Level A2 (Upper Beginner)
The French adjective dernier (feminine: dernière) means “last.” It often confuses learners because its meaning changes depending on whether it comes before or after the noun—a point we’ll clarify in this lesson.
Meaning
Pronunciation with IPA
Example sentences
Meaning
The French adjectives dernier (masculine) and dernière (feminine) both mean “last,” “most recent,” or “latest.” Their exact meaning often depends on whether they come before or after the noun.
- When placed after the noun, they mean “last” in the sense of the immediately preceding time period (la semaine dernière – last week).
- When placed before the noun, they refer to “the final one” in a series (le dernier jour – the last day).
Pronunciation
Dernier, dernière /dɛʁ.nje/ and /dɛʁ.njɛʁ/
Example sentences
This first sentence uses noun + dernier, meaning “last + noun”. This usage follows the same pattern as noun + prochain (next + noun). For example, la semaine prochaine (next week).
Qu’est-ce que tu as fait la semaine dernière ?
– Rien. Je suis resté chez moi parce que j’étais enrhumé.
What did you do last week?
– Nothing. I stayed home because I had a cold.
This sentence uses dernier + noun, meaning the last “noun” in a series of nouns. Again this follows the same pattern as prochain. For example, la prochaine semaine de nos vacances (the next week of our vacation).
Nous allons passer le dernier jour de nos vacances à Reims.
We’re going to spend the last week of our vacation in Reims.
For this last sentence, the meaning of dernier is the most recent or latest.
J’ai beaucoup apprecié le dernier roman de Gilles Legardinier.
I really liked Gilles Legardinier’s most recent novel.
Note that dernier/dernière can also be a noun, meaning “the last”. For example, Marcel a été trés lent. C’est le dernier. Marcel was very slow. He’s the last.
Related lessons
- Prochain (Next)
- French adjectives overview
- Dernière danse (song)
- Ne pas être tombé de la dernière pluie (expression)
References
- fr.wiktionary.org (dernier)
- online-latin-dictionary (retro)
- WordReference (dernier)
