Both previous and preceding are derived from Latin, and their semantics almost overlap.
The Latin word for previous is praevius, whose prae- means before, and -vius is derived from via, which is road.
preceding is derived from the verb precede, which -cede means action walk.
Therefore, the restlessness of preceding is a bit stronger than that of previous. When preceding a definite article, it expresses "immediately before", as in the preceding night.
previous implies "time or order comes first", so a previous night only needs to come first.
For the above reasons, the definite article is mostly used before preceding, while the preference for definite articles is not particularly obvious in the previous period. As.
Example sentence 1] i've met him before on two previous occasions.[Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English].
Example sentence 2】She has two children from a previous marriage[Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English].
Example sentence 3: The paintings are a development of ideas she explored in the preceding decade[Cambridge Dictionary of Senior Scholars].
Example sentence 4】in conclusion, I hope the preceding arguments h**e convinced you of the need for action[Cambridge Dictionary of Senior Scholars].
Example sentence 5] it had happened during the preceding year[Oxford Dictionary of Senior Scholars].
The previous can be replaced with the preceding (but the rhythm is still stronger), such as.
Example sentence 6] it was a surprisingly dry day after the rain of the previous week[Collins Senior Scholar's Dictionary].
Example sentence 7】He recalled exactly what bob had told him the previous night[Collins Senior Scholar's Dictionary].
Previous can be followed by plural nouns, and the preceding is almost always singular, such as.
Example sentence 8】We had met on two previous occasions[Oxford Dictionary of Senior Scholars].
Example sentence 9】The judge will take into consideration any previous convictions[Oxford Dictionary of Senior Scholars].
Example sentence 10】most previous studies h**e focused on the elderly[Oxford Dictionary of Senior Scholars].
Example sentence 11] today's teens are more health conscious than previous generations.[Oxford Dictionary of Senior Scholars].
Example sentence 12] he has no previous convictions[Collins Senior Scholar's Dictionary].
If there is the preceding time object, then the following time must be in the speaker's mind, but the previous only talks about the "former", that is, there can be no "later", or the speaker does not care, such as.
Example sentence 13: do you h**e any previous experience of this type of work?[Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English].
Example sentence 14】The previous owner of the house had built an extension on the back[Cambridge Dictionary of Senior Scholars].
Example sentence 15] He has two daughters from a previous marriage[Cambridge Dictionary of Senior Scholars].
Example sentence 16】training is provided, so no previous experience is required for the job[Cambridge Dictionary of Senior Scholars].
Example sentence 17] No previous experience is necessary for this job[Oxford Dictionary of Senior Scholars].
Example sentence 18】The car has only had one previous owner[Oxford Dictionary of Senior Scholars].
Example sentence 19] i was unable to attend because of a previous engagement[Oxford Dictionary of Senior Scholars].
Example sentence 20】We dealt with this in a previous chapter[Oxford Dictionary of Senior Scholars].
Example sentence 21] I couldn't believe it when i heard the news. i'd only seen him the previous day.[Oxford Dictionary of Senior Scholars].
Example sentence 22】He went jogging on Friday, despite the doctor's warnings the previous day.[Oxford Dictionary of Senior Scholars].
In addition, the frequency of use of previous is higher than preceding, as shown in the figure.
The preceding in the diagram is not all adjectives, but also includes the case of present participles.