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Masaria Posted 19 years ago
Grammar

about the use of "former... latter"

Hi to all... a quick question about the use of "the foremer..the latter"..

is it ok in this sentence (just ignore the silliness of the sentence in itself Emotion: wink )

"using different materials helped us achieve two purposes: the former to find new employees, the latter to carachterize different materials"

thanks in advance

Rosario
  

Top answer

" The problem with using former/latter is that you need to state specifically what you are referring to. We had two purposes in carrying out the task: the coal had to be piled high and the wood had to be cut. The former helped keep the coal dry and the latter made the wood easier to burn.

— Eimai_Anglos

  • " The problem with using former/latter is that you need to state specifically what you are referring to.
  • We had two purposes in carrying out the task: the coal had to be piled high and the wood had to be cut.
  • The former helped keep the coal dry and the latter made the wood easier to burn.
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3 Answers
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Yes, with corrections:
"Using different materials helped us achieve two purposes: the former to find new employees; the latter to characterize different materials."

However, I would prefer:
"Using different materials helped us achieve two purposes: the first to find new employees; the second to characterize different materials."

The problem with using former/latter is th
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However, I would prefer:
"Using different materials helped us achieve two purposes: the first to find new employees; the second to characterize different materials."

I wouldn't dare doubt native speaker, yet there is something I'd like to have explained.
If we are talking just about 2 things, shouldn't we use for the first one "THE FIRST" and for the other one "THE OTHER"?? (I'v
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>>The problem with using former/latter is that you need to state specifically what you are referring to.

That's exactly what I was thinking... I mean ..to be formal I can use former/latter , but it's more appropriate to specify what I'm referring to... right ?

thanks!
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