Next is either a pronoun, an adjective or an adverb.
Why do the phrases "for the next years" and "in the next years" sound so weird to me? Coming years, following years, future years they all seem ok to me but next years doesn't. What's wrong with me?
I am not a native English speaker, but to me "next" seems to refer to something that is immediately next to the point of reference. The "next" year is the year immediately after the current one. The "next" few years follow the current year immediately.
If my understanding of this matter is aligned with that of a native speaker, then the phrase "in the next years" implies a contradiction, because there can only be one next year. The same contradiction is not present in the phrase "in the next few years", because you are referring to a group that consists of "a few years" and follows immediately after the current year.
The etymology of “next” has an influence on its use. The OED informs that prior to the 14th century next was the superlative of nigh and (from early Middle English onwards) near.
It continues
The further (and now usual) analogical superlative nearest is first attested in the 15th cent. and becomes widespread in the 16th. After the emergence of these analogical superlatives, the superlative sense of next begins to become secondary (although it is never entirely lost: there are no senses in which it can form its own superlative). The notion of greatest proximity tends to be merged into that of adjacency, either within a sequence or series or simply as regards physical location.
Thus 1. “They hung him from the next tree” differs from 2. “They hung him from the nearest tree”.
This concept is further shown in the different answers to:
“I have placed the numbers 1, 2, 3 on the table. Which is the nearest number?”
“I have placed the numbers 1, 2, 3 on the table. What is the next number?”
In the next few/three/one thousand years works because the proximity and series of those years is defined by a limit on the series.
In the next years does not work well because “years” is unlimited: this causes "next years" to be vague and uncertain - it could mean "two" or "two billion" - it is therefore avoided.
From the site Ludwig.guru. Many examples of "in the next years" in the press and magazines, in technical/scientific and non-technical texts..
"People are mentally stressed by anxiousness about what is coming in the next years".
1 The New York Times "In the next years, we should have a constitutional democracy plus a market economy".
2 The New York Times "And in the next years, millions more will move to these places".
3 The New York Times - Magazine I'm sure that in the next years they will have the last step.
4 The Guardian - Sport On medical forms in the next years, I confessed my abortion when asked.
5 The New York Times - Magazine In the next years, Ms. Buechner largely disappeared from public view, though not by choice.
6 The New York Times - If things were set right, the German economy would grow more in the next years than in the previous ones. 7 The New York Times "I'm very happy and extremely committed to give everything I have, also in the next years when I'm with them.
8 The Guardian - Sport The fruits will be borne in the next years.
9 The Journal of Headache and Pain - So the disposal of these cars is of increasing importance in the next years.
10 Robotics and Autonomous Systems - In the next years the luminosity of the LHC will be significantly increased.
11 Mechanical Systems and Signal Processing - The sea will be a source of economic development in the next years.
12 Marine Genomics - The existing, planned and discussed ECAs are uncertain about their implementation in the next years.
13 Journal of Shipping and Trade - Possible new SAR missions in the next years include SAOCOM-CS and Tandem-L.
14 Carbon Balance and Management - In the next years the potential mechanisms of CGRP-mAbs should be explored by pharmacological methods.
15 The Journal of Headache and Pain In the next years the potential mechanisms of CGRP-mAbs should be explored by pharmacological methods.
Also, please note the scientific contexts in which it appears.
I don't think one can quibble with any of the uses of the phrase in the forgoing examples.
"in the next years" is basically semantically the same as "in the coming years".
Cambridge University:
There are technologies entering the market that will help us bridge that gap in the next years for blended textiles.
The Institute for Sustainability Leadership CISL
Oxford University
COVID-19 Government Response Tracker So, in the next years, our researchers will analyse our authoritative dataset with innovative quantitative and qualitative methods to delve deeper into different government responses to the COVID-19 pandemic and shed light on the causal links between pandemic responses and relevant social, political, and economic factors.
Just two examples of university usage in the UK.
Harvard College
At the same time, in the next years, we’re going to do something. People have been saying that it’s going to be done for a long time, but it actually is going to be done. Harvard College Fund
STANFORD MEDICINE MAGAZINE
And how do we respond to other pandemics likely to arise in the next years or decades?
Stanford
[I don't think this is at all strange sounding; in the next years, in the next months, in the next days, in the next eons, in the next decades, etc. are all idiomatic in English. It also is not exactly the same as: in the next few years, etc.]
Another example:
The next years would be difficult for the boy. [subject, noun] The boy would have difficulties in the next years. [adverbial]
I suspect the reason is that this expression is too vague about the time period covered, and consequently people normally use a more informative variation, such as "in the next few years".
"In the next years" sounds like a mismatch because next can mean specifically the "very" next with the "very" being understood or implied by context. That usage of "next" implies a singular item, which clashes with the plural "years".
With a bit of thinking on the hearer's part, there is a clear meaning with no contradiction. "Next" must then mean all years that can ever be a next, that is to say, specifically excluding the past and present years. It thus means all the future years. If it helps, does this next example using "next" again as an adjective paired with plural noun show the same meaning without the clashing? "The next birthday parties will be better." For me, I think it does.
