People, when is "next Saturday"-- April 7th or April 14th?

Question

I'm sick of hearing people say next saturday and then having to ask, does that mean the next saturday to happen(Apr. 7) or the one after(Apr 14).

If it is a dumb question, why are the answers almost evenly split.

Answer 1

That's an excellent question! I often run into the same confusion with that phrase. I don't know if there is only one correct way to express that idea, but it certainly seems that people say it many different ways, whether they are right or not.

Personally, I would use the different expressions as follows:

This Saturday = April 7th
Next Saturday = April 14th
The following Saturday = April 21st

I think "this Saturday" definitely means the 1st one coming up (in this case April 7th). I would use "next Saturday" to refer to the one after that (April 14th). However, I know other people who would call April 7th "next Saturday". Here is where the problem comes in. I think everyone agrees that if someone says “this Saturday” it means April 7th. But if, instead, they say “next Saturday”, that’s when it could mean more than one date. That’s when people are forced to stop and ask, “Wait, do you mean the 7th or the 14th?”

I think a lot of the debate over “next Saturday” stems from the amount of time between the current date and the Saturday in question. For example, if on Sunday April 1st someone asks, “What are you doing next Saturday?” many people would assume that means April 7th since it’s almost a whole week away and we just had a Saturday yesterday. But if on Friday April 6th someone asks the same exact question, many people would assume it means April 14th since April 7th (tomorrow) is too close in time to consider it a “next” Saturday.

The real problem is when that same exact question is asked on a day like today, right in the middle of 2 Saturdays. If you want to know what someone is doing on April 7th you, as the asker, can avoid all confusion by asking “What are you doing THIS Saturday?” rather than “What are you doing NEXT Saturday?” But since we can’t stop OTHER people from asking about both April 7th and April 14th by calling them both “next Saturday”, I think we unfortunately are going to have to continue to ask for clarification, as some of the other posters here have stated.

Answer 2

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Answer 3

Most people would say "this Saturday" to mean the one directly coming up and "next Saturday" to mean the one after. It is annoying, but you're going to have to get clarification almost every time.

Answer 4

the next saturday is the 7th of april

Answer 5

I'd say undoubtedly April 7. This and Next are the same for me.

Answer 6

i say 14th, this saturday is the 7th, next saturday is the 14th

Answer 7

I'm thinking the 14th, but I'd get the clarification.

Answer 8

hmmm thats a good question, wel cince this saturday hasnt happened yet i guess maybe april 14th idk when someone says next saturday just ask them which one, we all may look at differently

Answer 9

7th=this
14th=next

Answer 10

7th