[Grammar] On Tuesday / On a/the Tuesday

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milan2003_07

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Hello,

When speaking about the closest day to the present moment we don't use an article in constructions like "on Tuesday", "On Sunday", etc. However sometimes we can come across "On a Tuesday", "On a Sunday", etc. Are they used when we're speaking about a day of the week in general rather than about the closest one(s):

1) I was him on Tuesday (= last Tuesaday)
2) I will see him on Tuesday (next Tuesday)
3) The meeting will occur on a Tuesday (but we haven't yet made a decision which Tuesday)
4) We met on the Wednesday after my arrival (not last Wednesday)

Thanks!!!
 

milan2003_07

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A misprint. I meant "I SAW him ...", not "was him" :)

Have I mentioned all the differences or there're some more?
 

Barb_D

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I'd like to point out the problem with using "next."

If it's Monday the 10th (and it is) and you want to refer to Tuesday the 18th, I'd say "next Tuesday" because it's clearly not tomorrow.

But if you tell me "next Friday" on a Monday, I'm not sure if you mean the one immediately coming up, or the one in next week. (I'd say "this Friday" for the 14th, and "a week from Friday" for the 21st. But not everyone may!)
 

milan2003_07

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In Russian if I were told "next Friday", I would think about the closest one no matter which week it is. Say it's Monday now. Someone says to me "I'm leaving next Friday". Of course I'll ask again which Friday is being spoken about, but I'm likely think about the Friday this week. However if I heard this on Thursday, I would have doubts about the day the person is talking about. In this situation I'd probably first think about the Friday next week.

So what you've said is worth taking into account.
 
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