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Ricky06 Posted 20 years ago
Grammar

last and next Sunday

0 Assume that today is Feb 14 (Tue). If I say "I came here last Sunday", will native English speakers interpret it as Feb 12 or Feb 5? How about "I will come here next Saturday"? Will it be Feb 18 or Feb 25? Is there a definite way to avoid ambiguity? Thanks.02br
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00 Ricky0-
  

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12 Answers
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0No definite way of avoiding ambiguity, except to short-circuit it by stating the date or otherwise defining it (e.g. 01i00the day before yesterday02i00).0-
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0With your example, the listener should be able to figure out what day it was; or will be. There is no ambiguity there. However, if I am planning a meeting or schedule for imporatnt matter, I alwasy state the time, date of the week and the month so that no one will have an excuse for nothing showing up or being on time. 0-
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0 In that context, "last" means "nearest in the past"; "next" means "nearest in the future".02br
00 I've never known a case where the speaker meant anything other than that.02br
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00 CJ0-
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0 01blockquote
01cite10CalifJim12cite10In that context, "last" means "nearest in the past"; "next" means "nearest in the future".12br
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10 That'd mean "I will come next Saturday" is the same as "I will come this Saturday". Somehow I feel that it's not quite right because "next Sat" should be interpreted as "th
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0 I think so. "I will come next Saturday" and "I will come this Saturday." mean the nearest Saturday. 0-
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0 I think most of the people I converse with take "next Saturday" and "this Saturday" to mean the same day. I think I'll ask around and see what people say! The closer Saturday is to today, the greater tendency there is to use "this" instead of "next". Certainly though, on Saturday itself "this Saturday" is today and "next Saturday" is a week from today. But on Saturday "today" is more
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0Hi guys,02br
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00This is a confusing area for English learners, although it is something that we talk about every day. Perhaps learners wonder how we English speakers ever manage to understand each other when we speak about such things.02br
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00Let me add another thought to the discussion. Assume that today is Feb 13 (Mon.). If I want to speak of Su
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01cite10Clive12cite10Hi guys,12br
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10This is a confusing area for English learners, although it is something that we talk about every day. Perhaps learners wonder how we English speakers ever manage to understand each other when we speak about such things.12br
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10Let me add another thought
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0Hi Krish,02br
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00That's useful to know. I have several Tamil immigrant students.02br
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00Thanks, Clive 0-
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01cite10Clive12cite10Hi Krish,12br
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10That's useful to know. I have several Tamil immigrant students.12br
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10Thanks, Clive 12br
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10That's a great news, Clive.0-
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