Confused Adjectives

Last and Latest

Rule: Last denotes the final one in a sequence; Latest means the most recent.

Incorrect Usage: (a) They caught the latest train to London.

                                (b) What’s the last news in sports?

Correct Usage: (a) They caught the last train to London.

                             (b) What’s the latest news in sports?

Confused Adjectives

Latter and Last

Rule: Latter indicates the second of two things; Last is used to refer to more than two.

Incorrect Usage: (a) Frost and Wordsworth are both great poets, but I like the last.

  (b) Ours is the latter house on that street.

Correct Usage: (a) Frost and Wordsworth are both great poets, but I like the latter.

(b) Ours is the last house on that street.