A is followed after / behind B. VS. A follows B

Question

A is followed after / behind B. VS. A follows B

Could you tell me if there is a meaning difference between the two structures and if you do not mind, could you show me any examples used with the structures? Thank you so much as usual and take good care.

Clive · Accepted Answer

A is followed after / behind B. Not correct.
VS.

A follows B. Fine

Could you tell me if there is a meaning difference between the two structures

and if you do not mind, could you show me any examples used with the structures?
A follows B.
eg February follows January.

A is followed by B.
eg January is followed by February.

Milosh Infinity · Answer

There are probably two answers to your question, depending on what you actually meant to ask in the first place.

Clive has provided you with the correct answer and good examples. However, there might be another answer, in case you assumed something else in your question.

First, like Clive said:

This would be incorrect (NOT correct):

A is followed after / behind B.

This would be correct:

A follows B.

Could you tell me if there is a meaning difference between the two structures and if you do not mind, could you show me any examples used with the structures?

B follows A
meaning: B comes after A

A is followed by B.
meaning: B comes after A
(meaning: A comes before B; therefore: B comes after A)

However, what you may hear, perhaps in mathematics classes, or in mathematical logic, or in philosophy, may sound similar, but has one significant difference: it may be about a conditional statement, there would be a material conditional (which falls into a group of logical connectives (or binary operators)), and there would be a comma if you would want to "transcribe" it into plain English.

Said in simple terms:

conditional statement: A => B
material conditional (essentially one of binary operators): =>
"transcribed" into plain English: if A, then B.

This last bit, "if A, then B" is sometimes abbreviated to:

"A, then B" or "A; follows B", with the meaning that
"if A is true, then B is true", or
"if A (is true), from it follows that B is true", or simply
"if A, follows B", or, finally
"A, follows B".

Thus, this would be a different meaning of "A, follows B".

It would not be a matter of order anymore (which term comes first and which one follows after), but which outcome/conclusion follows from which premise. In the case of A => B, we have that the premise is A and the conclusion that follows is B. Therefore: A, follows B.

Hope this helps you and/or others who may bump into this thread.

Cheers,
Milosh from Infinity

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