Meaning of "was followed by" in a sentence

Question

Hi. I have a problem with understanding the sence of a sentence that I ran onto today. It may seem simple to you, cause i guess, it's kind of obvious thing, but for me, as I am only learning english, it turned out to be pretty hard.

So that is the sentence:

"Royal visit to Ireland was followed by a mysterious disappearance of Irish crown jwels."

And my question is: what is the meaning of "was followed by" here ? Does that mean, that the http://www.dict.pl/dict?word=jewels&lang=EN disappeared at first, and then was the visit, or it means that the disapperance was somehow connected with the visit, and the jewels were lost after that ?

Second thing, that I actually saw when writing this post and it made me wonder, if it is possible to say "I wish I would ..." just if it's correct to say something like that, cause i heard from ppl that it's not incorrect to put would after I wish I etc etc, and I just thought Why not ? Could someone explain that maybe on some examples or something ?

Thanks a lot for your effort

btw. it's my first time here.

AlpheccaStars · Accepted Answer

Anonymous"Royal visit to Ireland was followed by a mysterious disappearance of Irish crown jwels.

The royal visit to Ireland was followed by a mysterious disappearance of Irish crown jewels.

Some royals visited Ireland. After their visit the Irish crown jewels disappeared.

The author implies that there is a connection between the two events.

Anonymous"I wish I would ..." just if it's correct to say something like that, cause i heard from ppl that it's not incorrect to put would after I wish I etc etc, and I just thought Why not ? Could someone explain that maybe on some examples or something ?

These are fine:

I wish my brother would help me more.
I wish my father wouldn't smoke cigarettes.
I wish I would save more and shop less.

Compare with these:

Informal: I wish I would have paid more attention in class.
Formal: I wish I had paid more attention in class.

Informal: I wish I would have practiced more.
Formal: I wish I had practiced more.

CalifJim · Answer

Anonymous ... visit to Ireland was followed by ... disappearance

First, the visit. Next, the disappearance.

Anonymouswonder, if it is possible to say "I wish I would ..."

Not if you are the agent of the action. How sensible would that be?

I wish I would get up from this chair and get myself a drink of water.

I wish I would get in my car and drive to work.

I wish I would eat this food in front of me.

You wish for things you cannot control! Otherwise, it's not a wish!

You have control over whether you get up from a chair, whether you drive to work, whether you eat the food on your plate. You don't wish for such things! You just do them!

_____________

However, if you are not an agent in the action, and you don't control the situation, you can use that pattern:

I wish I would win a lot of money.

This usage is pretty limited, though. Usually you are the agent of an action when you say I.

CJ

AlpheccaStars · Answer

CalifJimYou have control over whether you get up from a chair, whether you drive to work, whether you eat the food on your plate. You don't wish for such things! You just do them!

That's a great positive philosophy. But sometimes we get into a rut and wish it were otherwise... How many folks have you heard say something like this?

I wish I would lose ten pounds so I could fit into last year's swimsuit.

Voss · Answer

Hi, again.

I'm that anonymous that started this thread (well not anonymous anymore

) I really appreciate that you all answered me that fast, and cleared my doubts right away. Thanks a lot

AlpheccaStars · Answer

Hi Voss,

Welcome to the Forums (officially!)

You see that we have some great fun here, even though the topic is usually rather serious.

Regards,
A-

s

CalifJim · Answer

AlpheccaStarsI wish I would lose ten pounds so I could fit into last year's swimsuit.

I think I usually hear "couldlose ten pounds" in that pattern, but all the same, I see your point.

"I wish I would" seems to abdicate responsibility completely. It's a wish for magic to happen!

CJ

AlpheccaStars · Answer

Yea, that why the weight loss industry is worth billions and billions.

It never ceases to amuse me that the supermarket checkout lines have 3 types of magazines - ones about losing weight, others about cooking delicious stuff, and the incredulous gossip rags.

CalifJim · Answer

AlpheccaStarsthe incredulous gossip rags

My favorite! Especially the stories about the celebrities who give birth to two-headed aliens from outer space!

CJ

Anonymous · Answer

I also have the same doubt,

okey see these sentences in active & passive tences

"I follow you" active tense

"you are followed by me" passive tence

now guess the meaning of "followed by"

am i correct ?

Anonymous · Answer

Dear All,

Thanks for your kind support.

Regards

G.....

Meaning of "was followed by" in a sentence

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