Next

This page explains the difficulty of the word next for English language learners (and native speakers).

What could be difficult about the word next you might ask. In fact, using next correctly may not be as straightforward as you think. See how well you do answering the following questions.

Quiz

1. Imagine today is Tuesday and you would like to go to the cinema on Friday of this week. Is it correct to say: Shall we go to the cinema next Friday?

2. Can you say: Shall we play tennis next afternoon?

3. Is the following weather forecast grammatically correct? There will be a lot of rain in the next days?

4. Are both the following sentences correct?

  • The USA is the next country to Canada.
  • My sister sleeps in the next room to me.

5. Can you say both of the following sentences?

  • In 1989 I came to Germany and next year I bought a house.
  • I'm going to buy a house next year.

6. And what about these two?

  • I will be in London next week.
  • I will be in London next two weeks.

1. If today is Tuesday and you would like to go to the cinema on Friday of the current week, you would probably not say Shall we go to the cinema next Friday? For many people, this would mean Friday of next week. Instead, say: Shall we go to the cinema this Friday?

2. You cannot say Shall we play tennis next afternoon? It should be Shall we play tennis tomorrow afternoon?

3. The weather forecast There will be a lot of rain in the next days is incorrect. It should be ...in the next few days.

4. The USA is the next country to Canada is unusual. More likely is The USA is the nearest country to Canada or The USA borders on Canada. On the other hand, My sister sleeps in the next room to me is correct.

5. You cannot say In 1989 I came to Germany and next year I bought a house. It has to be In 1989 I came to Germany and the next year (or the following year) I bought a house. But the sentence I'm going to buy a house next year is correct.

6. I will be in London next week is correct but not I will be in London next two weeks. It should be I will be in London (for) the next two weeks.