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What do English spokers say when they want to mention last class? "Previous session" or "Last session"

  1. As I recall, teacher wrote something on the board last session.
  2. As I recall, teacher wrote something on the board previous session .

Which one seems more normal in everyday English?

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    If you have two questions that are related in some way, it's OK to combine them, but when they are about completely different subjects, please create a separate question for each one. Please edit this question to remove part 2, and create a new question just for part 2. Commented Jul 29, 2018 at 13:25
  • This question may help you with your second question: “Comparing these stories is/are lazy”: “is lazy” or “are lazy”? Commented Jul 29, 2018 at 14:19
  • ColleenV thanks, but this is not the answer of my question. Comparing is lazy VS this story and this kind of stories are/is ... , I think the "and" changes the situation. Commented Jul 29, 2018 at 14:35
  • You may want to look at the questions tagged with compound-subjects Commented Jul 29, 2018 at 20:28

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Both last and previous are perfectly OK in this context. In modern English, last sounds more informal, but could cause confusion because last can mean either the most recent or final. previous has no meaning other than the most recent.

Currently, last is about three times more frequently used than previous: Historically last was much more widely used, with previous only coming into use in about 1820.

Note that your example sentence is missing a few words:

As I recall, the teacher wrote something on the board during the last session.

With dates (last month, last year) it is acceptable to omit during the, but not in this context. It cannot be omitted under any circumstances with previous.

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  • Hello JavaLatte and thanks a lot. I have another question : Is using the word " last" with British accent /lɑːst/ make a mistake in understanding it as the word "lost"? ( which these are two different words ) Commented Jul 29, 2018 at 14:23
  • If the teacher is already in the class, I should say : As I recall, the teacher wrote something on the board during the last session? Commented Jul 29, 2018 at 14:38
  • @AmirhoseinRiazi In British English, last and lost both have very different vowels. I am fairly sure that is true for US English as well. Commented Jul 29, 2018 at 16:07
  • @AmirhoseinRiazi, last is UK ​ /lɑːst/ US ​ /læst/. lost is UK /lɒst/ US ​ /lɑːst/. There is therefore some possibility for confusion between UK last and US lost, but no possiblilty for confusion if both are UK or both are US. As long as you are consistent in your pronunciation,there should not be a problem. Commented Jul 30, 2018 at 4:53

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