Last year....

[Unregistered]

Hello! Perhaps you can help. If I were to say "last October," you'd think I meant October of 2003. Yet, if I were to say "last July," many people I talk to believe that to mean July of 2004. The same types of dilemma occur when talking about days of the week. What are the rules for this?

My very best regards,

James Denny
Lyndonville, NY

[Casiopea]

Hello! Perhaps you can help. If I were to say "last October," you'd think I meant October of 2003. Yet, if I were to say "last July," many people I talk to believe that to mean July of 2004. The same types of dilemma occur when talking about days of the week. What are the rules for this?

My very best regards,

James Denny
Lyndonville, NY

There aren't any rules that I know of. Modification works best. For example, if today is Thursday, and I want to refer to two days ago, I'd say, on Tuesday past, or this past Tuesday, or two days ago Tuesday. As for years, if it's November, and I want to refer to October of this year, I'd use: last month, or in October (of this year).

Relationships in time and space are deictic; e.g., this apple here versus that apple over there. In native American languages, there is even a deictic pronoun, a single word, which in English takes up an entire phrase to express; i.e., the person who is not here with us as we are speaking.