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Joined: May 2008
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stranger
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OP
stranger
Joined: May 2008
Posts: 6 |
Is there rhyme or reason to the way Americans use 'this' and 'next' when referring to days of the week?
Today is Monday (May 5).
What date is this Wednesday?
And what date is next Wednesday?
Steffani
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Joined: Apr 2000
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Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
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>Is there rhyme or reason to the way Americans use 'this' and 'next'
in my experience, no.
this is not to say that there *shouldn't be, rhyme or reason.
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Joined: Dec 2000
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Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
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I'd say, today being Monday, May 5, that this Wednesday is May 7 and next Wednesday is probably May 14. I might also refer to May 7 as "this coming Wednesday." If today were Thursday, May 8, I'd probably say that next Wednesday was May 14, but if talking about May 7, I'd probably say "this past Wednesday" if there weren't something else that unequivocally identified the day as May 7. Maybe on Saturday, May 3 or even Sunday, May 4 I might say that next Wednesday and this Wednesday were the same date, i.e., May 7. These distinctions are mine and I would not necessarily expect other USns to have the same criteria. If I thought there was any possibility of confusion in the mind of my audience I'd specify the date. If some other USn spoke of next Wednesday or this Wednesday I'd confirm the date.
Is that confusing enough?
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old hand
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old hand
Joined: Feb 2008
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>Is there rhyme or reason to the way Americans use 'this' and 'next'
in my experience, no.
this is not to say that there *shouldn't be, rhyme or reason. Not for Australians either. In fact I and the Pookwife disagree over the use and meaning of the words "next" and "this" in this context. If it were Monday and I said "next Friday" I would mean the same thing as if I said "this Friday" - that is, the NEXT Friday that comes, or this coming Friday, same thing. But if she said "next Friday" she would always mean Friday next week.
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Joined: Apr 2000
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Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Apr 2000
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at least each of you can explain yourself in a consistent manner, whereas... 
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Joined: Dec 2006
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old hand
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old hand
Joined: Dec 2006
Posts: 956 |
But if she said "next Friday" she would always mean Friday next week. I would tend to agree with the Pookwife. Though I would also use Friday week to reference the following Friday after the next Friday which is ... you get the picture!
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Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Jun 2002
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Fald lays out pretty well what I say.
formerly known as etaoin...
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Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
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I agree with the Pookwife!
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old hand
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old hand
Joined: Feb 2008
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Well I still think that to be totally unambiguous and avoid misunderstandings it is necessary to say Friday next week if you mean that rather than meaning this Friday, which is what 'next Friday' is logically if it's the next Friday to arrive. If you say next Friday on Wednesday someone will always take it to mean the Friday in two days' time.
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old hand
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old hand
Joined: Feb 2008
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Gotta chuckle about this one! I always have arguments with my 15 year-old about this. For me, it's simple: If I say "this" it means in the current week; if I say "next", it means in the following week. I see the use of "next" here as distinct from "the next", which is a different beast. Since this is by no means standard, I sometimes clarify with "this coming", especially when, say, it's Monday, and I'm talking about Sunday. But I've never totally missed something from confusion about it, but probably because people use dates. Which, by the way, the entire world does sensibly, EXCEPT the US, with our M/D/Y nonsense instead of the logical D/M/Y. :0)
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