[Vocabulary] last vs this vs next xxxday

[K_ENG]

Let's say today is Feb. 9th and I'm talking about something that happened on Feb. 7th. In this case, should I refer to Feb. 7th. as last Tuesday since it is in the past or this Tuesday since it is still within the same week period?
What about Jan. 31st and Feb.16th?

Waiting for help,

Thanks

 

[cereal_chick]

It's last Tuesday. This Tuesday means "this Tuesday coming".
If you were talking about Jan. 31st, you would either say "January 31st" or "last month".
Feb. 16th would be "Feb. 16th", "next Thursday" or "a week on Thursday" (You'd use the last one more if it wasn't Thursday).

[Not a teacher]

 

[Barb_D]

I think you get into trouble with this.
If it's only Thusrday and you say "last Tuesday" I may think you mean the one the week before.

If today is Feb 23 and you say "I saw her Tuesday" then it's clearly in the past, so my assumption is that you mean Feb 21.
If you say "I saw her last Tuesday" I may think you mean Feb 14.

You'll have the same problem about the future.
If today is Feb 20, and you say "I'll see her next Friday" I may think you mean the Friday after next - March 2, while "Ill see her on Friday" clearly means Feb 24.

 

[K_ENG]

Thank you Calis & Barb_D.
Your answers are very helpful.
Now I understand (to some degree) why the usage of last/this/next with days of the week was quite confusing to me.
If anybody else has other opinions or explanations about this, I'd love to hear more.

 

[5jj]

If anybody else has other opinions or explanations about this, I'd love to hear more.

I can't add anything useful to what Barb wote.

I understand the logic behind Calis's response, but I cannot agree with his comments. If, on Thursday, somebody mentions 'last Tuesday' to me, then I automatically think of a day nine days before - as Barb suggested.