"This" vs "Next"

juniper · May 10, 2013

I get confused sometimes on when to use "this" or "next." And it's the fault of whoever approves the placement of road signs.

For instance, I'm driving along a highway and see an advertisement for "Amazing Bookstore and Coffee Shop" on Bloomsbury Lane, exit 72. Elated, I hurry along in the fast lane.

30 seconds later, I see an exit ramp ahead. I can't see the small exit sign number, but a bigger sign says, "Bloomsbury Lane, next exit."

To me, that means "not the exit that's right here, but the one after that." The exit ramp right here must be exit 71.

So I keep going, only to see too late that the ramp is actually exit 72, and I've zoomed past it.

I think the sign should have said, "Bloomsbury Lane, this exit."

This means right here, next means coming up later.

Same for days and weeks. If it's Saturday, and I'm making plans for a Thursday dinner, I say, "Come over this Thursday" not "Come over next Thursday", which to me would be the following week. But some people would say, "Come over next Thursday" meaning the same day I mean when I say, "This Thursday."

Aaahhh, I'm over thinking this. But is there a right way and a wrong way, or are the words "this" and "next" sometimes interchangeable?

Late at night, maybe I'm just rambling.

evilrooster · May 10, 2013

It is a genuine confusion. I work in an English-language environment where the majority of people are not native speakers. This one comes up an average of once every two months.

Road signs where I live just don't bother with "next" vs. "this". They draw pictures with the arrow going onward and the arrow coming off, put Bloomsbury Lane next to the arrow coming off, and the destination for the next exit by the arrow going onward. Considering how many people drive through the country without speaking the local language, it's as much a necessity as a mercy.

Bufty · May 10, 2013

I can understand the confusion in conversation but can't see any solution that can be imposed.

Re road signs, I agree that completely omitting next would seem to solve the confusion there, leaving the large arrows to speak better than words.

Torgo · May 10, 2013

Every single minute of the day, in Anglophone countries, two people will be having a conversation very much like this

"I'll see you next weekend, then."

"This weekend coming, or the next one?"

It's so annoying. We have had to develop phrases like "this one coming" or "Monday week" to deal with the ambiguity.

King Neptune · May 10, 2013

As I understand it, "next" is the superlative of "nigh" ("near" is the comparatice). That would mean that The next exit is the closest one; the one that is right in front of you, but that might be confusing, because many people would take "next" to mean the following one in a series. That we have mostly lost "nigh" from copmmon use is unfortunate.

Chase · May 10, 2013

King Neptune said:
As I understand it, "next" is the superlative of "nigh" ("near" is the comparatice). That would mean that The next exit is the closest one; the one that is right in front of you, but that might be confusing, because many people would take "next" to mean the following one in a series. That we have mostly lost "nigh" from copmmon use is unfortunate.

I fully agree with KN. Next means nearest. The girl next door doesn't live two houses away. If I'm the next customer to be waited on, it doesn't mean I'm second in line.

However, no amount of logic will prevail when colloquial and regional meanings get into the mix.

ironmikezero · May 10, 2013

Road signs (sigh)... Sometimes you gotta wonder what were they thinking?

I always feel a bit sorry for the SLOW CHILDREN the sign cautions about (they are no doubt playing very placid games nearby) but I rarely see them.

juniper · May 10, 2013

Chase said:
If I'm the next customer to be waited on, it doesn't mean I'm second in line.

Hmm, I see what you're saying, but from the viewpoint of the person doing the checking out, the person walking up to her is "this customer" and you would be "next."

So "this" thing is the one right here, "next" is the one after that.

Maybe. Sometimes. I'm glad I'm not the only one who's a little confused.

Chase · May 10, 2013

juniper said:
Hmm, I see what you're saying, but from the viewpoint of the person doing the checking out, the person walking up to her is "this customer" and you would be "next."

You got it right, except when the person is walking up to me, the clerk, the customer is still "next." He or she becomes "this customer" with eye-contact in money-passing distance.

Most of the confusion goes away when one understands "this" is something a person is touching. If it's out past a pointing finger, it becomes "that."

Today's Friday, the 10th. It's the only "this" day. Next Sunday (which isn't here but is coming like a runaway freight train) is Mothers' Day, May 12.

You'll :ty:

me later.

King Neptune · May 10, 2013

Chase further explained it, but some people will be confused regardless of how clear.

King Neptune · May 10, 2013

ironmikezero said:
Road signs (sigh)... Sometimes you gotta wonder what were they thinking?

I always feel a bit sorry for the SLOW CHILDREN the sign cautions about (they are no doubt playing very placid games nearby) but I rarely see them.

Or are they thinking? Some signs make no sense at all. I wonder if one can be fined for not obeying a sign that is not in any known language.

Chase · May 10, 2013

King Neptune said:
Or are they thinking? Some signs make no sense at all. I wonder if one can be fined for not obeying a sign that is not in any known language.

In Idaho: FROST HEAVES. Did the poet have an upset tummy?

In Montana: WATCH FOR FALLEN ROCK. A Native American went missing?

In Oregon: CONGESTION. Where's my bronchial inhaler?

And this is me:

King Neptune · May 10, 2013

Chase said:
In Idaho: FROST HEAVES. Did the poet have an upset tummy?

In Montana: WATCH FOR FALLEN ROCK. A Native American went missing?

In Oregon: CONGESTION. Where's my bronchial inhaler?

And this is me:

There was one on I-91 that just said "HEAVE."
Then there's the "Elderly People Crossing" sign in Litchfield, Ct. I never did see anyone cross the street there.

juniper · May 10, 2013

King Neptune said:
Chase further explained it, but some people will be confused regardless of how clear.

So glad you two "get it" but millions of others of us don't - or we disagree with what you're saying.

Too bad - you'll just have to put up with us.

I don't think touching something means it is "this" - you can point at two different things, one closer than the other, and say, "This vase is really ugly and goes into the thrift store box, but that other one we're keeping."

WriteMinded · May 19, 2013

The OP's post made me laugh. When driving through unfamiliar places, I'm always second-guessing what signs are trying to tell me. Next? Does that mean that one right there or the one down the road? My husband bought me a GPS. I'm a much happier, more confident traveler now, not having to figure out what those damn English words mean.

No, I don't speak any other language. Obviously, I have enough trouble with this one.

MysteriousFemme · May 31, 2013

Meh. It doesn't confuse me in the least. The "next" on highway signs to me just means the "next" coming exit meaning the first one coming up after that sign. Otherwise, they'd say "XYZ in 1/2 mile" or something the like. At least that's what I always see.

JustKia · Jun 1, 2013

I understand next to be the one coming after this point.
If a sign says to take the next exit I'll take the exit that comes after that sign whether it's 100yards or 6 miles.
In other words I would read "take the next exit" as "take the first exit that occurs after the position of this sign".

Next customer would be the first one waiting to be served after I'm done with the current customer.
Think of the customer being served as being before the "next exit sign" and the customer waiting as being after the "next exit sign".

Bufty · Jun 1, 2013

I saw this sign locally outside a house offering Bed and Breakfast.

'En-suite bedrooms'

Maybe guests relax in giant bathrooms while watching TV and having supper before sleeping in the pull-down bed concealed in the tiled wall. :snoopy:

King Neptune · Jun 1, 2013

Bufty said:
I saw this sign locally outside a house offering Bed and Breakfast.

'En-suite bedrooms'

Maybe guests relax in giant bathrooms while watching TV and having supper before sleeping in the pull-down bed concealed in the tiled wall.

Kinky, isn't it?

"This" vs "Next"

juniper

Always curious.

evilrooster

Wicked chicken

Bufty

Where have the last ten years gone?

Torgo

Formerly Phantom of Krankor.

King Neptune

Chase

It Takes All of Us to End Racism

ironmikezero

practical experience, FTW

juniper

Always curious.

Chase

It Takes All of Us to End Racism

King Neptune

King Neptune

Chase

It Takes All of Us to End Racism

King Neptune

juniper

Always curious.

WriteMinded

Derailed

MysteriousFemme

JustKia

My inner voice has terrible grammar

Bufty

Where have the last ten years gone?

King Neptune