former girlfriend

[azz]

Do 'his old girlfriend', 'his former girlfriend' and 'his previous girlfriend' mean the last girlfriend he had before the current one (or if he is single now, the last one he ever dated), or could these expressions refer to any of his former girlfriends?

Many thanks.

 

[GoesStation]

His previous girlfriend means the one before the current one. The other two mean any girlfriend before the current one. Be careful though: a previous girlfriend also means any one before the current one.

 

[emsr2d2]

"Ex-girlfriend/boyfriend/wife/husband" are used in BrE to refer to any partner before the current one or, if the person is now single, simply any previous partner.

 

[Tdol]

Or just ex- my ex, his ex, etc.

 

[Roman55]

Although I agree with everybody's comments on this, I feel that if I were to say, 'my old girlfriend' I would be referring to my last girlfriend. If I didn't mean that I would say, 'one of my old girlfriends'.