunció que proseguiría investigando otros secretos de la CIA. He announced that he would continue investigating other CIA secrets.

Conseguir: The idea behind this verb is carrying on an activity to the point of reaching a goal. Thus it typically means "to achieve," "to obtain" or "to get." It often conveys the idea that reaching the goal was difficult, and thus is sometimes translated as "to manage to."

• ¡Lo conseguí! He conseguido trasladar el blog a mi servidor. I did it! I transferred the blog to my server.
• Las mujeres consiguieron lo que querían. The women got what they wanted.
• Irán no conseguirá crear arma nuclear en los próximos 10 años. Iran will not manage to make nuclear arms in the next 10 years.

Subseguir: To follow closely or immediately.

• Mucho se ha discutido con respecto a la película y las tres producciones que la subsiguieron. Much has been said about the film and the three productions that immediately followed it.
• Una inmunidad protectiva subsiguió a las infecciones. A protective immunity immediately followed the infections.

As would be expected, derived from seguir are conjugated irregularly following the pattern of seguir.