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It is October now, so do you say "this December" or "next December", or maybe both? Of course I am talking about the month after next.

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learner
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    This probably opinion based, but I would say "this coming December". – user3169 Oct 08 '14 at 19:20
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    Why not just say December this year? – Dust_In_The_Wind Oct 08 '14 at 20:31
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    For nearly all native speakers in nearly all contexts, *this December* means the month of December *in the current year. But if you were speaking in, say, January you'd very likely simply drop the qualifier completely to avoid any possibility of ambiguity (if you meant "in 11 month's time"). If in January you wanted to reference a time 23 months hence, it would be a bit stupid to rely on next* being unambiguously understood. Natural language simply isn't that precise. – FumbleFingers Oct 08 '14 at 21:06
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    alternatively you could say "upcoming December" – en.newbie21 Oct 08 '14 at 23:45
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    @FumbleFingers "Nearly all contexts" is much too strong. In "this December I went to Hawaii" it refers to December last year, not this year. –  Oct 09 '14 at 07:13
  • @user3169 This question is the opposite of primarily opinion based. It's not asking people what their favorite X is, it's asking how to communicate a specific concept in a specific context, in which there is a fixed and small number of idiomatic choices which can be objectively described. –  Oct 09 '14 at 07:20
  • @snailboat Even though the past or future may make it clear which December the speaker is talking about, this one "this December I went to Hawaii" has in fact surprised me! – learner Oct 09 '14 at 10:58
  • @snailboat, learner: That specific usage would normally only occur during the latter part of December, or the first couple of months of the new year. Effectively it turns on *this* referencing the December of this [current] winter, rather than this year*. You probably wouldn't still say "We spent this Christmas with my wife's parents"* by March or April. – FumbleFingers Oct 09 '14 at 13:41
  • @snailboat Perhaps, but I haven't seen any references backing what I have read so far. – user3169 Oct 09 '14 at 19:15
  • @user3169 No references is the norm here on ELL. Have you tried looking it up yourself? The topic is temporal deixis. See The Cambridge Grammar of the English Language p.1561. –  Oct 09 '14 at 19:35
  • Related: using “next” for days of the week. – Scott - Слава Україні Oct 10 '14 at 00:37
  • @snailboat OK, but that does not govern what vocabulary to use to describe such time-based relationships. The question clearly states the time of the statement (October) and the future time (December-the month after next), but is asking what exact words are best. As I read the answers and comments, I don't see that clear answer. Perhaps you could volunteer to write one? – user3169 Oct 10 '14 at 05:06

2 Answers2

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If it's clear you're referring to the future, "this December" should be okay all year round. "Next December", however, might be understood both as "the one that comes next", or "the next one after this one", with the second option seemingly being more common.

If it's not that clear - for example, if you're asked "what's the release date for the new Lara Croft game?" - you would risk being ambiguous with "this", but generally wouldn't with "next", if you're closer to the previous December than to the upcoming one.

In October, I'd generally use "this", though if you actually risk offshooting by a year, it's best to just say "December this/next/last year".

Maciej Stachowski
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  • A real life illustration of this answer. I lived in a city where highway exit signs were worded "XYZ this exit, ABC next exit". "This" was the upcoming one, "next" was the one after. I moved to a city where the signs were worded "XYZ next exit", meaning the upcoming one. I wasted a lot of gas missing exits. "Next" does not have a universal meaning. – fixer1234 Mar 21 '17 at 21:39
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My two cents to this.

...coming December

is also used if I'm talking about December 2014 right now

I also agree with this December which means the same. Mind it that if this month is December, 2014, we say 'next December' to talk about December 2015

Maulik V
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  • I think you meant 'December 2015' at the end there... – mwotton Oct 09 '14 at 06:23
  • Yes, "this coming December" is fine if you're trying to clarify, although people would generally just say "December". –  Oct 09 '14 at 07:22