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Guest
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| Posted: Tue Jun 14, 2005 6:31 pm
Post subject: The word "Next" |
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My wife & I regularly argue about the correct use of the word "NEXT".
My wife considers that if I refer to "next Friday" then it depends on
the week in which I make the comment. If I say it in the same week then
the word "next" must refer to the Friday of the following week but if I
made the statement on the preceeding Sunday then "next Friday" would be
the forthcoming Friday. Now I feel that next refers to the next item in
line irrespective of which week or whatever.
I would appreciate any guidance on this conundrum provided that we both
get a definitive answer that will resolve our argument.
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Peter Duncanson
Guest
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| Posted: Tue Jun 14, 2005 10:22 pm
Post subject: Re: The word "Next" |
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On 14 Jun 2005 05:31:01 -0700, prnsk@lycos.co.uk wrote:
| Quote: | My wife & I regularly argue about the correct use of the word "NEXT".
My wife considers that if I refer to "next Friday" then it depends on
the week in which I make the comment. If I say it in the same week then
the word "next" must refer to the Friday of the following week but if I
made the statement on the preceeding Sunday then "next Friday" would be
the forthcoming Friday. Now I feel that next refers to the next item in
line irrespective of which week or whatever.
I would appreciate any guidance on this conundrum provided that we both
get a definitive answer that will resolve our argument.
|
I think you are most unlikely to have your argument resolved by any
suggestions here. There does not appear to be a definitive answer.
All I can suggest is that you restore domestic harmony by agreeing that the
head of the household should decide the correct usage of next. ;-)
--
Peter Duncanson
UK
(posting from u.c.l.e) |
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Nick Wagg
Guest
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| Posted: Tue Jun 14, 2005 10:58 pm
Post subject: Re: The word "Next" |
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<prnsk@lycos.co.uk> wrote in message
news:1118752261.627593.20960@g49g2000cwa.googlegroups.com...
| Quote: | My wife & I regularly argue about the correct use of the word "NEXT".
My wife considers that if I refer to "next Friday" then it depends on
the week in which I make the comment. If I say it in the same week then
the word "next" must refer to the Friday of the following week but if I
made the statement on the preceeding Sunday then "next Friday" would be
the forthcoming Friday. Now I feel that next refers to the next item in
line irrespective of which week or whatever.
I would appreciate any guidance on this conundrum provided that we both
get a definitive answer that will resolve our argument.
|
My wife and I differ in our understanding of the term too,
so we always try to disambiguate the situation by saying
Friday of next week, say, or this coming Friday.
Of course, "week" is a somewhat vague concept as there
is considerable disagreement over when it actually begins.
For centuries Sunday has been considered to be the first day
of the week, which is why Christians chose it as the day of rest,
to distinguish it from the Jewish Sabbath which is Saturday.
However, in our present secular world many people consider
Monday to be the first day of the week, as it's the first working
day, while the Radio Times seems to choose Saturday because
they don't want to split the weekend and it fits better with their
print runs that way. Quite what a Hindu or Muslim would
consider to be the beginning of the week is outside my ambit.
Maybe we should just stick to dates.
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Bob Cunningham
Guest
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| Posted: Wed Jun 15, 2005 12:45 am
Post subject: Re: The word "Next" |
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On Tue, 14 Jun 2005 17:22:04 +0100, Peter Duncanson
<mail@peterduncanson.net> said:
| Quote: | On 14 Jun 2005 05:31:01 -0700, prnsk@lycos.co.uk wrote:
My wife & I regularly argue about the correct use of the word "NEXT".
My wife considers that if I refer to "next Friday" then it depends on
the week in which I make the comment. If I say it in the same week then
the word "next" must refer to the Friday of the following week but if I
made the statement on the preceeding Sunday then "next Friday" would be
the forthcoming Friday. Now I feel that next refers to the next item in
line irrespective of which week or whatever.
I would appreciate any guidance on this conundrum provided that we both
get a definitive answer that will resolve our argument.
I think you are most unlikely to have your argument resolved by any
suggestions here. There does not appear to be a definitive answer.
|
I think the definitive answer has already been given in
another response: You have no choice but to recognize that
"next" is ambiguous, and both of you must make it a practice
to choose better wording, like "this coming Friday" or
"Friday the 24th".
I, for one, would never say "next Friday" and expect to be
certainly understood correctly.
| Quote: | All I can suggest is that you restore domestic harmony by agreeing that the
head of the household should decide the correct usage of next. 
|
That solution merely begets another problem: resolving who
is head of the household.
Meanwhile, I hope you won't be offended and will accept it
in the helpful spirit in which it's intended if I tell you
that the correct spelling is "preceding". Among otherwise
excellent spellers, it's possibly the most common error I've
seen. |
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Bob Cunningham
Guest
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| Posted: Wed Jun 15, 2005 5:45 am
Post subject: Re: The word "Next" |
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On Tue, 14 Jun 2005 18:45:14 GMT, Bob Cunningham
<exw6sxq@earthlink.net> said:
| Quote: | On Tue, 14 Jun 2005 17:22:04 +0100, Peter Duncanson
mail@peterduncanson.net> said:
On 14 Jun 2005 05:31:01 -0700, prnsk@lycos.co.uk wrote:
My wife & I regularly argue about the correct use of the word "NEXT".
My wife considers that if I refer to "next Friday" then it depends on
the week in which I make the comment. If I say it in the same week then
the word "next" must refer to the Friday of the following week but if I
made the statement on the preceeding Sunday then "next Friday" would be
the forthcoming Friday. Now I feel that next refers to the next item in
line irrespective of which week or whatever.
I would appreciate any guidance on this conundrum provided that we both
get a definitive answer that will resolve our argument.
I think you are most unlikely to have your argument resolved by any
suggestions here. There does not appear to be a definitive answer.
I think the definitive answer has already been given in
another response: You have no choice but to recognize that
"next" is ambiguous, and both of you must make it a practice
to choose better wording, like "this coming Friday" or
"Friday the 24th".
I, for one, would never say "next Friday" and expect to be
certainly understood correctly.
All I can suggest is that you restore domestic harmony by agreeing that the
head of the household should decide the correct usage of next. ;-)
That solution merely begets another problem: resolving who
is head of the household.
Meanwhile, I hope [*]you[*] won't be offended and will accept it
in the helpful spirit in which it's intended if I tell you
that the correct spelling is "preceding". Among otherwise
excellent spellers, it's possibly the most common error I've
seen.
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[*] By "you" I meant, of course, the original poster, not
Peter Duncanson, the responder to the original poster. |
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Matthew Huntbach
Guest
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| Posted: Wed Jun 15, 2005 2:27 pm
Post subject: Re: The word "Next" |
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On Tue, 14 Jun 2005, Nick Wagg wrote:
| Quote: | prnsk@lycos.co.uk> wrote in message
My wife & I regularly argue about the correct use of the word "NEXT".
My wife considers that if I refer to "next Friday" then it depends on
the week in which I make the comment. If I say it in the same week then
the word "next" must refer to the Friday of the following week but if I
made the statement on the preceeding Sunday then "next Friday" would be
the forthcoming Friday. Now I feel that next refers to the next item in
line irrespective of which week or whatever.
I would appreciate any guidance on this conundrum provided that we both
get a definitive answer that will resolve our argument.
My wife and I differ in our understanding of the term too,
so we always try to disambiguate the situation by saying
Friday of next week, say, or this coming Friday.
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Same here. It just seems to be one of those things. Maybe there's
a male-female difference is usage, so we will *always* differ with
our wives about it. Can anyone give a case where the male-female usage
is the other way round to the cited case?
Matthew Huntbach |
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Mike Barnes
Guest
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| Posted: Wed Jun 15, 2005 2:55 pm
Post subject: Re: The word "Next" |
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In uk.culture.language.english, Nick Wagg wrote:
| Quote: | prnsk@lycos.co.uk> wrote in message
news:1118752261.627593.20960@g49g2000cwa.googlegroups.com...
My wife & I regularly argue about the correct use of the word "NEXT".
My wife considers that if I refer to "next Friday" then it depends on
the week in which I make the comment. If I say it in the same week then
the word "next" must refer to the Friday of the following week but if I
made the statement on the preceeding Sunday then "next Friday" would be
the forthcoming Friday. Now I feel that next refers to the next item in
line irrespective of which week or whatever.
I would appreciate any guidance on this conundrum provided that we both
get a definitive answer that will resolve our argument.
My wife and I differ in our understanding of the term too,
so we always try to disambiguate the situation by saying
Friday of next week, say, or this coming Friday.
|
I'm surprised to hear you (and someone else in this thread, I think)
admitting this difference. In my household and circle of friends, "next
Friday" means the Friday of next week. No question about it.
| Quote: | Of course, "week" is a somewhat vague concept as there
is considerable disagreement over when it actually begins.
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ISTM that there is no "actually" when it comes to which is the first day
of the week, and nothing worth disagreeing about. Context matters.
--
Mike Barnes |
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Paul Burke
Guest
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| Posted: Wed Jun 15, 2005 5:33 pm
Post subject: Re: The word "Next" |
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Mike Barnes wrote:
| Quote: | ISTM that there is no "actually" when it comes to which is the first day
of the week, and nothing worth disagreeing about. Context matters.
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OK which day IS the first day of the week then?
Paul Burke |
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Mike Barnes
Guest
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| Posted: Wed Jun 15, 2005 6:03 pm
Post subject: Re: The word "Next" |
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In uk.culture.language.english, Paul Burke wrote:
| Quote: | Mike Barnes wrote:
ISTM that there is no "actually" when it comes to which is the first day
of the week, and nothing worth disagreeing about. Context matters.
OK which day IS the first day of the week then?
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I'm glad you asked me that. I'll tell you the answer when you tell me
what you mean by "the" week. There are lots of weeks to choose from.
--
Mike Barnes |
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John Briggs
Guest
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| Posted: Wed Jun 15, 2005 6:06 pm
Post subject: Re: The word "Next" |
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Paul Burke wrote:
| Quote: | Mike Barnes wrote:
ISTM that there is no "actually" when it comes to which is the first
day of the week, and nothing worth disagreeing about. Context
matters.
OK which day IS the first day of the week then?
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It depends on the context 
--
John Briggs |
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Paul Burke
Guest
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| Posted: Wed Jun 15, 2005 9:35 pm
Post subject: Re: The word "Next" |
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Mike Barnes wrote:
| Quote: | I'm glad you asked me that. I'll tell you the answer when you tell me
what you mean by "the" week. There are lots of weeks to choose from.
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Well, there must have been 'the' week in 1962 otherwise we couldn't have
had TW3. There's The Week in Westminster for the terminally bored. The
weekend is Friday, Saturday, Sunday, Monday and Tuesday (isn't it?). How
long is a plumber's week, as in "I'll be round in about three weeks"?
Paul Burke |
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John Briggs
Guest
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| Posted: Wed Jun 15, 2005 10:31 pm
Post subject: Re: The word "Next" |
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Paul Burke wrote:
| Quote: | Mike Barnes wrote:
I'm glad you asked me that. I'll tell you the answer when you tell
me
what you mean by "the" week. There are lots of weeks to choose from.
Well, there must have been 'the' week in 1962 otherwise we couldn't
have had TW3. There's The Week in Westminster for the terminally
bored. The weekend is Friday, Saturday, Sunday, Monday and Tuesday
(isn't it?).
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I think it starts on Thursday. But who was it who said that having a
meeting on Wednesday ruins two weekends?
--
John Briggs |
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Mike Barnes
Guest
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| Posted: Thu Jun 16, 2005 12:43 am
Post subject: Re: The word "Next" |
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In uk.culture.language.english, Paul Burke wrote:
| Quote: | Mike Barnes wrote:
I'm glad you asked me that. I'll tell you the answer when you tell me
what you mean by "the" week. There are lots of weeks to choose from.
Well, there must have been 'the' week in 1962 otherwise we couldn't
have had TW3.
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The first days of those weeks were presumably seven days before each
performance. Approximately. For all anyone cares.
| Quote: | There's The Week in Westminster for the terminally bored.
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Similar answer applies.
| Quote: | The weekend is Friday, Saturday, Sunday, Monday and Tuesday (isn't
it?).
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What's Thursday done to offend you?
| Quote: | How long is a plumber's week, as in "I'll be round in about three
weeks"?
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A string's-length.
--
Mike Barnes |
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Graeme Thomas
Guest
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| Posted: Thu Jun 16, 2005 1:27 am
Post subject: Re: The word "Next" |
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In article <wJYre.34329$8m5.30581@newsfe5-gui.ntli.net>, John Briggs
<john.briggs4@ntlworld.com> writes
| Quote: | Mike Barnes wrote:
I'm glad you asked me that. I'll tell you the answer when you tell
me
what you mean by "the" week. There are lots of weeks to choose from.
I think it starts on Thursday. But who was it who said that having a
meeting on Wednesday ruins two weekends?
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Jerome K Jerome, in _Three Men In A Boat_, said
The trouble with working on Wednesdays is that it spoils both
weekends.
But I think you can claim the credit for your version.
--
Graeme Thomas |
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Brian {Hamilton Kelly}
Guest
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| Posted: Thu Jun 16, 2005 2:44 am
Post subject: Re: The word "Next" |
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On Wednesday, in article <3haiksFg78nnU1@individual.net>
paul@scazon.com "Paul Burke" wrote:
| Quote: | Mike Barnes wrote:
ISTM that there is no "actually" when it comes to which is the first day
of the week, and nothing worth disagreeing about. Context matters.
OK which day IS the first day of the week then?
|
You wouldn't need to ask that question, if you spoke Greek. Their names
for Monday, ..., Thursday mean, literally, Second, ..., Fourth. Friday,
Saturday, and Sunday fall outside this pattern.
--
Brian {Hamilton Kelly} bhk@dsl.co.uk
"Je n'ai fait celle-ci plus longue que parce que je n'ai pas eu
le loisir de la faire plus courte."
Blaise Pascal, /Lettres Provinciales/, 1657 |
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