I’m struggling to say ‘before previous’ in one word.
Like «I visited my parents pre-previous month».
Is there a suitable word?
asked Jul 2, 2014 at 16:33
Valentin VValentin V
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As in comments, «two months ago» or «the month before last» are common ways to phrase this. As also noted on comments, some folks will drop «the» from «the month before last.» That’s a pretty informal mode of speech, but bear in mind that there’s another «month» implied in the phrase already «the month before last [month].»
answered Jul 2, 2014 at 17:05
wordsmythewordsmythe
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If you really need a single word, just give the name of the month.
answered Jul 2, 2014 at 17:07
OldcatOldcat
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8
A late answer but you can say «penultimate».
Misti
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answered Dec 11, 2014 at 12:56
3
How about “ante-previous”? (I just made it up, but I believe that it makes sense.)
answered Jul 2, 2014 at 20:34
3
It isn’t quite what you’re asking for, but an analogous example exists. In British English, a reference to last Friday might be worded as «Friday week» or «Friday last». The same idea would apply here, as, for instance, «October last». I think it is a bit more elegant than «last October», but that might be due to the relative novelty of the phrase to American ears.
answered Jul 10, 2015 at 6:23
Wad CheberWad Cheber
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Asked by: Ruth Batz V
Score: 4.4/5
(15 votes)
- Penultimate means last but one, but that’s last in the sense of the one before the final one, not the one before the previous one. …
- penultimate should work, assuming the current item is the latest item, and we are interested in the one before it.
What do you call year before previous year?
Year before last designates a specific year. If you say I finished school the year before last we understand that you finished school during the year which preceded last year: sometime in 2013. Before last year designates an indefinite timespan which ended at the beginning of last year.
What do you call the one before the last one?
Another option is ‘last but one’ (for penultimate), and ‘last but two’ (for antepenultimate).
Is previous right before?
Previous means the one that just came before. For instance, the previous sentence explained the meaning of the word previous. With previous, you first see that the prefix pre meaning «before.» The second part of the word, vius, — think via — means «road,» so you’re talking about the road, or thing, before.
Do I use prior or previous?
Previous and prior are synonyms and can be used interchangeably. There is a small but vital distinction before them, however: Previous has an adverb form, previously, that can mean “before,” such as The FBI had previously investigated the man now accused of terrorism. … Prior does not have an adverb form.
22 related questions found
What is difference between prior and previous?
Meaning. Prior refers to existing or coming before in time, order, or importance. Previous refers to existing or occurring before in time or order.
What is the meaning of last but one?
(US also the next to last) the one before the final one: I’m almost finished — this is the last but one box to empty.
What means before last?
phrase. You use expressions such as the night before last, the election before last and the leader before last to refer to the period of time, event, or person that came immediately before the most recent one in a series.
Is Penultimately a word?
Next to the last in order.
What is another way to say last year?
Wiktionary
- last yearadverb. Synonyms: yesteryear.
- last yearadverb. The year before this one. Synonyms: yesteryear.
How do you say last before last?
Senior Member. English, U.S. The common way to say it is «the next to last one.» Another way to say it is «the penultimate one.»
What does week before last mean?
B2. during the week/month/year before the previous one: We had lunch together the week before last. SMART Vocabulary: related words and phrases.
What can I say instead of previous?
Synonyms & Antonyms of previous
- antecedent,
- anterior,
- foregoing,
- former,
- precedent,
- preceding,
- prior.
What type of word is previous?
What type of word is previous? As detailed above, ‘previous’ can be a noun or an adjective. Noun usage: It turned out the shoplifter had a lot of previous. … Adjective usage: I thought that I had solved the problem, but I was a bit previous.
What is a good sentence for previous?
1, She has two children by a previous marriage. 2, We had met on two previous occasions. 3, I’ve met him before on two previous occasions. 4, The furniture had been left by the previous occupants.
What does day before last mean?
From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishthe day/week/year etc before lastthe day/week/year etc before lastthe day, week etc before the one that has just finished I sent the letter off the week before last. I didn’t know myself where the house was until the week before last. …
Is it a year ago or one year ago?
«One year ago» certainly exists. It considerably less common than «a year ago».
Why do we say last but not least?
You use last but not least to say that the last person or thing to be mentioned is as important as all the others.
Is but one meaning?
It means only one. BUT: adverb. only, just, simply, merely: St Anton is but a snowball’s throw away from Lech.
Is it second last or last second?
The simplest way would probably be «the second-to-last day.» I like this one best. Another possibility: «the next-to-last day.» If you want to sound formal, you could say «the penultimate day.»
How do you use previous?
- [S] [T] I’ve got a previous engagement. ( …
- [S] [T] I have a previous engagement at ten. ( …
- [S] [T] He said that he had met her on the previous day. ( …
- [S] [T] I’m sorry, but I have a previous appointment for tomorrow. ( …
- [S] [T] Tom couldn’t attend the meeting because of a previous engagement. (
Where do we use prior?
Use the adjective prior for things that exist earlier in time or that happen first in time or order. This is a formal word that is often used in legal language. A prior claim is a person’s right to something that is considered more important or valuable because it came first.
Can Prior be used without TO?
If the time it is in reference to is not obvious then you need ‘to’. «Prior to» is used in the same way as «before». «The building was demolished prior to my arrival.» If you want to use prior without the ‘to’, then the time or event you are referencing must be stated immediately beforehand.
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Asked by: Ruth Batz V
Score: 4.4/5
(15 votes)
- Penultimate means last but one, but that’s last in the sense of the one before the final one, not the one before the previous one. …
- penultimate should work, assuming the current item is the latest item, and we are interested in the one before it.
What do you call year before previous year?
Year before last designates a specific year. If you say I finished school the year before last we understand that you finished school during the year which preceded last year: sometime in 2013. Before last year designates an indefinite timespan which ended at the beginning of last year.
What do you call the one before the last one?
Another option is ‘last but one’ (for penultimate), and ‘last but two’ (for antepenultimate).
Is previous right before?
Previous means the one that just came before. For instance, the previous sentence explained the meaning of the word previous. With previous, you first see that the prefix pre meaning «before.» The second part of the word, vius, — think via — means «road,» so you’re talking about the road, or thing, before.
Do I use prior or previous?
Previous and prior are synonyms and can be used interchangeably. There is a small but vital distinction before them, however: Previous has an adverb form, previously, that can mean “before,” such as The FBI had previously investigated the man now accused of terrorism. … Prior does not have an adverb form.
22 related questions found
What is difference between prior and previous?
Meaning. Prior refers to existing or coming before in time, order, or importance. Previous refers to existing or occurring before in time or order.
What is the meaning of last but one?
(US also the next to last) the one before the final one: I’m almost finished — this is the last but one box to empty.
What means before last?
phrase. You use expressions such as the night before last, the election before last and the leader before last to refer to the period of time, event, or person that came immediately before the most recent one in a series.
Is Penultimately a word?
Next to the last in order.
What is another way to say last year?
Wiktionary
- last yearadverb. Synonyms: yesteryear.
- last yearadverb. The year before this one. Synonyms: yesteryear.
How do you say last before last?
Senior Member. English, U.S. The common way to say it is «the next to last one.» Another way to say it is «the penultimate one.»
What does week before last mean?
B2. during the week/month/year before the previous one: We had lunch together the week before last. SMART Vocabulary: related words and phrases.
What can I say instead of previous?
Synonyms & Antonyms of previous
- antecedent,
- anterior,
- foregoing,
- former,
- precedent,
- preceding,
- prior.
What type of word is previous?
What type of word is previous? As detailed above, ‘previous’ can be a noun or an adjective. Noun usage: It turned out the shoplifter had a lot of previous. … Adjective usage: I thought that I had solved the problem, but I was a bit previous.
What is a good sentence for previous?
1, She has two children by a previous marriage. 2, We had met on two previous occasions. 3, I’ve met him before on two previous occasions. 4, The furniture had been left by the previous occupants.
What does day before last mean?
From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishthe day/week/year etc before lastthe day/week/year etc before lastthe day, week etc before the one that has just finished I sent the letter off the week before last. I didn’t know myself where the house was until the week before last. …
Is it a year ago or one year ago?
«One year ago» certainly exists. It considerably less common than «a year ago».
Why do we say last but not least?
You use last but not least to say that the last person or thing to be mentioned is as important as all the others.
Is but one meaning?
It means only one. BUT: adverb. only, just, simply, merely: St Anton is but a snowball’s throw away from Lech.
Is it second last or last second?
The simplest way would probably be «the second-to-last day.» I like this one best. Another possibility: «the next-to-last day.» If you want to sound formal, you could say «the penultimate day.»
How do you use previous?
- [S] [T] I’ve got a previous engagement. ( …
- [S] [T] I have a previous engagement at ten. ( …
- [S] [T] He said that he had met her on the previous day. ( …
- [S] [T] I’m sorry, but I have a previous appointment for tomorrow. ( …
- [S] [T] Tom couldn’t attend the meeting because of a previous engagement. (
Where do we use prior?
Use the adjective prior for things that exist earlier in time or that happen first in time or order. This is a formal word that is often used in legal language. A prior claim is a person’s right to something that is considered more important or valuable because it came first.
Can Prior be used without TO?
If the time it is in reference to is not obvious then you need ‘to’. «Prior to» is used in the same way as «before». «The building was demolished prior to my arrival.» If you want to use prior without the ‘to’, then the time or event you are referencing must be stated immediately beforehand.
word-choice
I’m struggling to say ‘before previous’ in one word.
Like «I visited my parents pre-previous month».
Is there a suitable word?
Best Answer
As in comments, «two months ago» or «the month before last» are common ways to phrase this. As also noted on comments, some folks will drop «the» from «the month before last.» That’s a pretty informal mode of speech, but bear in mind that there’s another «month» implied in the phrase already «the month before last [month].»
Related Solutions
Learn English – How to say “almost exactly 1 hour”
The customary, normal, and most common way to say about one hour in a way to make it more close to exactly one hour is to say just about one hour.
That’s because just here modifies about in a way to make it more precise or more exact, closer to exactly that rather than only loosely or approximately that.
So saying “I’ll be there in just about an hour works to say that I will be there in very close to one exact hour.
You could even say just about one hour exactly, but that’s not really necessary here. The just about suffices.
Learn English – “yeah I’ve heard it all before” or “yeah right”
I confess your question is somewhat confusing to me. My answer below is targetted towards your last sentence, «This was initially met with —-.»
This word has fallen out of use, but dubiosity fits the context.
Incredulity would fit the bill as well, but I think the answer you’re looking for is skepticism
Skepticism — a skeptical attitude; doubt as to the truth of something
«This was initially met with skepticism.»
I have a project that requires storing a latest file, previous file and ‘one before the previous’ file. Each will go in its own folder named: current, previous and {one before previous}. What do I call that third folder?
Answer
It’s actually antepenultimate but this word is so uncommon that most people won’t know what you mean. People tend to say something like “this one, the previous one, and the one before that”.
I would be delighted if more people used antepenultimate but I have been on the losing side of many linguistic battles and am not optimistic on this one.
Attribution
Source : Link , Question Author : user1752971 , Answer Author : Hugh Meyers
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#1
Hello,
There are four lines
1 The first one (the first line)
2 The second one (the second line)
3 The one before last- Is it correct? What else can I say?
4 Last one (last line)
Thank you.
VOLVER
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#2
The common way to say it is «the next to last one.» Another way to say it is «the penultimate one.»
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#3
Hello,
There are four lines
1 The first one (the first line)
2 The second one (the second line)
3 The one before last- Is it correct? What else can I say?
4 Last one (last line)Thank you.
VOLVER
You can also say «second to last».
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#4
I would use «second to last» in more colloquial language.
I would use «penultimate» in more formal language.
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#5
You can also say «second to last».
Indeed you can, and many do. But be careful: it can lead to the question «which one is first to last?». Even «third to last» might be offered as a further source of confusion (ammultiguity???)
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#6
No, that is not how it works.
It’s more like: If you’re come second to last in a race, who do you come second to? You come second to «last».
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#7
Ah, so the poor bugger behind you who broke his ankle and had to limp across the line came in first to last. I see now.
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#8
Indeed you can, and many do. But be careful: it can lead to the question «which one is first to last?». Even «third to last» might be offered as a further source of confusion (ammultiguity???)
«first to last»
is not an English locution.
However, 3rd to last, 4th to last, &c are common currency.
German uses the same model — zweitletzt, drittletzt, viertletzt.
If you want to be really silly, you can say
ultimate for last
penultimate for second to last,
antepenultimate for third to last,
preantepenultimate for fourth to last;
but don’t be surprised when someone asks you whether you have swallowed the dictionary.
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#9
«first to last»is not an English locution.
However, 3rd to last, 4th to last, &c are common currency.
German uses the same model — zweitletzt, drittletzt, viertletzt.
Quite so, Brioche.
But for someone fluent in neither English nor German, the phrase «second to last» might be cause for confusion. What seems to you and me as a simple expression of sequence could well be the object of detailed analysis by someone trying to learn English, and he might well ask (himself) «which is first to last?». «Next to last» is much more readily understood in such an analysis. Hence my warning.
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#10
«Next to last» would be fairly unidiomatic in NZ English.
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#11
An alternative to «second to last» is «second-last».
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#12
Hehe. «Second-last» would also be unidiomatic in NZE.
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#13
Hello!
Can we also say ‘second from last‘?
And, if I want to point at a paragraph which is before the previous one (i.e. Say,, there are four paragraphs on a page. I’m reading the fourth one on that particular page & want to refer back to a line of the second paragraph on that very page), can I use this expression-
The paragraph before the previous one?
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#14
The paragraph before the penultimate is the antepenultimate.
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#15
The paragraph before the penultimate is the antepenultimate.
Hello Edinburgher! Thank you
I didn’t mean that the fourth para is the ultimate one in the article. That’s why I used ‘on that particular page’ . Now, could you please help??
& also I am in need of an informal expression
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#16
The paragraph before the penultimate is the antepenultimate.
I knew that. But I would never, ever have the chutzpah to use «antepenultimate». (Even my spell checker is laughing at me for typing it.)
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#18
Hello!
Can we also say ‘second from last‘?
And, if I want to point at a paragraph which is before the previous one (i.e. Say,, there are four paragraphs on a page. I’m reading the fourth one on that particular page & want to refer back to a line of the second paragraph on that very page), can I use this expression-
The paragraph before the previous one?
These are two very different questions, only one of which fits this thread.
Yes, you can say «second from last» to mean the penultimate, at least in BrE (in general I prefer this to «second to last», but it depends on the context). This is about absolute position.
Your other question is about relative position and requires a different thread. Although «last» can, by itself, be used for either absolute or relative position, «second from last» cannot.
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#19
Some confusion might exist from the alternate definition of «ultimate» which means both «last» and «utmost».
ul·ti·mate
ˈəltəmət/
adjective
- 1.
being or happening at the end of a process; final.
«their ultimate aim was to force his resignation»
synonyms: eventual, final, concluding, terminal, end; More
noun
- 1.
the best achievable or imaginable of its kind.
«the ultimate in decorative luxury»
synonyms: utmost, optimum, last word, height, epitome, peak, pinnacle, acme, zenith, nonpareil, dernier cri, ne plus ultra; More
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#20
Nobody’s yet mentioned «last but one«, which would be my preferred option every time and is still commonest in Britain. See Google Ngram Viewer.
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#21
I didn’t mean that the fourth para is the ultimate one in the article.
You said it was the last on the page. So that would get us to the antepenultimate on the page.
However, if you want to specify position in relative terms from an arbitrary point N, then point N-1 would be the previous, N-2 would be the previous but one, etc.
Incidentally, I would say second-last, third-last, etc, but I would not say second to last or second from last, though I might say second from the end.
«last but one«, which would be my preferred option every time and is still commonest in Britain
I was interested to see what would happen if I added penultimate to the options in your ngram. It wipes the floor with all the others. I didn’t expect that.
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#22
Thank you everyone
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#23
can I use this expression-
The paragraph before the previous one?
Two paragraphs above.
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#24
Thanks Barque
Обновлено на
19 сент. 2021
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Английский (британский вариант)
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Английский (американский вариант)
All of these words describe something in relation to time, but are used quite differently. The most obvious difference between «previous» and «before» is in their respective parts of speech. «Previous» is an adjective whereas «before» could be an adverb, preposition or conjunction. So you could say «the previous lesson,» or «the previous page,» but not «the before lesson,» nor «the before page.»
«Before» is a very versatile word used in many different ways, so I’d recommend reading up on it (This might be a good starting point: https://dictionary.cambridge.org/grammar/british-grammar/before), or just seeing it in a lot of different contexts to familiarise yourself with how it’s used.
Another thing to note is that the word «previous» is often used to refer to something that was directly before something. For example, if you’re on page 10 of a book, «the previous page» would be page 9. This depends on whether the definite or indefinite article is used before «previous,» though. «A previous page» in this example would be referring to any page that came before page 10 (pages 1 to 9).
«Beforehand» is an adverb and has a similar meaning to «before,» but a notable difference is that you use it to express that something was done in preparation for or expectation of another thing. For example, «I knew it was going to rain today, so I brought the laundry inside beforehand,» or «In case I won’t have time for it later, I finished all my homework beforehand.»
All of these words describe something in relation to time, but are used quite differently. The most obvious difference between «previous» and «before» is in their respective parts of speech. «Previous» is an adjective whereas «before» could be an adverb, preposition or conjunction. So you could say «the previous lesson,» or «the previous page,» but not «the before lesson,» nor «the before page.»
«Before» is a very versatile word used in many different ways, so I’d recommend reading up on it (This might be a good starting point: https://dictionary.cambridge.org/grammar/britis…), or just seeing it in a lot of different contexts to familiarise yourself with how it’s used.
Another thing to note is that the word «previous» is often used to refer to something that was directly before something. For example, if you’re on page 10 of a book, «the previous page» would be page 9. This depends on whether the definite or indefinite article is used before «previous,» though. «A previous page» in this example would be referring to any page that came before page 10 (pages 1 to 9).
«Beforehand» is an adverb and has a similar meaning to «before,» but a notable difference is that you use it to express that something was done in preparation for or expectation of another thing. For example, «I knew it was going to rain today, so I brought the laundry inside beforehand,» or «In case I won’t have time for it later, I finished all my homework beforehand.»
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Традиционный китайский (Тайвань)
Thank you, the explanation is very detailed
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quote:
ago
Hi vienphan, You are welcome here
First, earlier (adverb) = previously (adverb) in the meaning but and both of them refer to past simple tense or past perfect tense, I will give you examples about them.
For examples:
1. He was previously president of a bank
2. The car had previously been in a collision caused by the negligence of the first defendant.
3. Her parents had died four years earlier/before.
4. I mentioned that problem earlier/before
Second, When (before) comes at the end of the sentence, It becomes adverb and means earlier or previously.
For example:
1. They called me the day before.
The day before means yesterday or earlier in time.
There are other rules of the word before, but there is no time to mention it now.
(ago) means in the past or gone by and refers to past simple tense and it followed by time expressions.
For example:
1. He died three years ago.
2. It happened ages ago.
Third, It is the explanation of Longman, it will help you and look at this site.
http://www.ldoceonline.com/dictionary/previously
Use ago to say how much time has passed from the time something happened to now, the time of speaking
• I saw her a few minutes ago.
• We went to Madrid two years ago.
Use before to say how much time passed from the time something happened to a time in the past.
• We went to the same hotel where we stayed two years before.
Previously is used in the same way, but is more formal
• The meeting was a follow-up to one that had been held four days previously.