Use later when referring to time. Use latter when referring to the second of two persons or things mentioned previously. See also: Last and Latter.
Examples:
- Though Amy said that she would join me later, I never saw her again.
- "There are two kinds of worries: those you can do something about and those you can't. Don't spend any time on the latter." (Duke Ellington)
Practice:
(a) "Were it left to me to decide whether we should have a government without newspapers, or newspapers without a government, I should not hesitate a moment to prefer the ______." (Thomas Jefferson)
(b) Merdine told Gus a joke, and two minutes ______ he began laughing.
