# If today is Monday the 9th, then... **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [May 9, 2011, 10:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-today-is-monday-the-9th-then/581344 "2011-05-09T22:59:30Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![guizot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guizot/32/3636_2.png) [@guizot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/guizot)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2011, 10:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-today-is-monday-the-9th-then/581344/1 "2011-05-09T22:59:30Z")
…what do you call the 14th and 15th collectively? A “this weekend” (I never say “next weekend” for these days) B “next weekend” (at least sometimes) C I never say “next weekend” (that always means the 21st and 22nd) D “this weekend” or “next weekend” (no difference to me) E I say “next weekend,” but at some point between now and then I change it to “this weekend” Please answer honestly. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2011, 11:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-today-is-monday-the-9th-then/581344/2 "2011-05-09T23:01:01Z")
“This coming weekend.” ---
**Author:** ![guizot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guizot/32/3636_2.png) [@guizot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/guizot)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2011, 11:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-today-is-monday-the-9th-then/581344/3 "2011-05-09T23:08:48Z")
> [@Thudlow\_Boink](#): > > “This coming weekend.” That option is very deliberately left out, for obvious reasons. ---
**Author:** ![hogarth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hogarth/32/1773_2.png) [@hogarth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hogarth)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2011, 11:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-today-is-monday-the-9th-then/581344/4 "2011-05-09T23:10:47Z")
I think I mostly say “this weekend”, but I’m sure I’ve said “next weekend” at least once or twice. So I’m not sure what I’m supposed to vote for; I put “at least sometimes”, but I think it’s pretty rare. If I want to specify the second weekend after today, I use a longer circumlocution (e.g. “not this coming weekend, but the one after that”). ---
**Author:** ![Derleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Derleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Derleth)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2011, 11:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-today-is-monday-the-9th-then/581344/5 "2011-05-09T23:24:09Z")
> [@guizot](#): > > That option is very deliberately left out, for obvious reasons. ‘Obvious’ meaning ‘you didn’t think of it’, then? ---
**Author:** ![Yllaria](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yllaria/32/3452_2.png) [@Yllaria](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yllaria)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2011, 11:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-today-is-monday-the-9th-then/581344/6 "2011-05-09T23:31:06Z")
I’m guessing ‘this coming weekend’ is too precise to cause confusion and he’s calculating his odds of being misunderstood with two less pinned down phrases. I usually say ‘this weekend’, and it’s this weekend as soon as last weekend is over. If someone says next weekend, I assume they mean this weekend, although I may ask for clarification. The later in the week it is, the more likely I’d be to ask for clarification. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2011, 11:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-today-is-monday-the-9th-then/581344/7 "2011-05-09T23:35:35Z")
The only problem I have with “this weekend,” is that, at least on Monday, it could be interpreted as “last weekend.” As in, it’s Monday morning, and you might ask someone “What did you do this weekend?” So I’d use “next weekend,” until a little later in the week. ---
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2011, 11:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-today-is-monday-the-9th-then/581344/8 "2011-05-09T23:45:55Z")
Hereabouts we’d call the aforementioned dates _this coming weekend_, and refer to Saturday the 7th & Sunday the 8th as _this last weekend_. The 14th & 15th become _this weekend_ on Friday. ---
**Author:** ![chizzuk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e36b37/32.png) [@chizzuk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chizzuk)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2011, 12:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-today-is-monday-the-9th-then/581344/9 "2011-05-10T00:32:34Z")
I say “this” if it’s the first one of those days that will come to pass in the specified interval. I say “next” if at least one more of those days will pass before the one I am talking about. So, since there is not an intervening weekend between the 14th and 15th, it’s “this weekend.” Right now, Monday the 16th is “next Monday” to me, since there’s still a little bit of the current Monday intervening, but once today is finished, the 16th will be “this Monday.” ---
**Author:** ![Leaper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/4bbf92/32.png) [@Leaper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaper)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2011, 12:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-today-is-monday-the-9th-then/581344/10 "2011-05-10T00:35:01Z")
> [@panache45](#): > > The only problem I have with “this weekend,” is that, at least on Monday, it could be interpreted as “last weekend.” As in, it’s Monday morning, and you might ask someone “What did you do this weekend?” Wha? I’d _never_ say that. Why would you ever say anything but “last weekend”? 😕 ---
**Author:** ![Cheesesteak](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cheesesteak/32/3694_2.png) [@Cheesesteak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cheesesteak)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2011, 1:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-today-is-monday-the-9th-then/581344/11 "2011-05-10T13:36:14Z")
> [@Leaper](#): > > Why would you ever say anything but “last weekend”? 😕 It’s not even that confusing, since the past tense is used, and the context is about what you have done in the past, it can’t be for a future date. Until I bought that time machine next weekend, of course. I’m basically with chizzuk, though things like “next Monday” can mean the Monday that occurs next week. I would generally just say “Monday” with a future tense/context, and possibly “Monday after next” for the week following, though at that point, using the date is more clear. ---
**Author:** ![Freudian\_Slit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@Freudian\_Slit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freudian_Slit)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2011, 1:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-today-is-monday-the-9th-then/581344/12 "2011-05-10T13:43:57Z")
> [@Leaper](#): > > Wha? > > I’d _never_ say that. Why would you ever say anything but “last weekend”? 😕 Because it’s so close to this week that it’s practically still here. Or something. I hear it all the time. I voted for D. I use them both interchangeably but I’ve also used “this” for “last.” ---
**Author:** ![ShibbOleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/848f3c/32.png) [@ShibbOleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ShibbOleth)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2011, 2:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-today-is-monday-the-9th-then/581344/13 "2011-05-10T14:41:35Z")
It’s next weekend until it happens\*, at which point it becomes this weekend and the 21st/22nd becomes next weekend. \*That might start on Friday, not Saturday. Why wait until Saturday for the weekend? ---
**Author:** ![kapri](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/4491bb/32.png) [@kapri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kapri)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2011, 3:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-today-is-monday-the-9th-then/581344/14 "2011-05-10T15:21:20Z")
Either. For the weekend of the 21/22, I’d say “the weekend after next.” ---
**Author:** ![Crackrat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/919ad9/32.png) [@Crackrat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crackrat)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2011, 4:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-today-is-monday-the-9th-then/581344/15 "2011-05-10T16:08:15Z")
I picked the last option, but there’s no hard line and even on Monday I wouldn’t always call the 14th/15th “next weekend”. It’s primarily context dependent. “This weekend I went to the museum” means that I went there on either the 7th or 8th. “This weekend I’m going to the museum” means I’m planning it for the 14th or 15th, but in this sentence I could easily have swapped “this weekend” for “next weekend”. My choice is also dependent on previous conversations. The first time I see someone after a weekend, “this weekend” is more likely to refer to the 7th/8th. Once I’ve discussed that weekend, “this weekend” is more and more likely to refer to the 14th/15th. ---
**Author:** ![BellRungBookShut-CandleSnuffed](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bcef8e/32.png) [@BellRungBookShut-CandleSnuffed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BellRungBookShut-CandleSnuffed)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2011, 6:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-today-is-monday-the-9th-then/581344/16 "2011-05-10T18:02:49Z")
If someone uses “this weekend” the meaning is clear. As mentioned, this weekend plus past tense means the weekend that just went by. This weekend plus present tense means the coming weekend. But because next weekend means different things to different people, you can’t always tell if it’s the coming weekend or the one after it. Fortunately, as with most ambiguities in language, they are usually clarified with a few extra words. ---
**Author:** ![Kimmy\_Gibbler](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Kimmy\_Gibbler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimmy_Gibbler)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2011, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-today-is-monday-the-9th-then/581344/17 "2011-05-10T18:06:33Z")
> [@Thudlow\_Boink](#): > > “This coming weekend.” +1. These very words. ---
**Author:** ![Kimmy\_Gibbler](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Kimmy\_Gibbler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimmy_Gibbler)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2011, 6:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-today-is-monday-the-9th-then/581344/18 "2011-05-10T18:12:48Z")
> [@Yllaria](#): > > I’m guessing ‘this coming weekend’ is too precise to cause confusion and he’s calculating his odds of being misunderstood with two less pinned down phrases. Is he trying to hedge his response to an invitation for some weekend plans? Because the above only makes sense if he wants to keep just a _soupçon_ of ambiguity in his response. If, on the other hand, he wants to remove all doubt, he could use: “this coming weekend” ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2011, 6:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-today-is-monday-the-9th-then/581344/19 "2011-05-10T18:36:58Z")
On a Monday, especially, “this weekend” suggests to me the weekend which has just ended. I would likely say “next weekend” until about Wednesday, when I would start calling the coming weekend “this weekend.” ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2011, 8:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-today-is-monday-the-9th-then/581344/20 "2011-05-10T20:19:59Z")
I voted the first one, but due to the ambiguity you mention, I usually will say “this coming weekend.” I also will not say “last weekend” at that point either, but “this past weekend.” I may even avoid the adjectives altogether if tense makes it clear. “I will go to the part this weekend.” “I went to the park this weekend.” The latter I am less likely to say, because it just sounds wrong. And I likely will actually use “this weekend” and “last weekend” at Wednesday, but Tuesday’s generally okay. It just can’t be yesterday. EDIT: And now that I’ve read the thread, I see everything I wanted to say had been said. (In polls, I like to not bias myself) Great minds think alike? Or have I actually found my common sense? [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-today-is-monday-the-9th-then/581344.md?page=2)