Let’s imagine it’s currently Wednesday the 1st. Does “next Saturday” mean Saturday the 4th (the next Saturday to occur) or Saturday the 11th (the Saturday of next week)?

    • Worx@lemmynsfw.comOPEnglish
      9·
      9 months ago

      Yep, I already discovered that xD

      Now I am trying to prove that I’m right on the Internet to make myself feel better

        • Worx@lemmynsfw.comOPEnglish
          2·
          9 months ago

          It hadn’t occured to me that I could be misunderstood, in the same way that it didn’t occur to me to explain that Saturday is the one after Friday. When I say “next Saturday” it’s completely obvious what I mean!

          Judging by the comments here, and the fact that 4/9 people in my group thought I meant one thing and the other 5/9 thought I meant the other thing, this is a phrasing that I’ll have to retire. Even my own mother disagrees with me! I don’t know how I’ve made it so far through life without it being a problem before now

            • Worx@lemmynsfw.comOPEnglish
              2·
              9 months ago

              Yeah, I would usually just say the date but is was in a hurry on this occasion and ended up with a lot of confusion

            • bitchkat@lemmy.world
              1·
              9 months ago

              Following only works when you are taking about both of them. “We’re having pizza this Saturday and tacos the following Saturday.” is very clear. If you just say “We’re having tacos the following Saturday”, there is no context to indicate the saturday following what?

        • bitchkat@lemmy.world
          1·
          9 months ago

          I just tell people the actual date to avoid disambiguity. Just like with time zones. Too many people say EST or CST even when we’re in DST.

      • vortic@lemmy.world
        3·
        9 months ago

        Out of curiosity, how would you say “this saturday” and “next saturday” in your native language and what would the literal translation be?

        • Worx@lemmynsfw.comOPEnglish
          5·
          9 months ago

          I would say “this Saturday” and “next Saturday”, which literally translates to “this Saturday” and “next Saturday”. My native language is English ;)

          • vortic@lemmy.world
            3·
            9 months ago

            Hah, oops, I thought you meant that you learned this lesson as a non native english speaker! I must have misunderstood.

    • PunnyName@lemmy.world
      3·
      9 months ago

      This.

      There’s no point in “this” Saturday, just say Saturday. Or Saturday the 4th.

      “Next Saturday” is ambiguous, but most native English speakers will consider the following week, not the week you are in.