Last, This, Next...

[music2starr]

Hi, I have some questions about the use of the words 'last', 'this', and 'next'.

Say for example the day of the week at the time the utterance is Wednesday, if the speaker says 'last Monday', is he referring to the day before yesterday or the Monday of the previous week?

If the speaker says 'next Friday', is he referring to the coming Friday in the same week or the Friday of next week?

If the speaker says 'this Tuesday', which Tuesday is he referring to?

[Rusty]

Hi, I have some questions about the use of the words 'last', 'this', and 'next'.

Say for example the day of the week at the time the utterance is Wednesday, if the speaker says 'last Monday', is he referring to the day before yesterday or the Monday of the previous week?

If the speaker says 'next Friday', is he referring to the coming Friday in the same week or the Friday of next week?

If the speaker says 'this Tuesday', which Tuesday is he referring to?
In the middle of a week the speaker needs to be specific, otherwise he could be misunderstood.
On Wednesday, referring to Monday in the same week, say:
- This past Monday.
- Monday just past.
On Wednesday referring to the following Friday, say:
- This coming Friday.
- Friday this week.
On Wednesday, referring to Monday of next week, say:
- This coming Monday.
- Monday next week.
On Wednesday, referring to Friday of the next week, say:
- Friday next week.

I'd say to follow these examples on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday.
On Friday you can say:
- Last Monday (for the current week).
- A week ago last Monday (for the previous week).
- This coming Monday or
- Monday next week (for Monday of the following week).