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The Correct Use of Former and Latter
- Posted By Superadmin Lilbutmighty
- 11/12/2025
Hello, everyone! I am Ms Nandy, an English Teacher at Lil’ but Mighty (Hougang branch). Today, I am going to be teaching you about the terms former and latter! We often see these terms used as a pair in sentences or separately as adjectives. At times, they can confuse us as to what they are referring to. Worry not! After watching this video, you will be able to identify and use these terms correctly!
The terms former and latter are used as a noun phrase to stand in for a noun that has been mentioned earlier in a sentence. When there are two people or things mentioned in a sentence, the term former is used to refer to the first person or thing while latter refers to the second one. For example:
– Mrs Lim asked Lionel to choose between a burger and a hotdog, and he chose the former.
This means that Lionel decided to choose the burger, which is the first thing that is mentioned in the sentence.
Since former and latter are noun phrases, remember to use the article the before using either term so as to clarify the noun’s identity to the reader or listener. For instance, in the above example, when we use the former, we are referring to the burger that Mrs Lim offered to Lionel and not any other burger.
Let me teach you an easy way to remember what these terms stand for.
Tell yourself that the letter ‘f’ in the word ‘former’ stands for first.
The ‘l’ in the term ‘latter’ stands for last.
This way, you will be able to remember the order of things to look at within a sentence!
Now that we have covered the definitions, let’s take a look at some examples!
Remember what I taught you earlier? ‘f’ stands for ‘first’, so look at the first action mentioned in the sentence. The answer will be… ‘jog’!
Did you answer correctly? Well done – you are getting the hang of this! Let’s look at one more example.
‘l’ stands for ‘last’, so look at the last place mentioned in the sentence. The answer will be… ‘Italy!
Now that you understand how to use these terms as noun phrases, let’s go through how they are used as adjectives! Former can be used to refer to a position, title or status that was held onto in the past. Take a look at this sentence:
This means that Mark used to work at Mighty Bookstore, but he does not anymore. Another example would be:
This sentence tells us that Mighty Museum used to be a place of great magnificence and beauty, but it eventually became run down. After two years of renovation works, it was brought back to its previous magnificent state.
Latter can be used to refer to a later time or period, or even near or toward the end of something. Let’s look at this sentence:
This means that the later part of the play (usually the second half) was more interesting than the first part of the play.
Let’s quickly summarise what we have learnt today:
- former and latter can be used as noun phrases to clarify which noun a personhas picked in a sentence containing two things
- they can also be used as adjectives:
• use former to refer to a past state or to mean ‘previously’
• use latter to refer to something that comes or happens later or nearer the end
I hope that you have found this video useful and will actively apply what has been taught while doing your work. Thank you for watching! See you guys next time!
Ms Nandy
Empowering young minds is a powerful job. I find satisfaction in teaching my students the power of words. No two students are the same and instead of measuring their achievements against the societal yardstick, I strive to help my students become better versions of themselves – not only academically but also on a holistic level. Nothing makes me happier than watching my students achieve good grades and grow more confident!
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