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# follow

«follow» in Mova's school dictionary: **to go or come after someone or something** — its meaning for a pupil, its sense in the lessons and examples, with 5 sentences of Mova's corpora that use it.

### part of speech

verb (follow, follows, followed, following)

### meaning for a pupil

1) To follow is to go or come after someone or something. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/F/follow/#m1)

2) To follow is to come next in order or time. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/F/follow/#m2)

3) To follow rules or instructions is to do what they say. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/F/follow/#m3)

4) To follow a story or an explanation is to understand it. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/F/follow/#m4)

5) To follow a road or a river is to go along it. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/F/follow/#m5)

### sense in the lessons

maths: shows order in a pattern or sequence («the number that follows» means one more); «the following day/week» means the next one in time; follow the steps of a method; school: follow the instructions; science: follow the method of an experiment; safety: follow the rules, follow the fire drill route; stories: the ducklings followed their mother

### examples

- Which number follows 49? [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/F/follow/#x1)
- The ducks follow their mother in a line. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/F/follow/#x2)
- Follow the pattern 2, 4, 6. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/F/follow/#x3)
- The following week he saved 5 dollars more. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/F/follow/#x4)
- Follow the instructions carefully. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/F/follow/#x5)
- Follow the path to the lake. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/F/follow/#x6)
- Spring follows winter. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/F/follow/#x7)
- Can you follow the story? [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/F/follow/#x8)
- "Follow me," said the dead woman. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/F/follow/#x9)

### note

«The number that follows» means one more; «the following day/week» means the next one in time. Otherwise it gives no clue about the operation. «As follows» introduces a list.

### In the corpora

- [Shops, hospitals, buses and factories need people at all hours, so their workers follow a rota that can change every week.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/adult-life/2-shifts-nights-and-other-ways-of-working/1/)
- [A final demand is a warning that a bill is very overdue and stronger action will follow, so acting early is easier.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/adult-life/8-borrowing-and-debt/19/)
- [Rules and laws are shared agreements; people follow them even when they dislike them, and change bad ones through proper ways.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/adult-life/33-neighbours-the-council-rules-and-fairness/17/)
- [A work mood can follow a grown-up home and usually fades within an hour or so.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/adult-life/34-when-grown-ups-are-tired-or-worried/14/)
- [Accounts that post gossip about real pupils should not be followed or shared; they should be reported.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/adult-life/50-rumours-about-classmates-and-secrets/11/)

### Trees and pragmatics

[Every meaning and example of «follow» parsed by Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/F/follow/), each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.