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This week received a question about time expressions from Dara in Cambodia. He asks,
本周我们收到了关于时间表达的一个问题，提问者是来自柬埔寨的达拉。他问，
Do you use the phrase "last Tuesday?"
你使用"上个星期二"这样的表达么？
If so, what does it mean? Does it mean "on Tuesday last week" or "on Tuesday this week?"
如果用的话，它是什么意思呢？它的意思是"上周的星期二"还是"这周的星期二"？
I have the same question for "next Tuesday." Thank you. - Dara, Cambodia.
关于"下个星期二"，我也有同样的问题。谢谢你。-达拉，来自柬埔寨。
Dear Dara, That is a great question.
亲爱的达拉，这是个很棒的问题。
Even native English speakers can misunderstand these expressions.
就算是说英语的本地人都可能理解错这样的表达。
"Last" and "next" are both adjectives.
"上一个"和"下一个"都是形容词。
When we use them with a day of the week, their meaning can change depending on the time we are speaking.
当我们把这两个词和一周内的某天连用时，它们的意思会根据我们说话时的时间发生改变。
"Last" means the most recent.
"上一个"意思是最近的。
If today is Wednesday, and I tell you, "I talked with her last Tuesday," you might think I meant I talked with her eight days ago.
如果今天是星期三，我告诉你，"上个周二我和她说话了，"你可能认为我的意思是我八天前和她说过话。
The reason is if I had talked with her only one day ago, I would have said, "I talked with her yesterday."
因为如果我就是一天前和她说过话，我会说，"我昨天和她说话了。"
So, when I say, "I talked with her last Tuesday," I mean the Tuesday of the week before.
所以，当我说"我上个周二和她说话了，" 我的意思是前面那一周的周二。
Now imagine that today is Thursday or Friday.
现在假设今天是周四或者周五。
That means Tuesday is only a few days ago.
那么周二就是几天前。
Here is what I would probably say: "I talked to her on Tuesday."
那么我很可能会说："我周二和她说话了。"
But now imagine it is Saturday or Sunday, a little further away from the day I talked with her.
但是假设今天是周六或周日，距离我和她说话的时间稍微有点远。
If I say, "I talked with her last Tuesday" you would probably ask me, "Do you mean on Tuesday of this week?" to make certain of the exact day.
如果我说，"我和她上个周二说话了"，你很可能会问我，"你说的是本周的周二么？"来确定具体日期。
Note that people in different places where English is spoken use these expressions in somewhat different ways.
注意，说英语的人们，地区不一样他们使用这些表达的方式也有些不同。
So it is not unusual for native speakers to ask questions when they hear someone using "last" or "next" with a day.
所以本地人听到别人说"上一个"或者"下一个"某天时，他们也会询问，这很常见。
"Next" means "coming after the one that just came or happened." Suppose you get a message by email that says, "The meeting is next Tuesday."
"下一个"意思是"刚刚发生的那天之后而来的。"假设你收到一封邮件内容是，"会议安排在下个周二。"
Since today is Wednesday, it is clear that the meeting will be in six days.
因为今天是周三，很明显会议在六天后召开。
But if you have not been reading your email regularly and you get the message on Monday, you may want to check the date on the message.
但是如果你没有定期查看邮件，周一才看到，你可能想要核实消息中会议的日期。
If you did not look at the date of the email, you would probably think the meeting is in eight days.
如果你没有看邮件的日期，你很可能会认为会议在八天后召开。
The reason is that the writer would have said, "The meeting is tomorrow" if it was on Tuesday of the current week.
因为如果是本周周二的话，发件人可能会写"会议明天召开。"你可以检查下自己是否理解了。
You can check your understanding. Imagine that today is Friday. You are having a party eight days from now. Which expression is the best to use?
假设今天是周五。你将会在八天后开派对。用下面哪个说法最好呢？
1. Can you come to my party next Saturday?
1. 你下周六能来参加我的派对么？
2. Can you come to my party on Saturday?
2. 你周六能来参加我的派对么？
And that's Ask a Teacher for this week.
以上就是本期名师答疑的全部内容。
I'm Jill Robbins.
我是吉尔·罗宾斯。
