Today I met

[Bassim]

Please, would you take a look at these sentences and correct my mistakes.

1. Today I have met Tom and John. The former is short and overweight, and the latter is tall and thin.

I am wondering if it is grammatically correct to write:The first is short and overweight, and the second is tall and thin.

 

[5jj]

Neither of your suggestions is natural. We'd probably say, " I met Tom and John today. Tom is short and fat and John is tall and thin.

 

[Bassim]

5jj
Thank you for you answer. I am just wondering if there is any word which I can use instead of repeating "Tom and John" twice.

 

[probus]

There is nothing that works perfectly. You could say "One is short and fat and the other is tall and thin", but that creates an ambiguity about which is which.

 

[emsr2d2]

Today I met John, who is short and fat, and Tom, who is tall and thin.