on this Friday

Question

I know that #1 is correct, #2 is incorrect.

1. I will call you next Friday.
2. I will call you on next Friday.

However, which of the following is correct:

3. I will call you this Friday.
4. I will call you on this Friday.

Also, what's the difference between:

5. I saw him last week.
6. I saw him in the last week.

Thanks.

Ricky

Paco2004 · Accepted Answer

Anonymous1. I will call you next Friday.
2. I will call you on next Friday.
3. I will call you this Friday.
4. I will call you on this Friday.
5. I saw him last week.
6. I saw him in the last week.

Hello Ricky

#1, #3 and #5 are natural. #2, #4 and #6 are not idiomatic.

The time expression is very messy in English.

[Use AT] We have to use AT with :
(1) clock times (EX) at six o'clock
(2) religious festivals (EX) at Christmas, at Easter
(3) mealtimes (EX) at breakfast, at lunch, at dinner, at dinner time
(4) other specific time (EX) at night, at the weekend , at weekends, at half-term

[Use IN] We have to use IN with
(1) seasons (EX) in (the) summer, in (the) winter
(2) years and centuries (EX) in 2005, in the 21st century, in the next century
(3) periods in history (EX) in the Middle Ages
(4) months (EX) in February, in November
(5) parts of the day (EX) in the morning(s), in the afternoon(s), in the evening(s)
(6) certain expressions of future time.(EX) in the near future, in the next few days, in the coming months, in two weeks' time, in a year from now, in a few minutes

[Use ON] Formally we have to use ON with
(1) days, dates (EX) on Sunday, on Thursday, on March 19th 1986, on January 1st.
(2) special days (EX) on Christmas Day, on New Year's Eve, on my birthday.
(3) any time phrase which contains the word "day" (EX) on Monday morning, on Friday night.
But these ONs in day expressions are quite often omitted, especially in spoken English and newspapers' articles.

[Use no preposition] We do not use a preposition with the following time expressions
(1) this evening, that day, this week, this Sunday, this year
(2) last night, last week, last March, next Friday
(3) every evening, all weekend, any Sunday, every August, each year
(4) today, tomorrow, tomorrow night, yesterday, yesterday evening
(5) the day after tomorrow, the day before yesterday, the week before last, the week after next

paco

Anonymous · Answer

Dear Paco,

Thanks for your help. I search google for #4 and #6.
There are 133,000 and 4,850,000 hits respectively.
I don't remember where I heard it, but some people said
"I saw him last year" means
"I saw him in 2004",
while "I saw him in the last year" means
"I saw him in the period from Nov 14, 2004 to Nov 13, 2005",
assuming it's Nov 14, 2005 today.
Is it true?

Thanks.

Ricky

Paco2004 · Answer

Hello Anon

I think you can use "in the last year" in that sense like below.

Mary: "Do you still see Jack often?"
Betty: "No, I've seen him only twice in the last year"

paco

Davkett · Answer

Paco2004But these ONs in day expressions are quite often omitted, especially in spoken English and newspapers' articles.

'I will call you on Friday' is not uncommon around here.

on this Friday

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