When is next Saturday?

Brayson Thoughtless Bottle wrote: »

Totally disagree the vast majority of people I know would correctly refer to the 28th of May as "next saturday" until the you are nearing the end of the week when it becomes this Saturday.

It's not correct though. It's somewhat common and somewhat understandable, but it's not correct.

Brayson Thoughtless Bottle wrote: »

In virtually every single walk of like "next" means the very next thing why are people thinking it should be different for days.

the_pen_turner wrote: »

when the system is written down it makes some sense but when someone says next Saturday the system is out the window because not everybody uses the same system.

it may be perfectly correct but it is stupid to have next meaning one thing in relation to days and mean something else when used for other things like the example of roads.


its all about context and perspective. both of which are easily interpreted differently..

You and many others are confusing "next" and "the next." "The next" refers to the upcoming element of some sequence, e.g. "Take the next left."

But "next" on its own is mainly used in time phrases, and is always used to refer to a time period that's the next one in the sequence, or, and this is important, something occuring within the time period that's next in the sequence. For example, next Saturday is the Saturday of next week, the next week after this one.

That's the origin of the form, and how it's most-commonly used and is accepted by experts.

A good contrast to demonstrate the difference between "next..." and "the next..." is that between "the next year" and the "next year."

"The next year" means the 12 months directly after now, i.e. 25 May 2016 - 24 May 2017.

"Next year" means the next year in this sequence of years, i.e. 2017.

"This Saturday" and "Next Saturday" mean the same to me. I'd use "Next" at the beginning of the week, and "This" more towards the end of the week. Would also use "On Saturday" (not "On a Saturday") which definitely means the next coming Saturday. I think I'm confused now myself :eek:

Had never heard of "Saturday week" until I came to Ireland, but I like that expression. It's when people start saying things like "Last Saturday week" or even "Last Saturday fortnight" that I really get confused

I'd just call it yesterday, but I'm a simple man.

This Saturday is the next Saturday that's on its way. Same difference.

Saturday week is a whole nuther kettle of kippers.

The King of Moo wrote: »

To you that might be true, and I'm not criticising you for that because I can understand the logic, but what I'm saying is that language experts say that the accepted meaning of "next Saturday" is "the Saturday of next week."

I work in the English-language teaching industry, and no-one I know would agree with you. They might understand your reasoning, but they would never teach students that.

English language teacher here with more than a decade of experience and I disagree with you.

I absolutely would teach my students that it might be used in that way, and that they should be aware of that usage also.

It's fine to say that to you "next Saturday" means "the next Saturday," but you can't speak for all English speakers and declare it to be correct.

Given the different understandings of the terms evident on this thread, I'd wonder just how broad the consensus is, and given that you accept the usage is 'somewhat common', I don't think you can make the declaration either.

galljga1 wrote: »

Who are these language experts?@day. In my area and among my peers it is that next Saturday it is the 28th. That is standard. That is common usage in my experience. I have lived and worked in 6 counties and that has always been my experience.

Experts in language.

People who study both the practice and theory of language in great depth and understand how language is interpreted and used.

I don't doubt that you and and your peers in your area associate the form with that meaning, but more people use it the other way.

osarusan wrote: »

English language teacher here with more than a decade of experience and I disagree with you.

I absolutely would teach my students that it might be used in that way, and that they should be aware of that usage also.


Given the different understandings of the terms evident on this thread, I'd wonder just how broad the consensus is, and given that you accept the usage is 'somewhat common', I don't think you can make the declaration either.

I tell my students that my way is correct, but that it's common enough that people use it the other way, and that they should be conscious of that, as native speakers will often have to clarify what another native speaker means by the phrase.

It's certainly common enough for people to equate "this Saturday" with "next Saturday" to make students aware of it, but it's evident to me that "next Saturday" = "Saturday of next week" is much more common.

galljga1 wrote: »

Open question: does common usage make a phrase correct?

Basically, yes. There's always a tension between rules and usage in language. We might get irked by people making mistakes, with, say, apostrophes, but if everyone abandons apostrophes except me, is there any logic in me using them when the world has adapted to not using them?

For example, it's standard English to say "He's smarter than me." But that used to be "He's smarter than I am," which became shortened to "He's smarter than I." That sounded strange to a lot of people, as it seemed like using a subject pronoun as an object, so people started to "He's smarter than me."
It's an entirely different form, but there's a logic to it and everyone used it, so it became standard.

The King of Moo wrote: »

For example, it's standard English to say "He's smarter than me." But that used to be "He's smarter than I am," which became shortened to "He's shorter than I."

He's shorter than I and I'm smarter than he.

Eugene Norman wrote: »

You are proscriptive not descriptive I see at least regarding this and next.

You are wrong, for Ireland at least, the usage of next Saturday to mean the coming one early on in the week is common.

That would only be accurate if conflating next Saturday with this Saturday were the most common usage in Ireland, but it's not,so I find a nice balance between prescription and description, as any language professional should.

mickrock wrote: »

What's your source for what is the most common usage in Ireland?

My own experience in noticing how people from different parts of the country speak, and knowledge of how people understand vocabulary.