next century as an adverb?

[Yoshio]

Can I use "next century" as an adverb like "next week"?

For example,

I hope nobody will judge people by the color of their skin next century.

Is it better to say "in the next century" ? I searched for "next century" used as an adverb on the Internet but I didn't see any.

[riverkid]

Can I use "next century" as an adverb like "next week"?

For example,

I hope nobody will judge people by the color of their skin next century.

Is it better to say "in the next century" ? I searched for "next century" used as an adverb on the Internet but I didn't see any.

Certainly 'next century' has its uses but I think it is better to use, "in the next century", in this case, Yoshio.

[kristinita]

Yes, in the next century is an adverb

[Yoshio]

Thank you so much for your help, Kristina and Riverkid.

So "next century" as an adverb is not wrong but "in the next century" is preferable in some cases, right?

By the way, are there any cases where "next century" is preferable to "in the next century"? Is the latter one something you can use in any situation?
It seems to me that "in the next century" is more general.

I can't thank you enough.

[riverkid]

Thank you so much for your help, Kristina and Riverkid.

So "next century" as an adverb is not wrong but "in the next century" is preferable in some cases, right?

By the way, are there any cases where "next century" is preferable to "in the next century"? Is the latter one something you can use in any situation?
It seems to me that "in the next century" is more general.

I can't thank you enough.

I really can't say for sure what the distinction might be, Yoshio. Why don't you do an English only Google, "with the exact phrase" search and try to discern any potential differences?

There are about 7,570,000 English pages for "next century".

and

there are about 1,160,000 English pages for "in the next century".

The results give me an indication that 'next century' is more general, but ...