Last week

USAGE SUMMARY

The phrase "Last week" is correct and usable in written English. You can use it to refer to the week immediately preceding the current one. For example, "Last week, I attended a conference." Alternative expressions include "the previous week" and "the week before."

✓ Grammatically correct

News & Media

Human-verified examples from authoritative sources

Exact Expressions

7 human-written examples

Referred to in court as D, she entered a not guilty plea to a charge of intimidation last week while wearing a niqab after the judge backed down from a previous decision that she would have to show her face to be properly identified.

The Guardian

"Scoring is not up, but injuries are up," Tallon said of the current rule last week.

The New York Times

Gray only last week said Rudd was able to "get himself into the media … what he can't do is govern and what he can't do is lead the Labor party".

The Guardian

Fewer than 100 cases of Ebola have been reported in west Africa in the last week, according to the World Health Organisation, which says the outbreak has now effectively moved into the endgame.

The Guardian

Gina McCarthy, who heads the EPA, said in a press call last week that her agency had found that 80% of small business owners supported the rule, as did a majority of those individuals and organizations who submitted public comments in the run-up to the rule's introduction.

The Guardian

In last week's release Populaire, the suave Romain Duris character is asked to stop smoking in the office by the new secretary, played by Déborah François.

The Guardian - Film

Human-verified similar examples from authoritative sources

Similar Expressions

53 human-written examples

The last one was in 1989.

The Economist

His record - two cups within six months of his appointment, a domestic treble in his first full season, a second title in 2005 and reaching the last 16 of the Champions League - set the context for a rueful but masterfully understated parting comment: "I'm sure those people who look at the facts will say that during a period of downsizing, I was reasonably successful".

The Guardian - Sport

The order book was down slightly at £3.6bn from the last update in June but well ahead of the £3.3bn reported this time last year.

The Guardian - Business

Last year, during David Cameron's trip to Beijing, the same paper announced that Britain was "just an old European country apt [that is, suitable] for travel and study".

The Guardian - Opinion

"It's only what happened a couple of weeks ago or next week that matters.

The Guardian - Sport

Expert writing Tips

Best practice

Use "Last week" (without 'the') to refer to the calendar week immediately preceding the current one. For example: 'I went to the store last week'.

Common error

Avoid using 'the last week' when you mean the previous calendar week. 'The last week' usually implies the most recent seven-day duration (e.g., 'Prices have risen in the last week') rather than the specific block of Monday through Sunday that just ended.

Linguistic Context

In the examples provided by Ludwig, "Last week" functions primarily as a temporal adverbial phrase. It modifies the verb by specifying when an action occurred. According to Ludwig AI, it does not typically require a preposition like 'in' or 'during' when used to denote the previous calendar week.

Expression frequency: Common

Frequent in

News & Media

85%

Formal & Business

10%

Science

5%

Less common in

Academia

3%

Reference

1%

Social Media

1%

Ludwig's WRAP-UP

The phrase "Last week" is a staple of English temporal expression, correctly used to denote the week immediately preceding the current one. Ludwig data confirms its prevalence in high-quality journalism, where it acts as a precise anchor for events. While often interchangeable with "the previous week" in formal contexts, the simple version is more direct. Ludwig AI highlights the importance of distinguishing it from 'the last week', which refers to a rolling duration of seven days. Overall, it is a grammatically standard, versatile, and essential phrase for any writer.

More alternative expressions

Phrases that express similar concepts, ordered by semantic similarity:

The previous week

More formal and often used in narrative or reporting contexts

The week before

Commonly used in relative time scales or past perfect constructions

In the past seven days

Refers to a rolling duration rather than a specific calendar block

The preceding week

Very formal and often found in legal or academic texts

A week ago

Points to a specific moment exactly seven days prior

The week prior

Stresses the order of events in a series

The week just gone

A more colloquial or British English phrasing

Lately

Less specific and covers a broader recent timeframe

Recently

Indicates a general point in the near past without a fixed date

The week ending

Specifically used in data reporting and financial contexts

FAQs

What is the difference between 'last week' and 'the last week'?

Use "Last week" to refer to the previous calendar week. Use "in the last week" to refer to the seven days leading up to today.

How do I use "Last week" in a sentence?

It functions as an adverbial phrase. For example: 'We finished the project "last week"' or 'The results were announced "last week"'.

Should "Last week" be capitalized?

No, it should remain lowercase unless it appears at the start of a sentence or as part of a specific title.

Can I say "the previous week" instead?

Yes, "the previous week" is an excellent, more formal alternative, especially when writing in the past tense about an even earlier event.