Is "last Monday" ambiguous?

In the U.S. From my experience, “last Monday” generally would be the 3rd. For the 10th, people would say “this past Monday”. Some people may not agree, though.

For me it would mean the 3rd. If I were referring to the 10th I would probably say “on Monday” since it’s still the same week or “this past Monday” if I want to be even more clear.

I don't think people are consistent with this. To me, if we both know we are talking about something in the past then 'last Monday' is the Monday of the previous week (the 3rd) and 'this Monday' is the Monday of this current week (the 10th). It's definitely confusing, because 'this Monday' usually refers to the coming Monday. But you can tell the difference based on the tense of the sentence: "It is happening this Monday" - something will happen the next Monday from today "It was happening this Monday" - something happened on the Monday of this current week, on the Monday that is now in the past This kind of ambiguity usually doesn't come up much though, because you would usually just say "it was on Monday" or "it was yesterday" to refer to the past. But it can happen occasionally, and definitely something that varies by region

If today is Thursday the 13th then last Monday is clearly the 10th. (Monday last week would mean the 3rd) If today is Monday 13th then last Monday Is clearly the 3rd. If today is Tuesday 11th it can be a little ambiguous. Like it should mean Monday 10th but people can forget or make mistakes causing them to say the wrong thing and it’s more likely to occur the day after than 3 days after.

last xxxx refers to the latest one so the 10th. for the 3rd, you'd have to say Monday last week.

I think it could be a bit ambiguous. I’m in Arizona now, and grew up in California. In my experience, we tend to just say the day of the week, if we’re still in the current week. Today’s Thursday. If I asked a coworker “When did you get your oil changed in your car?”, they would just answer Monday if it was this week, and would say “last Monday “ if they were referring to the 3rd.

This matter is hotly debated, which I suppose is enough to confirm that yes, it is ambiguous. [\[1\]](https://www.reddit.com/r/ENGLISH/comments/1g99s3l/what_does_next_summer_mean/), [\[2\]](https://www.reddit.com/r/grammar/comments/nmazj7/this_weekend_vs_next_weekend/), [\[3\]](https://www.reddit.com/r/grammar/comments/d76sxc/this_week_or_next_week/), [\[4\]](https://www.reddit.com/r/ENGLISH/comments/k77f8u/ambiguity_with_the_phrase_next_friday_next_day_x/), [\[5\]](https://www.reddit.com/r/EnglishLearning/comments/q6hvy1/this_next_coming_thursday_last_past_thursday/), [\[6\]](https://www.reddit.com/r/EnglishLearning/comments/13my23g/i_am_confused_with_this_sunday_and_next_sunday/), [\[7\]](https://www.reddit.com/r/EnglishLearning/comments/1894who/next_thursday_vs_this_thursday/), [\[8\]](https://www.reddit.com/r/EnglishLearning/comments/r0ithm/is_it_correct_to_say_this_summer_if_we_are_in/), [\[9\]](https://www.reddit.com/r/EnglishLearning/comments/931c6s/last_spring_means_spring_in_this_year_or_spring/). Some people follow a system whereby "last Monday" means Monday in the last week, "next Monday" means Monday in the next week, and "this Monday" means Monday in this week. Very neat, but not very logical. Others follow a system whereby "last Monday" means whichever Monday was last, "next Monday" means whichever Monday is next, and "this Monday" means whichever Monday is closest either way. These people say "last week Monday" and "next week Monday" for the other sense. Very logical, but not very neat. It's a mess.

(UK) It's a little ambiguous. You might want to say "Monday just gone/passed".

(UK) Yes, it's ambiguous, and it often causes confusion amongst native speakers. If often leads to extra dialogue; "do you mean 3 days ago, or the week before?". It is better to avoid it, and be more clear. Give the date, or refer to "Monday, just over a week ago". Some people say "the Monday before last".

Ambiguous, I would assume the 3rd. Personally I'd use "This past Monday". But everyone is different.

ambiguous. "This monday, I went to church." or "This monday, I'll go to church." are both correct.

This is a great question. I am from the UK but grew in Australia from age 10 onward (im 30 now). My Dad (northern England) uses last or next to talk about the most recent or the next coming day with that name. However, I hate this haha. Personally, I use "on Monday" for this week if its Tuesday +, and "this Friday" if its Thursday and before. To me, "last" means the week prior, and "next" means the coming week at all times. It can be regional, yes. I truly believe I learned this in the British midlands and it isn't an Aussie thing. TL;DR - Yes it's pretty relative so worth clarifying dates!

The 10th - obviously

Because the Monday is not last. Continue

Yeah usually when I talk about Monday in the current week I'm in (so it might be Wednesday and the Monday two days ago) I would say "on Monday X happened" and Last Monday would typically mean the Monday in rhe week before.

If it’s Tuesday then you’re probably good. Thursday though … that’s asking for confusion.

(Native speaker from the US) - I would say that it is unambiguous and refers to the 3rd. Others here say that it's clearly the 10th, so apparently it is ambiguous. Typically if I was referring to the 10th I would just say "Monday" with context that makes clear that I'm talking about the past. In my opinion, all of these examples unequivocally refer to the 10th: "Do you remember what they said on Monday?" "You saw her on Monday right?" "Is this done yet?" "Yeah, I took care of it on Monday" or: "No, but it was on the schedule for Monday" However, with a slight change, "Monday" means the 17th: "No, it's on the schedule for Monday" Finally, if I wanted to say the 3rd, I would say: "Yeah I took care of that last Monday"

I typically specify with "This coming Monday" or "Monday just gone" It's enough detail to specify which specific Monday it was.

It's this Monday, when you refer to the current week. Last Monday would mean Monday from the previous week. I think

There’s no ambiguity, not for me at least. It means the Monday of the week before the week you are currently in. You would just say “on Monday” if you were referring to the current week’s Monday.

may be

Yes, it's ambiguous, and gets confusing even for conversations between native speakers. If it's unclear I would clarify further by saying 'three days ago' or 'on the 3rd' etc.

Personally, I’d use “last Monday” for the 3rd and “this past Monday” for the 10th

To me, "last Monday" is the most recent Monday to occur, so the 10th, and "next Monday" is the upcoming Monday. The Monday before the previous one would be "two Mondays ago". And for me, "this Monday" refers to the Monday of this week, whether it's in the future or past.

The correct usage is as follows: “Last Monday” refers to the Monday of the week previous. The most recent Monday is “this past Monday”. If you say “last Monday” today, you mean the 3rd. If you say “this past Monday” today, you mean the 10th. Or at least that’s what you’ve communicated to the person with whom you’re speaking.

It would refer to the 10th. “Last [day of the week]” always means “the most recent [day of the week] that came before”

I haven’t seen any comments mentioning this yet, but I often find that people say “this Monday coming” when it’s midweek to specify “not the Monday that just happened”. I’ve also heard people say “this Monday just gone” when it’s midweek to specify the opposite.

(UK)Somewhat ambiguous I'd say since different people might mean different things. If it isn't obvious for other reasons I might explicitly say Thursday this week or last week to avoid confusion.