I had the "last" argument with someone in Canada...at length.
My feeling is that "last" refers to something in the relatively distant past.
In the argument, the noun in question was "weekend" - in which case, my argument was that "last weekend" could refer to the most recent one (referred to as weekend #2 for clarity's sake) *if* the next one (weekend #3) was closer than it (w2) was (i.e. if it is Thursday or Friday) - but otherwise, "last" refers to the one prior (w1). In which case, the most recent one (w2) would usually be referred to as "over the weekend" or "this past weekend".
The argument then spiraled into "this weekend" versus "next weekend"...
I am still unsure if that argument had more to do with his Canadianness or his argumentativeness. :)
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My feeling is that "last" refers to something in the relatively distant past.
In the argument, the noun in question was "weekend" - in which case, my argument was that "last weekend" could refer to the most recent one (referred to as weekend #2 for clarity's sake) *if* the next one (weekend #3) was closer than it (w2) was (i.e. if it is Thursday or Friday) - but otherwise, "last" refers to the one prior (w1). In which case, the most recent one (w2) would usually be referred to as "over the weekend" or "this past weekend".
The argument then spiraled into "this weekend" versus "next weekend"...
I am still unsure if that argument had more to do with his Canadianness or his argumentativeness. :)