When someone refers to a furture day within the current week, should 'this' or 'next' be used? For instance, if they say that they will be out 'next Friday' and today is Tuesday, are they saying that they will be out in 3 days or 10 days? This week or next week?


Thanks

Mmmn, this is an interesting question, and I'm afraid there is no official answer. However, if you start on Thu and work backwards, I think you get the answer. For example:
(On Thu) I am going out next Fri. (You obvious don't mean tomorrow.)
(On Wed) I am going out next Fri. (Again, I would say that wasn't in two days either.)
(On Tue) Same
(On Mon) Same
For me, the problem only appears on the Sun.
(On Sun) I am going out next Fri. (This is ambigious, but it needn't be if we follow the "rules" that applied for Mon-Thu.)
My conclusion, therefore, is that "next" means in the following week.