Latter refers to the second of two persons or things that have been mentioned. When more than two have been mentioned, use last.
Examples:
- "The individual is capable of both great compassion and great indifference. He has it within his means to nourish the former and outgrow the latter." (Norman Cousins)
- "Should the giant panda be with bears or in a separate family but the red panda with the raccoons? Should each panda have a separate family? Or should the two pandas share a family, the Ailuridae? I favor the last alternative." (George B. Schaller)
Practice:
(a) "After carefully considering everything, I found myself confronted by the cruel but unavoidable alternatives, of showing disrespect to Madame d'Epinay, Madame d'Houdetot, or myself: I chose the _____." (Jean-Jacques Rousseau)(b) "The world still consists of two clearly divided groups: the English and the foreigners. One group consists of less than 50 million people; the other of 3,950 million. The _____ group does not really count." (George Mikes)
