First Paragraph. This paragraph does not overlap the floated paragraph, because the floated paragraph comes later in the code.

Second Paragraph. This Paragraph is floated to the left and overlaps the following paragraphs. However, it comes after the first paragraph both in code and on the screen.

Third Paragraph. Notice how the second paragraph overlaps this paragraph.

Fourth Paragraph. If you don't want it to overlap like this, you can always use a margin (in this case, a left margin) to move subsequent paragraphs out of the way.

Fifth Paragraph. This element now has the clear property applied to it, which means it begins after the second paragraph has ended.