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Mauritius: What's the matter with 'the latter'?
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L'Express (Port Louis)
2 August 2007
Posted to the web 3 August 2007
Port Louis
Hello and welcome again to the English Language Clinic; I'm here to answer your questions and queries regarding the English language. This week I've been asked to talk about a phrase which is very commonly used in Mauritius; 'the latter'. In conversational (informal) British English this phrase is rarely used as it is regarded as being overly (too) formal. It is, however, used in formal written and spoken English; when it does, it has a very specific meaning.
The phrase 'the latter' means 'the second of two'; it does not mean 'the last in any list' or 'the person previously named'. It is therefore incorrect to use this phrase to refer to the last person or object in a list if the list consists of three or more items. It is also incorrect to use this phrase if you have only mentioned one person or object. If you have only mentioned one person, the use of a personal pronoun, to refer to the subject, is best; for example "Jacqui will not be home for dinner tonight because she is working later (please notice the spelling of 'later') than normal."
In the case of lists longer than three items it is quite acceptable to finish the list with a full stop and begin the next sentence with the name of the last item from the list; for example "I have seven diminutive friends: Bashful, Doc, Dopey, Grumpy, Sneezy, Sleepy and Happy. Happy has been a little depressed recently so I'm going to take him to the cinema to cheer him up." Unless you are writing in a very formal and precise way, I would recommend that you avoid using the phrase 'the latter' entirely. To the majority of British English speakers this phrase, used in conversation, sounds old fashioned and a little pompous (inappropriately grand).
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