when I did this quiz I was marked incorrect when I chose "fois derniere"
but the lesson says I'm right. Dernier fois means last time as in "final time"?
Paul,
‘ La dernière fois ‘ is a special case as noted in the linked lesson. When followed by a relative clause only ‘ la dernière fois ‘ can be used.
Although the English sentence can omit ‘ that ‘, in French ‘ que ‘ cannot be omitted and therefore the translation commences ‘ La dernière fois qu’il est venu …..’ ie there is a relative clause following ‘ la dernière fois ‘.
As the expression ‘ la dernière fois ‘ can be used in all applicable circumstances, whereas ‘ la fois dernière ‘ is restricted, it is a safer bet for non-native speakers to use ‘ la dernière fois ’ , at least to start with.
Have another look under section 3 of the lesson linked :
Dernier = final/previous (French Adjectives that change meaning according to position)
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