Position of Derniere and meaning

paul b.A1Kwiziq community member

Position of Derniere and meaning


Last time he came, he didn't behave himself.fois dernièredernière foisprochaine foisfois prochaine
when I did this quiz I was marked incorrect when I chose "fois derniere"
but the lesson says I'm right. Dernier fois means last time as in "final time"?
Asked 7 months ago
Maarten K.C1 Kwiziq Q&A super contributor Correct answer

Paul, 

‘ La dernière fois ‘ is a special case as noted in the linked lesson. When followed by a relative clause only ‘ la dernière fois ‘ can be used. 

Although the English sentence can omit ‘ that ‘,  in French ‘ que ‘ cannot be omitted and therefore the translation commences  ‘ La dernière fois qu’il est venu …..’  ie there is a relative clause following ‘ la dernière fois ‘.  

As the expression ‘ la dernière fois ‘ can be used in all applicable circumstances, whereas ‘ la fois dernière ‘ is restricted, it is a safer bet for non-native speakers to use ‘ la dernière fois ’ , at least to start with. 

Have another look under section 3 of the lesson linked :

 Dernier = final/previous (French Adjectives that change meaning according to position)

 

paul b. asked:

Position of Derniere and meaning


Last time he came, he didn't behave himself.fois dernièredernière foisprochaine foisfois prochaine
when I did this quiz I was marked incorrect when I chose "fois derniere"
but the lesson says I'm right. Dernier fois means last time as in "final time"?

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