student asking question

Why did the speaker use "the following year" instead of "the next year"?

teacher

Native speaker’s answer

Rebecca

This is a bit of a tricky one. When we use the word "next" to indicate a sequence of events or timeline, we usually mean "next" in reference to the current year (the year after this year). "Following" is a synonym, but its usage is a little different. We use this word a lot when describing events that have happened in the past. In this case, "following year" is used to not describe the year after the current year, but the year after the one being spoken about (which is not the current year). Based on this slight difference, we can see that "next year" and "following year" may not be referencing the same year. If you wish to describe a timeline of events that happened in the past, using "the following [day/month/year]" or the [day/month/year] after" is preferable. Ex: I was born in 1996. The following year, my brother was born. (The year after 1996) Ex: The sequel of my favorite book is coming out next month. (The month after this one)

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