The phrase "the former were" is grammatically correct and can be used in written English.
Example: "The former were students of this university, but now they are successful professionals in their respective fields."
Nevertheless, the former were rated as much less speechlike than the latter.
The former were unselected except for freedom from any significant ophthalmological disease.
The former were to be embraced; the latter, eliminated.
Students told the former were less likely to remember their statements' content.
The former were selected for further permeability studies using Caco-2 cells.
The former were studied both in their "free" state and "ligated" one, i.e., bound to nanoparticles.
The former were found to be reactive at the temperatures studied.
L. 109 163 which also provided that references to the former were deemed to refer to the latter.
The former were certainly on display at that moment, but so was the latter.
The former were considered "gentlemen", while the latter were "in trade".
Instead, the former were bent on conquering and exterminating the latter.
