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I would like to start planning for next year.

In the above sentence, there is no definite article before the words next year. Should it be present, as in the following sentence which sounds far less natural to me?

I would like to start planning for the next year.

Or, is it more proper to leave it out as in the first sentence? What is the reasoning behind the correct usage in this context?

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4 Answers 4

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Next in this usage is better regarded as a determiner rather than as an adjective. ( http://simple.wiktionary.org/wiki/next ) (compare last year, this year). The use of another definite determiner (the) is thus superfluous. However, this does not apply with following, present, and previous, where the definite article is needed to pre-modify:

I wanted to start planning for the following year.

I'd guess that following etc are behaving more like adjectives, so there needs to be a definite determiner (the definite article) added. Next grades into adjectivalness, so the definite article is an option. With this, the adjectival component does not exist, so we can't say for the this year.

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  • Does the same apply to previous?
    – Anton Shepelev
    Commented Jul 5, 2017 at 11:13
  • I grouped it with 'following' and 'present': I had just finalised the accounts for the previous year.
    – Edwin Ashworth
    Commented Jul 5, 2017 at 21:57
  • Pardon my inattention. I still find it very strange that such analogous and complementary words as next and previous should differ grammatically.—I hope it is not a deadly sin to ask here how to @mention a user's login if it has a space in it as does yours, Edwin?
    – Anton Shepelev
    Commented Jul 5, 2017 at 22:23
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    English is very idiosyncratic at times. As an example, in the UK, 'You should go to hospital with that cough' is totally idiomatic, while 'You should go to infirmary ...' is unacceptable. 'Is Jill home yet?' is fine while 'Is Jill work yet?' is ungrammatical.
    – Edwin Ashworth
    Commented Jul 5, 2017 at 23:45
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In your particular example, I would say that next year refers to 2013, while the next year refers to the twelve-month period ending at the end of November 2013. (Not much difference in practice, but more if you use the phrase in February). I can't explain the difference, but I'm sure it's there; perhaps it's just idiomatic.

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  • So, what you're saying is that the next year implies for the following year beginning twelve months from now.
    – Michael Goldshteyn
    Commented Nov 26, 2012 at 20:16
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    @MichaelGoldshteyn: No. 'the twelvemonth starting tomorrow', approximately.
    – Tim Lymington
    Commented Nov 26, 2012 at 21:15
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Idiomatically, if you say "I'll go next Tuesday", then putting aside any ambiguity over whether "next" means after today, or after this week, it's effectively always relative to "now".

You say "I'll go the next Tuesday" only when some other event in the context establishes a different timeframe ("I'll go the next Tuesday after my car is repaired", for example).

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They are both valid, and mostly mean the same. When you use "the" you are indicating a specific next year, which in most contexts will be the one following current. But it is certainly possible for that not to be true. Consider this:

  • Boss: Where are we at with long term planning?
  • Me: I would like to start planning for next year. (2013)
  • Boss: 2013? What about after that?
  • Me: No problem, I will also start planning for the next year too (2014.)
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  • It would seem that the adjective 'next' takes the place of 'the' in the second bullet point, so that the article becomes redundant and can therefore be ommitted. In the fourth bullet point, the article adds meaning and must be present. Is this correct?
    – Michael Goldshteyn
    Commented Nov 26, 2012 at 17:42
  • @MichaelGoldshteyn Yes. When next year means "the year which follows this year", next acts as a determiner, just like the or this. Otherwise, next is just an adjective, and a determiner is required.
    – StoneyB on hiatus
    Commented Nov 26, 2012 at 17:45
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    I don't think they "mostly mean the same". As your 2014 example clearly shows, you normally only include "the" when referring to a year other than the one immediately after the current year. And even then, only in contexts where the year that came before it has been explicitly mentioned earlier in the discourse.
    – FumbleFingers
    Commented Nov 26, 2012 at 17:55
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    Personally, I would always say 'following' rather than 'next' in your last line.
    – Tim Lymington
    Commented Nov 26, 2012 at 18:21

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