Hi, I have a question.

Are these words such as 'first', 'final', 'last', 'same', and 'latest' always following 'the'? (One of my friends said this.)

Ex) You are the first.
→ Can I say 'You are first.' ?

Ex) You can go the first.
→ Can I say 'You can go first.' ?

Ex) That is the final sample.
→ Can I say 'That is final.' ?

Ex) That is the last sample.
→ Can I say 'That is the last sample.' ?

Ex) It has the same design.
→ Can I say 'It has same design.' ?

Ex) That is the latest information.
→ Can I say 'That is latest information.' ?

Thank you

Question

Hi, I have a question.

Are these words such as 'first', 'final', 'last', 'same', and 'latest' always following 'the'? (One of my friends said this.)

Ex) You are the first. 
→ Can I say 'You are first.' ?

Ex) You can go the first. 
→ Can I say 'You can go first.' ?

Ex) That is the final sample.  
→ Can I say 'That is final.' ?

Ex) That is the last sample.
→ Can I say 'That is the last sample.' ?

Ex) It has the same design. 
→ Can I say 'It has same design.' ?

Ex) That is the latest information. 
→ Can I say 'That is latest information.' ?

Thank you

Answer

Ordinal numbers and other adjectives of order can also follow possessive adjectives:

my first car

their second home

her third husband

his last day

our final offer

"Same" is usually (but not always) proceeded by "the", and so are superlative adjectives. Only one thing can be the one that's the latest, the biggest, the fastest, the strongest, the most expensive, etc. But sometimes a superlative adjective can also follow a possessive adjective:

my fastest car

his biggest problem

her best feature

their smartest daughter

Answer

Adjectives (first, final, latest) can follow the verb "to be" without "the":
You are first.  (first is an adjective)
You can go first (first used as an adverb modifying "go")
This is final (final is an adjective)
That is last (last is an adjective)
That is the last (last is a noun)

All of these are grammatical:
That is latest.  ("latest" is an adjective). OK
That is the latest. ("latest" is a noun). Better.
That is latest information. ("latest is adjective, "information" is noun") OK
That is the latest information. ("latest is adjective, "information" is noun".  Better.

As you see, many common words have multiple identities as nouns, adjectives, and even adverbs. "Last" is a good example of a word that can do just about anything. It is even a verb!