Follow I Don’t Somebody/Something Show Simple Impossible Walked

• he followed her into the house.
• follow me please. i'll show you the way.
• i think we're being followed.
• she followed her mother into the medical profession.

follow

1. to come or go after or behind somebody/something
• He followed her into the house.
• Follow me please. I'll show you the way.
• I think we're being followed.
• She followed her mother into the medical profession.
• Wherever she led, they followed.
• Sam walked in, with the rest of the boys following closely behind.
2. to come after something/somebody else in time or order; to happen as a result of something else
• The first two classes are followed by a break of ten minutes.
• I remember little of the days that followed the accident.
• A period of unrest followed the president's resignation.
• A detailed news report will follow shortly.
• There followed a short silence.
• The opening hours are as follows…
• A new proposal followed on from the discussions.
3. to do something after something else
• Follow your treatment with plenty of rest.
• They follow up their March show with four UK dates next month.
4. to be the logical result of something
• I don't see how that follows from what you've just said.
• If a = b and b = c it follows that a = c.
5. to come or be eaten after another part
• The main course was followed by fresh fruit.
• I'll have soup and fish to follow.
6. to go along a road, path, etc.
• Follow this road until you get to the school, then turn left.
7. to go in the same direction as something or parallel to something
• The lane follows the edge of a wood for about a mile.
8. to accept advice, instructions, etc. and do what you have been told or shown to do
• to follow a diet/recipe
• He has trouble following simple instructions.
• Why didn't you follow my advice?
9. to accept somebody/something as a guide, a leader or an example; to copy somebody/something
• They followed the teachings of Buddha.
• He always followed the latest fashions (= dressed in fashionable clothes).
• I don't want you to follow my example and rush into marriage.
• The movie follows the book faithfully.
10. to understand an explanation or the meaning of something
• Sorry, I don't follow.
• Sorry, I don't follow you.
• The plot is almost impossible to follow.
• I don’t understand the instructions.
• Doctors still don’t understand much about the disease.
• ‘It opens like this.’ ‘Oh, I see.’
• Oh yes, I see what you mean.
• She didn’t get the joke.
• I don’t get you.
• Sorry—I don’t quite follow.
• The plot is almost impossible to follow.
• They failed to grasp the importance of his words.
• It’s a difficult concept for children to understand/grasp.
• The concept of infinity is almost impossible for the human mind to comprehend.
11. to watch or listen to somebody/something very carefully
• The children were following every word of the story intently.
• Her eyes followed him everywhere (= she was looking at him all the time).
12. to take an active interest in something and be aware of what is happening
• Have you been following the basketball championships?
• Millions of people followed the trial on TV.
13. to choose to regularly receive messages from a person, company, etc. using a microblogging service
• See related entries: Social networking
  https://www.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/topic/social_networking/follow
• I don’t follow many celebrities on Twitter any more.
14. to be concerned with the life or development of somebody/something
• The novel follows the fortunes of a village community in Scotland.
15. to develop or happen in a particular way
• The day followed the usual pattern.
16. to do the same job, have the same style of life, etc. as somebody else, especially somebody in your family
• She works in television, following in her father's footsteps.
17. to be guided by your sense of smell
18. to go straight forward
• The garage is a mile ahead up the hill—just follow your nose.
19. to act according to what seems right or reasonable, rather than following any particular rules
20. to play a card of the same suit that has just been played
21. to act or behave in the way that somebody else has just done
22. a person who is so good or successful at something that it will be difficult for anyone else coming after them to be as good or successful
• She has been an excellent principal and will be a hard act to follow.

Extra Examples

• As she walked home, she had the feeling she was being followed.
• Banks are expected to follow the building societies in raising mortgage rates.
• Follow my instructions very carefully.
• He wanted to follow in his mother’s footsteps and be a ballroom dancer.
• His argument was difficult to follow.
• How do your feel your writing follows in the tradition of the South?
• I’m sorry, but I don’t quite follow you.
• It does not necessarily follow that sleep loss would cause these symptoms.
• It wasn’t in his nature to follow blindly.
• Johnson finished first, closely followed by Stevens and Higgins.
• More information will follow shortly.
• Other companies are likely to follow Z-Quest in applying for an exemption.
• Ray came out of the bedroom, Mary following close behind.
• Several conclusions follow on from his statement.
• She beckoned him to follow her.
• She followed blindly, stumbling over stones in her path.
• The dog followed obediently at her heels.
• The film follows the book faithfully.
• The next programme will follow shortly.
• You go ahead and we’ll follow on later.
• in the period immediately following the election
• slavishly following the views of his teachers
• the workers’ revolts that followed in the wake of the student uprising
• A period of unrest followed the president’s resignation.
• Follow me, please. I’ll show you the way.
• He always followed the latest fashions.
• He has trouble following simple instructions.
• I didn’t really follow the recipe.
• I don’t follow you.
• I don’t want you to follow my example and rush into marriage.
• I think we’re being followed.
• Our opening hours are as follows…
• She walked in and we all followed.
• Sorry—I don’t quite follow.
• The movie can be quite hard to follow in parts.
• The plot is almost impossible to follow.
• There followed a short silence.
• Why didn’t you follow my advice?

Verb Forms

• present simple I / you / we / they follow
• he / she / it follows
• past simple followed
• past participle followed
• -ing form following

Word Origin

• Old English folgian, of Germanic origin; related to Dutch volgen and German folgen.