former
part of speech
adjective (former); noun (the former; a former — in technology)
meaning for a pupil
1) Former means earlier, from before but not now: «the former head teacher», «a former champion». tree →
2) The former means the first of two things just mentioned; the second is «the latter». tree →
3) (UK schools, old) A form is a class, and some schools call a pupil «a sixth-former». tree →
sense in the lessons
In history lessons, «former colonies» and «former presidents» are common. In writing and reading comprehension, «the former… the latter» helps compare two things without repeating them. In design technology, a former is a frame or mould something is shaped around. Phrases: «former pupil», «in former times», «the former and the latter».
examples
- Our former teacher came to visit. tree →
- He is a former Olympic champion. tree →
- Tea and coffee? I prefer the former, so tea please. tree →
- Kenya is a former British colony. tree →
- The castle is a shadow of its former self. tree →
- In former times, children worked in factories. tree →
- My sister is a sixth-former. tree →
- The poor Jackdaw returned sadly to his former companions. tree →
note
«The former» = first of two; «the latter» = second. Use only with two things; for more, say «the first» and «the last». Adverb: formerly. Do not confuse with «formal» or «farmer».
In the corpora
- «Amazing Grace» was written by John Newton, a former slave-ship captain who changed his life.
- Howbeit they did not hearken, but they did after their former manner.
- Let them bring them forth, and declare unto us the things that shall happen; the former things, what are they?
- Remember ye not the former things, neither consider the things of old.
- But now I will not be unto the remnant of this people as in the former days, saith the LORD of hosts.
Trees and pragmatics
Every meaning and example of «former» parsed by Mova, each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.