“Per my last email” usually directs you back to something the sender believes they have already explained. It may be a practical reference, a reminder about an unfinished task, or a way to record an agreement. Sometimes it carries irritation. The phrase alone cannot tell you which reading fits, and it does not establish that the sender thinks badly of you.
If you have read the message several times, try a different question: what information would let me respond? Open the earlier email, identify the action and check whether there is a real deadline. You can acknowledge a missed detail without accepting blame for circumstances you do not control. Your reply needs to move the work forward; it does not need to solve the sender’s private feelings.
What you know
The sender is referring to an earlier email. The current thread may name an action, a document or a date. Those details give you something concrete to check.
What you don’t know
You cannot know whether they are irritated, writing quickly, using a habitual phrase or under pressure from somebody else. You also do not yet know whether the earlier email was clear or reached you.
Read the situation before guessing the tone.
A reference to an earlier email can serve several purposes. A manager might be keeping several projects aligned; a colleague might assume an attachment answers your question; a client might be documenting a request. Look for the substance around the phrase. “Per my last email, the venue is confirmed” is different from “Per my last email, this is now overdue.” Neither requires a reply about attitude before you have checked the facts.
Context matters more than punctuation. Compare the request with the previous thread, your agreed responsibilities and any changes since then. If an instruction was ambiguous, say what you understood rather than guessing what you should have known. If you missed a clearly stated task, a short acknowledgement and realistic completion time usually give the sender more useful information than a long explanation of how the wording felt.
Three ways the conversation could unfold.
Constructed examples. Change the facts, dates and commitments to match your situation.
01 / Your manager
Your manager
Your manager asked for an updated report yesterday. You were waiting for figures from another team and have not yet explained that dependency. The follow-up reaches you shortly before a meeting.
Their messagePer my last email, I still need the revised report before the review.
A possible replyThanks for following up. The narrative is ready; I’m waiting for the final figures. I can send the current draft by 2 pm and the complete version tomorrow morning. Which would help for the review?
This reply separates completed work from a blocker and offers a decision. It does not promise figures you cannot obtain. Replace the times with commitments you can keep. If the report really was your missed task, say so briefly: “I missed that deadline, sorry.” Acknowledging a specific mistake is different from agreeing that you are generally unreliable. If the review needs a different format, ask what is essential for it.
02 / A colleague
A colleague
You asked a peer which version of a spreadsheet to use. They already included a link in a long thread, but there have been several revisions and the file names are similar.
Their messagePer my last email, please use the shared version.
A possible replyThanks. Do you mean the file called “Forecast v3” in the project folder? I’ll update that version once you confirm.
You identify the uncertainty instead of arguing about whether the earlier instruction was obvious. Naming the file avoids another round of crossed assumptions. If you find the answer yourself, an acknowledgement may be enough: “Found it, thanks. I’ll use Forecast v3.” You do not need to add an apology simply because you asked a reasonable question. Avoid copying extra people just to defend your original request; keep the audience appropriate to the work.
03 / A client
A client
A client has asked twice about a delivery date. Your team’s estimate changed after the first answer, so simply repeating the earlier email would leave out important new information.
Their messagePer my last email, could you confirm when we will receive the final files?
A possible replyThanks for checking. The revised delivery date is Thursday at 4 pm. We can send the first batch on Wednesday if that would help. Please let me know which option you prefer.
The client receives a clear answer and an alternative. Check the date with the people doing the work before you send it. If there was a missed update, acknowledge that specific gap rather than blaming an internal team. If you cannot confirm a date yet, give a time for the next update: “I’ll confirm the schedule by noon tomorrow.” Do not describe an estimate as a guaranteed delivery commitment.
Choose one useful next step.
Find the original request
Read the earlier email once with a practical aim: identify the deliverable, owner and deadline. Write these down in a few words. If one is missing, your next reply can ask for it. You do not need to reanalyse every phrase in the entire thread.
Answer the actionable part
Choose one useful response: confirm, clarify, give a progress update or propose an alternative. Put that response near the beginning. Acknowledge the reminder if useful, but avoid opening with a counter-accusation such as “As I already told you.” It creates a second issue before resolving the first.
Separate one message from a pattern
A single brisk email may be ordinary workplace shorthand. A repeated pattern of belittling, exclusion or unreasonable demands needs a broader conversation and relevant support. Keep a factual record of what happened and consult your workplace process or Acas guidance rather than treating a phrase guide as an assessment of misconduct.
Before sending, check whether your reply answers the real request and whether every date is achievable. You can be clear without matching the sharpness you heard in the original. If you want to discuss the wording itself, choose a separate, specific conversation: “When a request refers to an earlier email, could you include the action and date again? That helps me prioritise correctly.” The aim is a workable communication habit, not a ruling on who read the tone correctly.