The French verb suivre means to follow. The most confusing an notable aspect to this verb is that in the first-person singular, je suis”, is also the first-person singular form of etre, to be. Hence, je suis means both “I am” and “I follow”. On this page we’ll look the meaning of this verb with some example sentences.
Example sentences and meanings
The most basic use of suivre is simply to follow in the physical sense:
Je ne sais pas où il habite. Je te suis jusqu’a chez lui. I don’t know where he lives. I’ll following you to his house.
Another usage is to follow in the sense of understanding. Here it could be synonymous for comprendre (to understand).
- Je sais que je parle très vite. Est-ce que tu me suis? I know I’m speaking very fast. Are you getting what I’m saying?
Use suivre as well to describe following the news.
- Je suis les nouvelles tous les soirs à la télé. I follow the news every night on TV.
Use suivre as well to describe following a diet.
- Elle suit un régime et elle a perdu cinq kilos. She’s on a diet and lost five kilograms.
When suiver is reflexive, se suivre, it means one following after the other. Another meaning of se suivre is to make sense or be coherent.
- Les soldats se suivent pendant le défilé. The soldiers follow one after the other during the parade.
- J’ai écouté son argument et tout se suit. I listened to his argument and everything makes sense.
Expressions with suivre
- à suivre to be continued
- faire suivre quelque chose to pass on information
- Je te/vous suis I’m with you (understanding)
- suivre de près to monitor
- suivre un cours to take a class
- suivre le mouvement to go with the flow
- suivre un conseil to take advice
- suivre une formation to be in training
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