Question: > 
> **Possible Duplicate:**  
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> [Which day does “next Tuesday” refer to?](https://english.stackexchange.com/questions/3841/which-day-does-next-tuesday-refer-to) 
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I got a fortune cookie with the message *you will have lots of fun next weekend* on a Wednesday. Which weekend does this refer to? Is it the one in three days or the one after that?

Answer: 
This is a good question and an eternal ambiguity, at least in American English. We commonly use *next weekend* to refer to the weekend that is absolutely closest to us in the future only when we are close enough to the previous weekend that *this weekend* could refer to the weekend just past.

For example, if it's Monday or even Tuesday, *this weekend* could mean the weekend we just had. For example:

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> Q. What did you do this weekend?  
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>  A. We went skiing.
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And *next weekend* then refers to the coming weekend:

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> Q. So are you going to go again next weekend?  
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>  A. I'm not sure.
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If it's Thursday or later, *this weekend* more likely refers to the coming weekend.

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> Q. Do you want to go skiing this weekend?  
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>  A. I have a party this weekend. But I'm free next weekend.
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But if you're on the cusp (Wednesday, give or take a day), you would probably have to make clear which weekend you really did mean.

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> Q. Do you want to go skiing next weekend?  
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>  A. You mean this coming weekend or the one after?
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Note that *this coming weekend* invariably refers to the weekend closest to the present date.
Looking at the "verb tense" of the sentence should be enough. The only thing I can say "this" may have a "limited scope" in time span where "last" and "next" come into usage. Consider:

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> I watched TV this/last weekend
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> I will watch TV this/next weekend
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