When Was Last Tuesday?

This week received a question about time expressions from Dara in Cambodia. He asks,

Question:

Do you use the phrase¹ "last Tuesday?" If so, what does it mean? Does it mean "on Tuesday last week" or "on Tuesday this week?" I have the same question for "next Tuesday." Thank you. - Dara, Cambodia.

Answer:

Dear Dara,

That is a great question. Even native English speakers can misunderstand these expressions. "Last" and "next" are both adjectives². When we use them with a day of the week, their meaning can change depending on the time we are speaking.

Last

"Last" means³ the most recent. If today is Wednesday, and I tell you,

"I talked with her last Tuesday," you might think I meant I talked with her eight days ago. The reason is if I had talked with her only one day ago, I would have said, "I talked with her yesterday." So, when I say, "I talked with her last Tuesday," I mean the Tuesday of the week before.

Now imagine that today is Thursday or Friday. That means Tuesday is only a few days ago. Here is what I would probably say: "I talked to her on Tuesday."

But now imagine it is Saturday or Sunday, a little further away from the day I talked with her. If I say, "I talked with her last Tuesday" you would probably ask me, "Do you mean on Tuesday of this week?" to make certain of the exact day.

Note that people in different places where English is spoken use these expressions in somewhat⁴ different ways. So it is not unusual for native speakers to ask questions when they hear someone using "last" or "next" with a day.

Next

"Next" means "coming after the one that just came or happened." Suppose you get a message by email that says, "The meeting is next Tuesday." Since today is Wednesday, it is clear that the meeting will be in six days. But if you have not been reading your email regularly⁵ and you get the message on Monday, you may want to check the date on the message. If you did not look at the date of the email, you would probably think the meeting is in eight days. The reason is that the writer would have said, "The meeting is tomorrow" if it was on Tuesday of the current⁶ week.

Quiz⁷

You can check your understanding. Imagine that today is Friday. You are having a party eight days from now. Which expression is the best to use?*

1. Can you come to my party next Saturday?

2. Can you come to my party on Saturday?

Your Question

What question do you have about English? Send us an email at [email protected].

And that's Ask a Teacher for this week.

I'm Jill Robbins.

*Write your answer in the comments.

Words in This Story

previous – adj. earlier in time or order

certain – adj. not having any doubt about something; convinced or sure

1 phrase   

n.短语，词组；成语，习语

参考例句：

• The phrase was caught on and immediately became popular.这个短语被采用后很快就流行了。
• That's exactly the phrase I was looking for.这就是我一直找的那个短语。

2 adjectives   

n.形容词( adjective的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• We can form nouns from adjectives. 我们可以用形容词来构成名词。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Attributive adjectives precede the noun. 定语形容词位于名词前。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 means   

n.方法，手段，折中点，物质财富

参考例句：

• That man used artful means to find out secrets.那人使用狡猾的手段获取机密。
• We must get it done by some means or other.我们总得想办法把它干完。

4 somewhat   

pron.一些，某物；adv.多少，几分

参考例句：

• The cake we made was somewhat of a failure.我们做的蛋糕不大成功。
• The two office buildings are somewhat alike in appearance.这两座办公楼在外形上有点相似。

5 regularly   

adv.有规则地，一丝不苟地，正式地

参考例句：

• Check the engine oil level regularly.要时常检查机油量。
• We meet regularly to discuss business.我们定期会面讨论事务。

6 current   

n.涌流，趋势，电流，水流，气流；adj.当前的，通用的，流通的，现在的，草写的，最近的

参考例句：

• Electric current is often powerful enough to kill a man.电流常强得足以致命。
• There is a story about her in the current number.最近一期上有关于她的故事。

7 quiz   

n.智力竞赛；测验，小型考试

参考例句：

• They are having a quiz now.他们正进行小测验。
• He took part in a television quiz and won a prize.他参加了一个电视知识竞赛并得了奖。