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In the following sentence:

I meet him on Friday.

we use preposition 'on' before 'Friday', but in the following sentence:

I met him last Friday.

we don't use preposition before "last Friday". The word 'Friday' is normally noun but when we add 'last' in front of it, does it become adverb?

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  • Some would argue that Friday is in fact neither a noun not an adverb, but… a pronoun!
    – Janus Bahs Jacquet
    Commented Jul 9, 2016 at 0:31

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In your first example, the phrase "on Friday" is a prepositional phrase that adverbially modifies the verb "meet." Likewise, the phrase "last Friday" in your second example adverbially modifies the verb "met."

Let me provide some examples of my own:

  • On Friday, I met him.

  • Last Friday, I met him.

  • Friday, I met him.

All three of these example sentences use an introductory phrase or word to adverbially modify the verb "met" in the main clause. Restructuring these sentences so that their respective modifying phrases aren't introductory or separated by a comma doesn't change the function of the phrases from being adverbial, for example:

  • I met him on Friday.

  • I met him last Friday.

  • I met him Friday.

Remember, an indirect object modifies the verb; ergo, indirect objects are adverbial. In all of these sentences, "Friday" is the indirect object of the verb "met" -- just like in your question.

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    You've got a lot of things wrong. First, if by using the word "likewise", you are implying that "last Friday" is a PP, then you're mistaken - it's an NP headed by the noun "Friday" which is modified by the adjective "last". Second, objects, both direct and indirect, are complements, not modifiers. Third, "meet" is monotransitive so cannot take indirect objects. In your examples, the noun "Friday" is respectively complement of the preposition "on", head of the NP "last Friday", and head of the NP "Friday".
    – user36763
    Commented Jul 8, 2016 at 18:46
  • @JohnArmstrong - I take exception to your saying I've "got a lot of things wrong." That simply isn't so. First, I didn't say that "last Friday" is a prepositional phrase. You said that. You said that I said that. What I actually said is that it likewise modifies the verb. If you go to the source link I provided, you'll see where it's explained that indirect objects modify the verb. They limit the scope of the verb, so they adverbially modify the verb. Second, when one says, "I met John Friday," one is not using "met" monotransitively. What you said is false.
    – Benjamin Harman
    Commented Jul 8, 2016 at 18:52
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    I didn't say you did say "last Friday" was a PP; I said if that was what you were implying, you were wrong. You are wrong about objects; they are verb complements, not modifiers link. In "I met John Friday", "John" is direct object and "Friday" is an adjunct (adverbial) not indirect object"; it simply answers the question "when did you meet John". In any case, the verb "meet" is undisputedly monotransitive: see Link below ...
    – user36763
    Commented Jul 8, 2016 at 19:20
  • (link)[books.google.co.uk/…
    – user36763
    Commented Jul 8, 2016 at 19:21
  • You're contradicting your own source here. Indirect objects (according to your source) always come between verb and object, so ‘Friday’ can't be an indirect object in “John met him Friday” (which is okay, because it isn't). If anything had to be an indirect object, it would be ‘him’, which would make ‘Friday’ the logical direct object. That doesn't work very well either, though.
    – Janus Bahs Jacquet
    Commented Jul 9, 2016 at 0:06
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We don't use prepositions before a number of common time expressions beginning with next, last, this, one etc.

I met him on Friday. ✔️
I met him on last Friday. ❌
I met him on Friday last. ✔️

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    Welcome to English Language Learners! While this answer is probably correct, it does not answer the question.
    – MeanGreen
    Commented May 8, 2020 at 13:28

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