Tag: Future Tense

Teacher’s Diary – This / Next / Last

Posted on by Jeff

 

THIS weekend.

Do you know which weekend I’m talking about?

Am I talking about LAST weekend or NEXT weekend?

 

The answer for this is easy.  Just look at the tense of the question. 

What DID you do this weekend?  ← past tense.  The person is asking about past events.

What WILL you do this weekend?  ← future tense.  The person is asking about future plans.

So far, so good. 

 

THIS, NEXT and LAST.

Here is where it gets a little tricky. 

To understand how to use these words, we have to think about how far away in time the weekend is.

 

Using THIS and NEXT:

Imagine that today is the 15th (Thursday) or 16th (Friday).

If I ask you:  What will you do THIS weekend?  I’m talking about the 17th-18th.

If I ask you:  What will you do NEXT weekend?  I’m probably talking about the 24th-25th.

The 15th (Thursday) and 16th (Friday) are close to the weekend (17th-18th).  So, instead of using NEXT, we may change it to THIS.

 

Now Imagine that today is the 12th (Monday) or 13 (Tuesday).

If I ask you:  What will you do THIS weekend?  I’m talking about the 17th-18th.

If I ask you:  What will you do NEXT weekend?  I’m also talking about the 17th-18th.

The 12th (Monday) and 13th (Tuesday) seem far from the weekend (17th-18th).  So, using THIS and NEXT are both OK.

 

Using THIS and LAST:

Imagine that today is the 12th (Monday) or 13th (Tuesday).

If I ask you:  What did you do THIS weekend?  I’m talking about the 10th-11th.

If I ask you:  What did you do LAST weekend?  I’m probably talking about the 3rd-4th.

 

Now Imagine, that today is the 15th (Thursday) or 16th (Friday).

If I ask you:  What did you do LAST weekend?  I’m talking about the 10th-11th.

I won’t ask you:  What did you do THIS weekend?  It may sound unnatural because Thursday and Friday seem far from the previous weekend.

 

 

What about the days in the middle of the week (Wednesday, sometimes Tuesday)?

That’s a good question.  It is not so clear.  So if you have any doubt, you should clarify.

Common clarifying phrases for these situations are:

  • Do you mean THIS weekend or NEXT weekend?
  • Do you mean THIS weekend or LAST weekend?

 

Here is an example conversation:

Situation:  Today is the 14th (Wednesday).

A:  What will you do next weekend?

B:  Do you mean this weekend or next weekend?

A:  This weekend.

B:  I see.  I’m going to a baseball game this weekend.

 

Situation:  Today is the 13th (Tuesday).

A:  Hey, what did you do last weekend.

B:  Do you mean this weekend or last weekend?

A:  This weekend.

B:  Oh.  I went skiing in Nagano.

 

As you can see, speaking naturally in this situation is complicated.  With practice you will get the feel for it.  In the mean time, make sure you are listening to the tense of the question and don’t forget to use the clarifying phrases. 

So, what will you do next weekend?

 

Natural English used in this post:

so far, so good = the situation is good from the beginning to now

tricky = difficult

get the feel for = learn / get used to

in the mean time = the time before an event

 

Teacher’s Diary – In / After

Posted on by Jeff

 

Often my students have difficulty talking about FUTURE EVENTS.  

In lessons, I hear students use phrases like these:

 

My friend will come to Japan AFTER two days. .

I will go to Hawaii two weeks AFTER. 

 

Both of these may get the point across, but both are UNNATURAL when talking about future events. 

 

There is a much easier way to talk about future events –> using “IN”

Here are some examples:

 

I will go to Hawaii IN two weeks.

My flight is IN 20 minutes.

We will arrive in Honolulu IN two and a half hours. 

 

So,  when you are asked about future events, try answering with “IN”.

 

A: When are you going to New York?  

B: I’m going IN three weeks.

 

A: When will you finish the report?

B: I will be finished IN 30 minutes. 

 

 

Now, you may be asking:  How can we use “AFTER”?  

We can use “AFTER” when talking about TWO events. 

Here are some examples:

 

I will make dinner AFTER I finish watching this movie.

AFTER visiting Italy, I started studying Italian history.

Let’s go for a drink AFTER work.

AFTER you finish the report, hand it to the manager.  

 

So the structure can be:

(Event # 2)  AFTER  (Event # 1).

 

For example:

Event # 1 –> Eat dinner.

Event # 2 –> Pay the bill.

I will pay the bill AFTER eating dinner. 

 

Event # 1 –> Charge my phone.

Event # 2 –> Call you.

I will call you AFTER I charge my phone. 

 

For the opposite structure, use –> THEN

The structure can be:

(Event # 1)  THEN  (Event # 2).

 

For example:

Event # 1 –> Eat dinner.

Event # 2 –> Pay the bill.

I will eat dinner THEN pay the bill. 

 

Event # 1 –> Charge my phone.

Event # 2 –> Call you.

I will charge my phone THEN call you. 

 

 

So, when is your next vacation? 

When is your next break? 

When will dinner be ready?

Try answering this questions about FUTURE EVENTS using “IN”.

 

Next time, we will learn phrases for PAST EVENTS.

See you then!

 

Natural English in this article:

Get the point across  = To communicate, to be understood.

Go for a drink = This phrase is used when inviting a person for an alcoholic drink.  The phrase indicates having only one drink, but in reality more than one drink may be consumed. In Western culture, the drinking alcohol is often downplayed.

Hand (verb) = To give something to another person.