"Followed by" is habitually rendered as "suivi de". Does the

Tom K.C1 Kwiziq Q&A super contributor

"Followed by" is habitually rendered as "suivi de". Does the

"de" always change to "par" in the passive construction? If so, this is worth spelling out in the lesson.
Asked 7 years ago
CécileNative French expert teacher in KwiziqCorrect answer

Hi,

You can say both 'suivi de' et 'suivi par' but they convey different meanings.

For instance you will say:

Le roi est entré dans la salle suivi de sa cour The king entered the room followed by his court

Le juge est entré dans le palais de justice  suivi des huissiers = The judge entered the court house followed by the ushers

Une période de beau temps suivie d'orages A period of good weather followed by thunder

With 'suivi de',  the emphasis is on the order of appearance.

In 'suivi par' there is more emphasis on the action of following something/someone being followed by someone -

Le  mari était suivi par un détective privé The husband was followed by a private detective

Ce cours est très bien suivi par les étudiants = This lecture is very well attended by students 

Je sui suivi par mon médecin I am under the regular care of my doctor

Hope this helps!

 

 

 

Ron T.C1 Kwiziq Q&A super contributor
Bonjour Tom, That is correct in the use of the passive voice suivi de would change to suivi par. Sylvie a été suivi par un chien. Bonne chance,
Aaron G.C1 Kwiziq Q&A super contributor

Both constructions are passive, friends. There must be a better explanation, or "de" should be acceptable.

Aaron G.C1 Kwiziq Q&A super contributor

Thanks Cécile. In all of the "par" examples, but none of the "de" examples, the phrase comes directly after some version of the verb "être". What if we were to mix them up?

- Le roi est entré dans la salle. Il a été suivi de sa cour.

Would that be okay?

CécileNative French expert teacher in Kwiziq

Hi Aaron, 

You would probably say -

Le roi est entré dans la salle étant suivi de sa cour...

Aaron G.C1 Kwiziq Q&A super contributor

Ah, okay. Thanks again Cécile.

I'll also leave the following links for anyone who wants to see some examples of "[être] suivi(e) de/par" from the internet, to compare them:

- https://www.linguee.fr/francais-anglais/search?query=est+suivi+de

- https://www.linguee.fr/francais-anglais/search?query=est+suivie+de

- https://www.linguee.fr/francais-anglais/search?query=est+suivi+par

- https://www.linguee.fr/francais-anglais/search?query=est+suivie+par

"Followed by" is habitually rendered as "suivi de". Does the

"de" always change to "par" in the passive construction? If so, this is worth spelling out in the lesson.

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