Dave's ESL Cafe's Student Discussion Forums

[MinK]

It's confusing when to use 'former', not 'previous' and when to use 'previous', not 'former'.
I'd like you to explain when to use them.


Thanks.

MinK

[bud]

Hi MinK,

That is a tough question. Most often there is no difference and you can choose either one. I've looked up both words in a few online dictionaries. In their examples, there are one or two where "the other one" does not "sound right," but there were maybe ten other examples where both would work well. Maybe another responder will have some good advice. All I can offer is that it usually won't matter.

There is one specific difference, though. We can use 'former' as a noun, but not 'previous.' We use it as a noun in the context of specifying the first of a list.

Ex:
'Align' can also be spelled as 'aline.' Most people choose the former.
The grandfather, father and son are all named Bill Smith. The former is the one who founded the company.

Hope that helps.

[LucentShade]

I thought of a few other differences. "Former" and "previous" can both be used as adjectives to describe people, like the "former president" or "previous king." However, when you're talking about sequences or things in an order, there are differences in use. If you're talking about some time in the past, you need "previous": "He looked over the previous day's reports, and he was not happy." "They hope to win more games than they did the previous year." "My grades from the previous semester were not very good."
"Former" cannot go in any of those sentences. In general, while there are a lot of times where the two words can both be used, "former"carries a meaning of something that existed or had certain characteristics in the past, but no longer exists or has those characteristics. "Previous," on the other hand, refers to an element in a series, or a unit of time preceeding the present.
Compare:

"You should have turned right at the previous street." (at the street before this one)
"You need to turn right at the former bank." (the building that used to be a bank, but no longer is a bank)

I hope this doesn't confuse things any more. . .

[bud]

No, it's very clear, Lucent, and I totally agree. Thanks.

[MinK]

I think I understand the use of "former" and "previous" now. (but I guess it'll take some time to use them without any difficulty.)

Thank you for your help!

MinK