When is "next Friday"?

Question

0If it’s Tuesday  and someone says “next Friday”, which Friday do they mean—the nearest Friday (three  days from now), or the Friday of the next week (nine days from now)?02br02br00As much as  my question may seem stupid and the meaning of “next” obvious, the usual translation  for “next” to my native language would mean the latter in the context above…0-

Westlake · Accepted Answer

0 Next friday means the Friday of next week.02br
00This friday means the Friday of this week.0-

Philip · Answer

0 01blockquote

01cite10Westlake12cite10Next friday means the Friday of next week.12br
10This friday means the Friday of this week.12br
12blockquote

11b01font00This is my interpretation as well. However, I often find people asking, just for the sake of certainty, with something like "this coming Friday?".02font02b00 0-

Tidus · Answer

0I get that as well sometimes. It's because they think that 'next' friday literally means the next Friday, so if it's currently Tues, they think it's the Fri at the end of the week that you mean rather than the Friday of the next week.02br
02br
00Another thing people sometimes say is "Friday week" - it means the same as next Friday. 0-

Clive · Answer

0Hi,02br
02br
00This is a tricky point. Here's a quick and brief comment.02br
02br
00To me, on Tuesday 'next Friday' most likely means the coming Friday of the same week.02br
02br
00However, on Thurday 'next Friday' suggest to me the Friday of the following week, since for tomorrow one would naturally say 'tomorrow'.02br
02br
00As I said, it's a complicated little topic.02br
02br
00Best wishes, Clive0-

Tidus · Answer

0 But then, if that was the case Clive, you would just say "see you on Friday", whereas "see you next Friday" means not this one coming but the one after. 0-

Clive · Answer

0Hi,02br
02br
01font00But then, if that was the case Clive, you would just say "see you on Friday" 02font00I might, and I might not. I say it both ways.02br
02br
01font00whereas "see you next Friday" means not this one coming but the one after. 00Well, this is the point we are debating, isn't it? In my opinion, different people tend to have different ideas about this. Obviously, you and I do.05002font02br
02br
01font00Language is not always bound by logic. Anyway, I would argue that, logically speaking, 'next Friday' mens the Friday that comes next after the day of speaking. But, as I said, it's not just a matter of logic.02font02br
02br
01font00Best wishes, Clive 02font010id1

Tidus · Answer

0 Certainly in the UK the vast majority of people take next friday to mean the Friday of next week.  Some regions have variations of the expression, and say things like "Fri week" (which means the same thing) and might question "next fri" if they've never heard it before.  But it never, ever, means the coming Friday. 0-

Eimai_Anglos · Answer

0 Darn! No wonder I keep turning up on the wrong day. 0-

Anonymous · Answer

In a statement like "not this Friday but next Friday" there is context the provides the necessary understanding to allow the use of the term next Friday. To use next Friday without this context to mean more than 6 days from now would imply that there is an unspoken "this" somewhere to provide the context. How about "I will provide the right answer the Friday after next". Hum I wonder that is ? It occurs to me that the wrong question is being asked. The right question might be, should the term next Friday be used at all. The answer is obvious by the existence of this thread.

Anonymous · Answer

Hey, you have a good reason for not understanding this English trap due to being clever and bi - lingual, many English only speakers have weird ideas about this phrase and using basic logical explanations with them seems to stress them out further.

In English your example of the "next" Friday would be exactly that, "being the very next Friday."

The explanation is based on a thorough understanding of what the precursor word "next" actually means....

I were waiting in a shop for service and it was my turn to be served and the store keeper said "Next Please," l'm confident that he means me and not the person behind me......

If you were invited to sit next to a friend at a restaurant, do you think they would expect you to sit two seats away from them?? If you parked next to a friends car is that two car parks away or nect to them?

If your driving your cream Aston Martin 2 door coupe and James Bod advised you take the next left hand turn, would you instead drive past the first left turn and instead turn into the second left corner?

If a footy game win hinges on the next goal do they mean the first goal kicked or the 2nd goal kicked?

Most people referring to a Friday appointment (9th) and there being a Friday (2nd) before that appointment, would set and speak to this appointment on the 9th as being Friday week. ie, A week from the next Friday..

When is "next Friday"?

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