What is Following Words?

S0-SA4-0922

Grade Level:

Pre-School – Class 2

All domains without exception

Definition

What is it?

Following words are simply the words that come *after* a particular word in a sentence or phrase. It helps us understand the order of words and how they connect to make complete sense. Think of it like a train, where each coach follows the one before it.

Simple Example

Quick Example

Imagine you say, "I love eating *pani puri*." Here, the word 'eating' is followed by 'pani puri'. If you just said "I love eating", the sentence wouldn't feel complete, right? The following words make the thought clear.

Worked Example

Step-by-Step

Let's find the words following 'runs' in the sentence: "Virat Kohli scores many runs for India." --- Step 1: Identify the target word. The target word is 'runs'. --- Step 2: Read the sentence from the target word onwards. The sentence from 'runs' onwards is "runs for India." --- Step 3: Identify the words that come immediately after 'runs'. The words are 'for' and 'India'. --- Answer: The words following 'runs' are 'for' and 'India'.

Why It Matters

Understanding following words is super important for reading fluently and writing clearly. It's a basic building block for grammar and sentence structure. Authors, journalists, and even app developers use this concept to make sure their text is easy to understand.

Common Mistakes

MISTAKE: Including the target word itself as a 'following' word. For example, if asked for words following 'the' in 'the big dog', answering 'the big'. | CORRECTION: Always start *after* the specified word. The words following 'the' are 'big' and 'dog'.

MISTAKE: Stopping too early or going too far in the sentence. For example, in 'My friend likes to play cricket very much', if asked for words following 'play', answering just 'cricket' and ignoring 'very much'. | CORRECTION: Include all words until the end of the sentence or the natural end of the phrase related to the target word.

MISTAKE: Confusing 'following words' with 'preceding words' (words that come *before*). | CORRECTION: 'Following' always means 'coming after'. 'Preceding' means 'coming before'. Remember 'F' for 'Following' and 'Forward'.

Practice Questions

Try It Yourself

QUESTION: What are the words following 'red' in the sentence: "She bought a red saree for the festival."? | ANSWER: saree, for, the, festival.

QUESTION: Identify the words following 'school' in: "After school, we usually go to the playground to play kabaddi." | ANSWER: we, usually, go, to, the, playground, to, play, kabaddi.

QUESTION: In the phrase "delicious homemade biryani for dinner", what are the words that follow 'biryani'? | ANSWER: for, dinner.

MCQ

Quick Quiz

Which words follow 'My' in the sentence: "My bicycle has a flat tyre."

My bicycle

bicycle has

bicycle has a flat tyre.

has a flat tyre.

The Correct Answer Is:

The words that come immediately after 'My' and continue the sentence are 'bicycle has a flat tyre.' Options A, B, and D are incomplete or include the target word.

Real World Connection

In the Real World

When you type on your phone and it suggests the next word (like 'How are you *doing*?' or 'Let's meet for *chai*'), that's an example of understanding 'following words'. This technology, called predictive text, uses patterns of words that usually follow each other to help you type faster. It's used in WhatsApp, Google Search, and even by speech recognition software.

Key Vocabulary

Key Terms

FOLLOWING: Coming after something else | PRECEDING: Coming before something else | SENTENCE: A group of words that makes complete sense | PHRASE: A small group of words forming a conceptual unit | ORDER: The arrangement of things one after another

What's Next

What to Learn Next

Now that you understand following words, you can learn about 'preceding words' which are the words that come *before* a specific word. After that, you'll be ready to explore how words combine to form phrases and clauses, making your sentences even stronger!