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# previous

«previous» in Mova's school dictionary: **Happening or existing before the one you are talking…** — its meaning for a pupil, its sense in the lessons and examples.

### part of speech

adjective (previous)

### meaning for a pupil

1) Happening or existing before the one you are talking about now: the previous page, the previous day. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/previous/#m1)

2) «Previous to» (formal) means before. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/previous/#m2)

3) (informal, UK) Too quick or eager: «You're a bit previous!» — acting before it is time. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/previous/#m3)

### sense in the lessons

In school maths «the previous number» in a sequence is the one just before it; in 3, 6, 9, 12 the term previous to 12 is 9. «The previous lesson», «the previous question» refer back. In stories: «the previous owner of the house». In formal exam voice: «previous experience is not required». Phrases: «the previous day/week/year», «previous to», «previous owner», «no previous experience».

### examples

- Look back at the previous page. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/previous/#x1)
- The previous owner left a cat in the house. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/previous/#x2)
- In the pattern 5, 10, 15, the number previous to 15 is 10. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/previous/#x3)
- She had been to the beach the previous day. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/previous/#x4)
- No previous experience is needed to join the club. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/previous/#x5)
- Use your answer from the previous question. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/previous/#x6)
- Our previous teacher moved to Canada. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/previous/#x7)
- This score is better than your previous one. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/previous/#x8)
- The remainder of the day went like the previous one. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/previous/#x9)

### note

Adjective; adverb: previously. Opposites: next, following, later. In sequences, previous term = current term minus the step (for adding patterns). Spelling: prev-I-OUS.

### Trees and pragmatics

[Every meaning and example of «previous» parsed by Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/previous/), each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.