The French adjective dernier means “last.” Its place in the noun phrase often tells you whether it means a past time period or the final item in a group. It changes form to match the noun: dernier (masculine singular), dernière (feminine singular), derniers (masculine plural), and dernières (feminine plural).

In the masculine singular and masculine plural, it is pronounced [DARE KNEE AY], while in the feminine singular and feminine plural, it is pronounced [DARE KNEE AIR]. Make sure you use the pronunciation that matches the gender of the noun that dernier/dernière is describing.

After the noun: the previous time period

With a time word, dernier usually comes after the noun when it means “last” in the sense of “the one just past.” This is the usual form for “last week,” “last month,” and “last year.”

• La semaine dernière, nous avons vu Paul. “We saw Paul last week.”
• Elle a déménagé l’année dernière. “She moved last year.”
• Ils sont arrivés le mois dernier. “They arrived last month.”
• J’ai travaillé tard hier soir et toute la journée précédente. “I worked late last night and all of the previous day.”
• Tu étais malade les jours derniers. “You were ill in the last few days.”

The meaning comes from the time word and the context. For instance, le mois dernier usually means “last month,” the month before this one. With a set time span, it can mean “the previous month” in that span.

• Le mois dernier, j’étais à Lyon. “Last month, I was in Lyon.”
• J’ai passé le mois dernier à préparer l’examen. “I spent the previous month preparing for the exam.”

Before the noun: the final or latest one

Before a noun, dernier often means “the final one” in a series or period. It can also mean “latest” when talking about something new or recent, such as a book, film, or news item.

• C’est le dernier jour de nos vacances. “It’s the last day of our holiday.”
• La dernière semaine du cours est très chargée. “The final week of the course is very busy.”
• Elle a lu le dernier chapitre du livre. “She read the last chapter of the book.”
• Ils ont vu le dernier film de la réalisatrice. “They saw the director’s latest film.”
• As-tu entendu les dernières nouvelles ? “Have you heard the latest news?”
• Il veut toujours avoir le dernier mot. “He always wants to have the last word.”

The time word matters. Compare these pairs:

• J’ai appelé le dernier jour. “I called on the final day.”
• J’ai appelé le jour dernier. “I called the previous day.” This wording is uncommon in many settings; la veille is more usual for “the day before.”
• Le dernier mois de l’année est décembre. “The final month of the year is December.”
• Le mois dernier, nous avons eu beaucoup de pluie. “Last month, we had a lot of rain.”
• Pendant la dernière semaine du séjour, il a plu. “It rained during the final week of the stay.”
• La semaine dernière, il a plu. “It rained last week.”

Recent days and weeks

With ces, the phrase ces derniers jours or ces dernières semaines means “these past few days” or “these past few weeks.” Here the adjective comes before the noun, even though the meaning points to a recent stretch of time.

• Ces derniers jours, je dors mal. “I haven’t been sleeping well these past few days.”
• Il a beaucoup plu ces dernières semaines. “It has rained a lot these past few weeks.”
• Ces dernières années, la ville a changé. “The city has changed in recent years.”
• Nous avons parlé de ce sujet ces derniers temps. “We’ve talked about this lately.”

So position is a useful guide, not a rule that works without context. With a set phrase such as ces derniers jours, the meaning is recent time, not the final days of a named period.

“The last time”

For “last time” on its own, both la dernière fois and la fois dernière are used. If “last time” is followed by a clause saying when or how something happened, use la dernière fois que.

• Je l’ai vu la dernière fois. “I saw him last time.”
• Je l’ai vu la fois dernière. “I saw him last time.”
• C’est la dernière fois que je répète ça. “This is the last time I’ll say that.”
• La dernière fois que nous sommes venus, il faisait froid. “The last time we came, it was cold.”

Agreement and other uses

The adjective agrees with the noun, whether it comes before or after it.

• Le dernier train est parti. “The last train has left.”
• La dernière porte est fermée. “The last door is shut.”
• Les derniers trains sont partis. “The last trains have left.”
• Les dernières portes sont fermées. “The last doors are shut.”
• Le train dernier is not the normal way to say “last train”; use le dernier train for the final train, or le train précédent for “the previous train.”

Dernier can also stand in for a noun when the thing or person is already known.

• C’est le dernier. “He’s the last one.”
• Elle a pris la dernière. “She took the last one.”

Synonyms and alternatives

Choose an alternative to match the intended meaning. These words do not all fit the same place in a sentence.

• Précédent or précédente means “previous” and can make the order plain: la semaine précédente means “the previous week.”
• Final or finale means “final” and stresses that something ends a period or event: la décision finale means “the final decision.”
• Récent or récente means “recent.” For “the latest news,” les dernières nouvelles is the usual phrase; les nouvelles récentes means “recent news.”