Ever get confused between “this Friday” and “next Friday”? This article will explain everything.
What Is The Difference Between “Next Friday” And “This Friday”?
“Next Friday”, from Monday-Thursday and Saturday-Sunday, means the Friday after the next upcoming Friday. On Friday, it means in 7 days time. “This Friday”, from Monday-Thursday means the next upcoming Friday. On Friday, it means today. On Saturday/Sunday it means yesterday/the day before yesterday.
Why The “Next Friday” Vs “This Friday” Rule Is Kind Of Weird
Before I go on to explain this any further, let me just acknowledge this, this whole situation of “this Friday” vs “Next Friday” is very weird, and maybe slightly confusing.
Because when I say “this Friday”, if it’s Monday to Thursday, I am talking about the Friday that comes next. So “next Friday” isn’t the next Friday on the calendar, it’s Friday next week.
But, that all changes as soon as it hits the weekend, when “next Friday” becomes the next Friday, and “this Friday” becomes in the past.
I know it’s confusing, but that’s English for you.
What Does “Next Friday” Mean?
Let’s say you want to find out how long until “next Friday”. The first step is to find out what day it is.
If it’s Monday to Thursday, count the days until it’s Friday, then add a week. If it’s Friday, just add a week.
But if it’s either Saturday or Sunday, you will need to count the number of days you have left until it’s Friday again.
And that is how you figure out how long you have until “Next Friday”. When you hear “Next Friday”, think of it as being a shortened way of saying “Next week’s Friday”.
4 Examples Of “Next Friday”
- “I have a doctor’s appointment, but it’s not until next Friday. I guess I’ll just have to push through the pain until then”
- “The new series of Doctor Who will be on next Friday. It’s still Monday, so we still have plenty of time to plan around it”
- “My next day off isn’t until next Friday. By that time, I will be far too tired to do anything on my day off”
- “School finishes for the year next Friday. If we can just get through this next week and a bit, it will all be plain sailing from there”.
What Does “This Friday” Mean?
And now, let’s say you wanted to try and figure out how long you had until “this Friday”. The first step is to ask yourself what day it is.
If it’s Monday to Thursday, just count the number of days until you hit Friday. If it’s Friday, then “this Friday” is today, you’re there already.
But, if it’s Saturday, “this Friday” was yesterday. And if it’s Sunday, “this Friday” was two days ago.
Remember, when you hear “this Friday”, think of it like being a shortened version of “This week’s Friday”.
4 Examples Of “This Friday”
- “I have a doctor’s appointment, and it’s this Friday. I’m glad to finally see a doctor soon. This pain has been bothering me for weeks”
- “The new series of Doctor Who will be on this Friday. It’s still Monday, but 4 days is not as much time as it sounds”
- “My next day is this Friday. I’m already tired, but thankfully, Friday is just a few days away”
- “School finishes for the year this Friday. If we can just get through these next few days, it will be plain sailing from there”
“Next Friday” Vs “This Friday”- A Rule To Help You Understand
What if instead of “this Friday”, you hear a phrase such as “this Christmas”, “next Thanksgiving”, “this Happy hour”, or “next National Orange Cat Day”?
Here’s what to do when you want to figure out if event X is “this” or “next”.
The first question is “How often does X occur?”. In the case of “Friday,” the answer is weekly.
The next question is “Has event X happened during the current time-period it occurs?”. So if X is weekly, “Has it happened this week?”. If it’s yearly, “Has it happened this year?”. If it’s daily, “has it happened today?”. And so on.
If the answer is “yes”, that means “this X” has already occurred, and you should plan for “next X”.
If the answer is “no”, “this X” has not happened yet and you should start thinking about it.
Conclusion
And now you know some more about the differences between “this Friday” and “next Friday”.
To put it simply, “this Friday” is this week’s Friday. And “next Friday” is next week’s Friday.
Martin holds a Master’s degree in Finance and International Business. He has six years of experience in professional communication with clients, executives, and colleagues. Furthermore, he has teaching experience from Aarhus University. Martin has been featured as an expert in communication and teaching on Forbes and Shopify. Read more about Martin here.
