My wife and I are having an argument. Without going into any detail whatsoever, in order to avoid bias, the question is this:
Given that today is Monday, the 29th of December, 2003, what date is specified when someone - today - uses the phrase “next Thursday?” Is it January 1st, 2004, or January 8th, 2004?
I would assume that it is January 8th. I would use ‘this Thursday’ to identify January 1st.
It’s regional, and becoming very mixed. There are websites (sorry no cite) that show maps of which is more common where.
Where I grew up, evryone agreed that next Thursday was the Thursday on the next row of the calendar.
If today is Friday, next Thursday is in 6 days.
If today is Tuesday, next Thursday is in 9 days.
This Thursday is the one on the current row.
If today is Friday and you said “Let’s meet this Thursday” they would say “What do you mean? It’s already Friday.”
But when I moved it became different and I always have to ask for clarification.
Here’s one site that does these type of questions.
Not sure yours is covered, though.
http://www.hcs.harvard.edu/~golder/dialect/maps.php
Sorry, that was more on pronunciation.
But this page seems to be right on target, with stats for you two to mull over.
If that was said to me I would assume you meant the 8th of January.
“Last Thursday” = Most recently passed Thursday.
“This Thursday” = The closest future Thursday.
“Next Thursday” = The next closest future Thursday.
“Last week” = Most recently completed week.
“This week” = The current week, yet to be completed.
“Next week” = The closest future entire week.
Thus, if it is Friday, “this Thursday” does not belong to “this week”, but rather, to “next week”.
Illogical, but this is the way it is commonly used in this part of the world.
Ditto for me (South African living in London)…
I think that I use “this Thursday” to mean “Thursday of this week” and “next Thursday” to mean “Thursday of next week”, so on a Friday, “this Thursday” would have no meaning. And “yesterday” is just so much easier to use…
Grim
So, almost everybody (except a few people in Molson’s second link) uses “next Thursday” as my wife does. Hmmm.
Just to clarify, I try to avoid saying “next Thursday” anyway, because of the potential for confusion. When people say it to me, however, my assumption was that they were talking about whatever thursday happened to be next (as opposed to “next week’s Thursday,” which is what most of you are refering to). To me, “this coming Thursday,” and “next Thursday” refer to the same date, but I try to use the former phrase to avoid ambiguity. The phrase “a week from Thursday” is the same as your “next Thursday,” unless, of course, I say “a week from this past Thursday,” but since I’ve got “this coming Thursday,” why would I say such a thing?
You know what? I’m just going to carry a calendar from now on, and use dates only.
Oh. My. God. Me, is that you?
Add to the mix that, to avoid confusion, I know people who say “Thursday next” to specifically mean the one on the next row down (7+ days away). I use “This Thursday” to mean the one that’s coming soonest, and “Last Thursday” to mean the most recent one that’s passed.
Depending on context, “next Thursday” and “Thursday next” can be the same day – on a Friday, and during the weekend, sure. Monday afternoon, though, “Thursday next” alerts the listener that something bizarre is afoot, and his assumption that I mean “this Thursday” is probably wrong. Even on Monday afternoon, “next Thursday” means a week and change away. I think you’re right.
All that said, when speaking to your wife, simply say it in a way she will understand, and clarify it in a peaceful way–you may want to just say “on Thursday, the eighth”. And when she says “next Friday night” to you, ask for clarification if something truly important is happening (anniversary, big game, sex) so that you will continue to have them (anniversaries, someone to watch the big game with, sex).
You want harmony in the house?
You’re married and you don’t know the answer by now?
Let’s not make things more difficult than they already are. Here’s the deal:
Today is Monday, December 29th. To specify any day between tomorrow and Monday, January 5th just say “tomorrow” or the day. ie: “I’m not going to work tomorrow”, or “Let’s meet for lunch on Friday”.
If you want to specify a date between Tuesday, January 6th and Monday, January 12th just say “a week from tomorrow” or “a week from Saturday”, etc."
Anything after that use the day and date.
No more confusion, right?
…Right?? :dubious:
Hmm… next Thursday is Thursday on the next row of the calendar. But if today is Saturday, then next Sunday isn’t tomorrow, it’s the following Sunday.
Similarly, last Thursday is Thursday on the previous row. But if today is Sunday, the last Sunday isn’t yesterday, it’s the previous Sunday.
Bah. That should be “last Saturday”.
I would say “next Thursday” means Thursday next week. But it is confusing, and I would usually clarify.
When’s next January?
My sister’s mob are in the ‘next isn’t the next one but the next one after that’ camp, and that stumped 'em.
Further, there’s the past tense to worry about. Consider the difference between “we had a meeting this thursday” and “we are having a meeting this thursday”.
In my mind, on a saturday:
“we had a meeting last thursday” = 9 days ago
“we had a meeting this thursday” = 2 days ago
“we are having a meeting this thursday” = 5 days from now
“we are having a meeting next thursday” = 12 days from now
If you’re not convinced of the tenuousness of most people’s definitions of “next thursday”, ask yourself what the difference is between the phrases “next thursday” and “the next thursday.” Why would “the” change the definition?
In general, I try to avoid confusion by clarifying DaveW-style.
ntucker wrote:
Right. For me, the two phrases are the same, always. For my wife (and many people here) they are sometimes the same (on Fridays, for example), and othertimes different (on Tuesdays).
Although, if the phrase implied by “next thursday” to many people is “next week’s Thursday”, then “the next week’s Thursday” doesn’t change the meaning. No matter what, I’m getting really interested in how “next Thursday” acquired so much required interpretation. Certainly, the “rules” which need to be mentally followed when figuring out “next week’s Thursday” appear to be far more complex than those needed to calculate a date for “the very next Thursday one encounters on the calendar after today.” For example, two people have to agree on which day of the week is “first” if they want to talk about the “next” one of those days, and not get confused.
For those of you whose usage matches my wife’s: if, in January 2004, someone says “next December,” does it mean “December of 2004” or “December of 2005?” If the former, why is there not an analogous “next year in the calendar” to the “next week on the calendar” for weekdays?
Of course, I know that expecting consistency in language is asking a hell of a lot…
This is how it seems to me. When I say “next Thursday” I mean next week’s Thursday. That’s because this week’s Thursday is “this Thursday.”
Since this week’s Thursday is “this Thursday” it can’t also be “next Thursday.”
As for the “next January” thing, I think it’s fuzzy because it’s so seldom used. I don’t have much need to talk about “this January” and “next January.” I would usually just say “we’ll do that in January” without saying “this” or “next.”
I would also guess that the phrase “the next Thursday” makes people stop and think more closely about what it means. “The” makes things more specific and technical. So if you say we’ll have a meeting “next Thursday,” I don’t think about it very carefully, and assume you mean next week. If you say we’ll have a meeting on “the next Thursday,” I’ll think about it more precisely.
Of course in the end it’s all just a bunch of assumptions, and it does vary by region. Around here a lot of people try to clarify by using the phrase “this coming Thursday.”