If it’s Saturday and someone says “next Friday” what day are they thinking of?

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TapeDeckSlick@reddit

The Friday coming up. Once it hits Monday "next Friday" is the Friday after this Friday

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If Friday has passed, Friday to me is the coming Friday, if someone said next Friday I would assume the following Friday. i.e if today is Saturday 25th April, and someone asked what I was doing next Friday I would think they meant the 8th, but I would always double check

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ReySpacefighter@reddit

Week starts on Monday at 00:00 (I will not be taking "actually on Sunday" comments; that's not how modern society works). So the next Friday is the one in 6 days time. It becomes this Friday on Monday morning.

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Dodel1976@reddit

For me, it's the Friday coming up, next Friday would be the friiday after that.

If I order next day delivery, it's not a week after the next day.

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dualdee@reddit

To me, "this Friday" and "next Friday" mean the same thing until at least Wednesday.

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iamdadmin@reddit

On Saturday, Friday would be the first Friday to come after Saturday, Next Friday would be the second Friday to come after Saturday. Except, where it’s not. Regional dialect is heaps of fun!

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AdApart5035@reddit

It's the Friday immediately following, imo. It's the Friday in the next week.

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Pedantichrist@reddit

Oh hell no, that is ‘this Friday’. ‘Next Friday’ is the one after ‘this Friday’

This kind of ignorance is why I use ‘Friday’ and ‘Friday week’.

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AdApart5035@reddit

In this situation, this Friday would be yesterday. It's the Friday of this week, not the Friday of next week.

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Pedantichrist@reddit

“Want to come to the pub this Friday?”

“You mean yesterday?”

Don’t be daft!

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AdApart5035@reddit

That would be on Friday, not this Friday!

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Pedantichrist@reddit

I believe that some people consider ‘next Friday’ to mean ‘this Friday’, but I absolutely do not believe that you think an invitation to the pub this Friday ever means yesterday.

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AdApart5035@reddit

Nobody's ever invited me to the pub, the whole scenario is just too far-fetched.

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discoveredunknown@reddit

But also weirdly, if it was Sunday I wouldn’t accept next Friday, only this Friday.

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HotelPuzzleheaded654@reddit

Agree, from Monday it becomes “this Friday” and next Friday becomes the one after.

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NorthernblokeUK@reddit

This Friday = Next Friday

Next Friday = The one after this Friday.

Hope that clears it up.

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Moppo_@reddit

The "Fri" part is from "Frigg", a Germanic goddess, wife of Odin and mother to several gods. Her Latin counterpart is apparently Venus.

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NorthernblokeUK@reddit

I didn't know that, thanks.

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strodey123@reddit

If it was Saturday morning and you said 'this friday', I would think you were referring to the Friday that has just immediately passed, which would make the upcoming friday, 'next friday'

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Gnome_Father@reddit

This is abigous to me. Next friday could mean either of those.

I always say "this coming friday" or " friday next week".

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Moppo_@reddit

Next (day) always means the literal next time that day happens in my opinion. If today is Thursday, then next Friday is tomorrow. Would I say it instead of "tomorrow"? No, but it means what it means.

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Pedantichrist@reddit

That is this Friday. Next Friday is the one after this Friday.

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Striking_Smile6594@reddit

'Next' Friday, implies the Friday belonging to next week.

'This' Friday implied the Friday belonging to this week. So if it's Saturday it means yesterday.

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EfeAmbroseEFOTY@reddit

So if it's Saturday and you say "I'm going out this Friday" it means that you went out yesterday?

What school did you go to 😂

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Striking_Smile6594@reddit

If its it's Saturday and you say "I'm going out this Friday", implying a future event, then what you have said is incorrect. You should say "I'm going out next Friday" .

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EfeAmbroseEFOTY@reddit

You are completely wrong. "This" is a proximal demonstrative determiner. In British English it references proximity or nearness to the person using it.

You're arguing the word "this" can only apply within contained situations - weeks, areas, times. That is just factually not true.

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doctorgibson@reddit

Your given example makes no sense, unless of course you are a time traveller and have the capability to return to the Friday belonging to this week in which case, feel free to tell everyone you are going out this Friday

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nrsys@reddit

In this case, the Friday of the forthcoming week.

'This Friday' refers to the Friday of the week we are currently in. 'Next Friday' refers to the Friday of the week after.

If you are asking on a Saturday, both will refer to the Friday of the forthcoming week. Ask on a Sunday or Monday however and there will be a distinction.

In any case, while this makes sense to me, there isn't a universal concensus on the matter, so I would always clarify to be sure for anything important.

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Slyspy006@reddit

The days are numbered, so probably best to take advantage of that for the sake of clarity.

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seklas1@reddit

“Are you free on the 24th?” “You mean tomorrow? Or next month?” “Yeah” “Yeah what?” “The first one”

Was that easier of a conversation? 🤣

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mikedavd@reddit

If someone says the 24th when they mean tomorrow then that's their fault, not the system

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seklas1@reddit

Okay, same situation but change it to 26th. Was that easier?

Asking if they’re free on Sunday or on the 26th?

I feel like either way it goes into the whole multiple question charade trying to figure out if the conversation is about the same time.

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Super-Craig@reddit

Damn this is freaky, I just had to go over this with our trainees today.

In relation to dates, 'this' and 'next' are themselves shorthand speak for 'this coming' and 'next again', so if someone says "this Monday" they mean "this coming Monday", and if they say "next Monday" they mean "next again Monday". However, if you're ever in doubt, then don't hesitate to ask for clarification. Teamwork makes the dream work, and so does good communication.

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pinpoint321@reddit

What are you training for? Sorry for being nosey but it’s my line of work. We always train to confirm the specific date as the differences are really subtle. On Saturday I think you could make the case that but this and next could mean the same thing. But by Wednesday next would almost always mean over a week away.

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psrandom@reddit

Till Sunday "next Friday" is first upcoming Friday

Monday onwards, "next Friday" is second upcoming Friday

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SpaceTimeCapsule89@reddit

I do it the same as that as well. Next Friday would be a Friday in the following week, always. So if you're saying it on Sunday you're talking about the upcoming Friday but when it changes to Monday, you're talking about the second upcoming Friday 😂

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techbear72@reddit

I'd say it's the second; the Friday after next because if it was the former, I'd say "this coming Friday" or something like that.

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spiffysunkist@reddit

Monday is start of the week Ask on a sat and next Friday is the one in 6 days time Ask on Monday and it is in 12 days time

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binaryhextechdude@reddit

The next Friday is in 6 days. You can’t skip a Friday and still say it’s the next one

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Alternative-Day5268@reddit

If I said I'm going out next Friday would you say it was tomorrow or next week's friday

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Evening-Tomatillo-47@reddit

Ah now that's where its different

Tomorrow is this friday

If you'd said it on Monday it would be ambiguous

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doctorgibson@reddit

If it's tomorrow I'm gonna say "I'm going out tomorrow", not "I'm going out Next Friday"

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binaryhextechdude@reddit

The original question takes place on a Saturday. That is what my answer is based on. Let’s not go off on tangents

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Wipedout89@reddit

Wrong - next Friday is used when you don't mean the literal soonest Friday

Or you'd just say 'Friday'

"Want to go to the pub on Friday? Oh, you're busy? How about next Friday?"

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MickHucknallsMumsDog@reddit

I assume "next Friday" is not "this Friday", but if someone said that to me I'd ask "This Friday or next week?"

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Professional-Test239@reddit

The Friday coming up in 6 days time. That's the next one.

I've met people with your weird little quirk before and I don't get it.

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No-Echo-8927@reddit

THE next friday

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catmadwoman@reddit

You should just make it as clear as possible as we all know by now people interpret the meaning in different ways. This question comes up all the time with the same answers. Just say the actual number the day falls on if not clear.

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takesthebiscuit@reddit

I always clarify, next Friday you mean the 8th May or 1 st May ?

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Goldman250@reddit

I’d probably just ask for clarification, and avoid any confusion. “Next Friday, you mean the 1st?”

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RetroBoxRoom@reddit

“This Friday” is the first Friday you land on from the period of time being spoken.

“Next Friday” is the second Friday you land on from the period of time being spoken.

Anything else than that are the same sort of people who say floor for the ground outside.

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doctorgibson@reddit

If the day in question falls this week, it's "This Friday".

If it falls next week, then it's "Next Friday".

Of course, if I want to be crystal clear then I will also give a date

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foxfunk@reddit

On the Saturday I would say "next Friday". If I were referring to the one after that (essentially 2 weeks away) I would say "the Friday after next". If it were Monday would obviously say "this Friday".

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NationalTry8466@reddit

The coming Friday, most likely. If not, they need to specify.

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Separate-Frame-7038@reddit

Who ever says "next Friday" on Saturday should be more clear because it's confusing. If you said "next Friday" on Monday everybody knows you mean the Friday in the following week, so the speaker should be more clear and use "this Friday", if they mean the Friday coming up.

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Katharinemaddison@reddit

For that far away I’d personally say ‘this Friday’ for the Friday immediately following and whilst ‘next Friday’ would mean the Friday after I’d use ‘Friday week’ for it.

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isabella_bombella@reddit

The only time this has ever caused confusion for me and a friend was when we agreed to meet up "next Thursday" on a Sunday. I had to call her four days later to ask where she was.

She though that as the current week had already started, because it was a Sunday, "next Thursday" would be the Thursday in the next week following. I understood "next Thursday" to be the immidiate next Thurday 🤦🏼‍♀️

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formal-monopoly@reddit

> current week had already started, because it was a Sunday
That makes no sense because Sunday is literally the week end, Monday is the first day of the week

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isabella_bombella@reddit

Historically Sunday is considered the first day of the week in many countries. We have just become accustom to starting our week on Mondays because of the way the working week is set up.

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macros1980@reddit

My mum (who has an English degree, and who taught it for a bit) always told me that "this Friday" is the one coming up, and "next Friday" is the one after that.

This exact argument came up in an English lesson at school and my teacher told the class exactly what my mum had taught me, so I always felt that was correct.

However, I'm now of the opinion that these sort of language rules can change over time and by region, so it's probably fair to say that neither is right nor wrong. It's probably best to find a way to disambiguate if it's important.

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Johnny_Vernacular@reddit

If you're planning on meeting someone it doesn't matter what the 'correct' definition is, or what you think the the definition is. What matters is what they think the definition is. Otherwise you're not going to meet up.

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Vetni@reddit

6 days time, what else could it be?

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jeminar@reddit

In a former life I was in market research and I specifically wrote a survey to ask this very question.

The responses were precisely split.

Since then I'll always append "... (8 days away)", knowing that there's a 50% chance the date will be misunderstood otherwise

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PianoMiddle346@reddit

It is the next Friday that comes. 6 days away

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SuperDinkle406@reddit

For me, there is "this friday" and there is "next Friday". They are not the same unless I deliberately want to confuse my work colleagues because I don't like them.

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squash-finder-london@reddit

You just can't say "next Friday" on a Saturday. You can only say "next X" where X a near day (maybe the next 3-4 days)

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AnnoyedHaddock@reddit

The one after. The one in 6 days would be this Friday.

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NuraThorne@reddit

The Friday after this Friday.

That is how I’ve been taught to use “next”, but I know many don’t use it like that (including my partner) so I always clarify it by saying “this Friday or next Friday?” and if that confuses them, I just ask for the date.

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Spiritual_Tie3348@reddit

I never know, I always have to clarify 'do you mean this Friday coming or a week on friday?'

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Thepizzadude01@reddit

Bye Felica !

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spoo4brains@reddit

Next Friday would be the one coming up for me. Friday next is another terminology which would infer a skip to the week after, but it isn't commonly used.

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Maccat73@reddit

I think they mean the next Friday which is the next one on the calendar

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bisikletci@reddit

I see your logic, but I'd understand it mean the Friday in six days and I think most other people would too. The Friday in 13 days would be Friday after next or something along those lines.

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daedelius@reddit

Well, if you’ve got this Friday, then next Friday as in THE next Friday is the one after this Friday.

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Automatic-Pie-111@reddit

I usually say this coming Friday, or whatever day.

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Drwynyllo@reddit

If you think about it, "next Friday" can't mean "the Friday after next", because that contains a reference to the "next" Friday.

If "next Friday" = "the Friday after next", then what's does the "next" in "after next" refer to? Logically, it couldn't refer to anything, so it's meaningless.

Therefore, "next Friday" means the next Friday that's coming up. The one after that is the Friday after next.

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nikkijxd@reddit

I think this is possibly a regional one.

When I say next Friday I mean the one after the approaching Friday.

Some of my friends will mean next week Friday

I've started getting all formal Friday the Xth when confirming plans as it has happened too much. Everyone thinks their measure is the only logical one

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All depends on context obviously.

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