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This question reminded me of a debate I have with non-native English speakers.

If today is Thursday and I say that something is to happen "next Saturday", does that mean the "Saturday in two days" or the "Saturday in a week and two days"? Alternatively, if today is Thursday and I say "next Monday", does this mean the "Monday in 4 days" or the "Monday in a week and 4 days"?

Similarly, using "this Monday" and "next Monday" have always been confusing to me as to which Monday it is depending on what day it currently is.

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    For purposes of clarity, I tend to say something like "not this Monday but the next" to remove all ambiguity.
    – Ken Bellows
    Commented Jan 28, 2013 at 17:55
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    For clarity, I have ceased using 'next Saturday' and now use 'Saturday week' to refer to 'the Saturday after this coming Saturday'.
    – mwotton
    Commented Oct 7, 2014 at 3:36

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"This Saturday" surely does mean the closest Saturday in the future. But "next Saturday" has become ambiguous. I've been asked more than once when I used the expression whether it's meant to be the Saturday in this week, or in the week after. (I would usually mean the week after, but if today is Sunday, I might use "next Saturday" to mean the Saturday six days from now. So I find myself being inconsistent.)

Even more subject to confusion is "the Saturday after next", which I'd assume means "the second Saturday from today" -- but I'd want additional confirmation, since not everyone seems to make the same assumption.

Regarding "this Monday" and "next Monday" (or indeed any day of the week), the interpretation does seem to differ depending on what day it is today. If you're making an appointment, I'd suggest confirming the date.

Edit: Inspired by comments, the closest next Saturday can also be identified as "this coming Saturday", and the next following Saturday, as "Saturday week" or (as I learned it) "Saturday a week". As the comments indicate, accurate identification still depends on a (possibly explicit) agreement between speaker and listener.

(Bias: native speaker, of an "older generation".)

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    +1 for getting that all-important word ambiguous in early! It's not much use having conflicting answers from people who think their conventions are unambiguous, provided everyone else adopts them. (And thanks on behalf of all those who might have picked up "bad" habits had you stuck to your "all lower case" principles on ELL! :)
    – FumbleFingers
    Commented Jan 28, 2013 at 22:48
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    +1 After 25 years my wife and I still don't know what the other means by 'next Saturday'. (I'm not sure I mean anything consistently!) So we say 'this coming Saturday' and 'Saturday week'.
    – StoneyB on hiatus
    Commented Jan 29, 2013 at 3:01
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    @FumbleFingers -- +1 for the name (it sounds like my husband's tag line for messages sent from his smartphone). This site isn't related to my job, and it's a place where good examples of written English usage really mean something, so my "all lower case" principles aren't relevant here.
    – barbara beeton
    Commented Jan 29, 2013 at 13:27
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    @StoneyB: I also like to use 'Saturday week' whenever it's appropriate. Every now and then I find I have to explain it to younger people who aren't familiar with the usage, so I feel I'm doing my bit by keeping it alive.
    – FumbleFingers
    Commented Jan 29, 2013 at 16:42
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    @bytebuster -- enough to make one tear one's hair out! So one can sometimes interpret X week as day X in the current week. Oy!
    – barbara beeton
    Commented Jan 31, 2013 at 15:02
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Most of the people would think the following way:

Today is Monday (28/1/2013) and "this Saturday" would mean the approaching Saturday (2/2/2013).

Today is Monday (28/1/2013) and "the next Saturday" would mean the next Saturday after the approaching Saturday (9/2/2013) .

BUT

Some of them may be confused and they might want to be clear. So they may say "Do you mean this Saturday or the next Saturday?". Then you have to clarify once more. So this is peoples own opinion on this.

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  • Would it be the same for: "Today is Sunday and this Monday / next Monday... ? ? Or the following Monday would be actually "next Monday"?
    – MasterPJ
    Commented Jan 28, 2013 at 15:33
  • @MasterPJ, This Monday is the very next Monday. Next Monday is the Monday after the very next Monday.
    – Mistu4u
    Commented Jan 28, 2013 at 15:35
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I am so confused about this and reading the comments confirmed how varied the understanding of "next week " is. I emigrated from Soith Africa to Australia 20 years ago and had several misunderstandings in my first few years about the meanings of "next week" and "just now" . I think I meant the earlier day and Australians meant the week later day. Now picture this scenario which made me go and look up about this...an old university friend from South Africa who emigrated to UK 30 years ago sends me a Skype txt saying he can't chat today (my Sunday , his sat pm) but can we chat "next Tuesday". I don't know what he means given how my usage has changed and how his usage may have chaged in UK. I think my only way to be clear is to ask if he means in about 2 days time or about 9 days time.! Ken in Oz

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  • Thank you for sharing your experience with how the usage of the phrase can differ based on the speaker's geographical location: I didn't realize there was regional variation here! This seems like it would be better as a comment than an answer though.
    – Quack E. Duck
    Commented Oct 31 at 4:51
  • "This saturday" is the next saturday, and it is near. "Next saturday" is either the next saturday, and it is far away, or it is the saturday seven days after "this saturday". People disagree about whether a day is near. "This week's saturday" can be six days away,
    – gnasher729
    Commented Oct 31 at 23:35
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If today is Sunday (or any day) and you say, "This Sunday" it means "this coming sunday." That is what "this Sunday" is short for. If you say, "next Sunday" it is referring to the following after a previously stated Sunday, or the following Sunday after "this Sunday" with the understanding that person you are talking to knows what this Sunday means.

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Next means next. The house next door isn't eight houses down the block. It's beside your house. Next Saturday is the next one coming up.

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    Thank you for telling us how you use the phrase. But the fact is, many people use it differently. Proclaiming your personal preference as if it were a universally accepted (or even objectively correct) answer is not helpful.
    – Scott - Слава Україні
    Commented Oct 7, 2014 at 1:33
  • Please provide examples of "many people use it differently" to justify your claim.
    – Peter Jennings
    Commented Nov 2 at 0:02
  • "Next means next" is a completely useless statement as an answer to the meaning of the word 'next'. People, individuals as well as groups, and entire geographical zones use certain words in particular, different ways.
    – Joachim
    Commented Nov 14 at 19:25
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'Next' is a relative association...

In this case, 'next', in reference to any day of the week, is relative to 'this' day of the week. In the context of days of the week, 'this [one]' always precedes the 'next [one]'; in other words, when someone says 'next Saturday', the presumption is 'NOT this Saturday', because if they meant 'THIS Saturday', they should have used the word 'this'.

'This' can never refer to the most recent one, as the most recent day of any week is always referred to as 'this past [SMTWRFS]'. So, logic suggests that 'this' always refers to the most immediate upcoming one, and 'next' is the one that follows it.

But in order to avoid ambiguity and confusion, it's always best to clarify by emphasizing "not THIS [SMTWRFS], but NEXT [SMTWRFS].

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