if my friend asks me on today 3.2.2017 this question:
What have you bought in the last two weeks? What should I say to him?
(I bought a car weeks ago on Tuesday.)
Would it be okay to say: I bought a new car? Or it would be wrong because in the last two weeks means last 14 days which is NOT including Monday because today is Friday and 2 weeks back from Friday would be Friday again.
So should I count it this precisely or the phrase: What have you bought in the last two weeks means just or is equal to this: What have you bought since last two weeks (since the beginning of the week before last week).
So it would be absolutely okay to mention all the things I bought for this period?
since 20.1.2017 until 3.2.2017?
- last question to just confirm if it is correct.
So basically phrase: What happened in the last weeks? Would include all the events from last calendar week + the 4 days from current week before today?
Is this the way people understand it? Or? Because if someone asks me: How many games did you buy in/for the last two weeks. it would be actually super hard for me to tell him all the games precisely in 14 days. It would be easier for me to just think of the week that was two weeks ago and mention all my purchases since then until now though it could have been more than 14 days (e.g. 18 days and so)
Thanks for your help. These day expressions are driving me nuts and I feel depressed because I feel like I am the only one not knowing how to interpretate them.
Best Answer
The question needs context. You need to ask your friend for more clarification. Relative dates can be quite confusing. If your friend wanted to be more precise in his question, he could add "from today".
"Last two weeks from today" means the last 14 days. Whereas "The last two weeks" could have many meanings depending on context.
Consider this scenario. Today is Friday, February the 3rd. I ask my friend "What are you doing this Sunday?" which would imply the next Sunday on the calendar (Feb 5). Or I could ask "What are you doing next Sunday", which could imply next week (Feb 12). Even though I asked about "next Sunday" it's not actually the next Sunday.
If somebody asked you "Where did you work last year?" they likely wouldn't mean literally all of 2016 or even the previous 365 days. There would likely be more context to it. Consider this conversation.
Judy isn't asking me what my job has been for the last 365 days, she's asking me where I worked on her birthday last year.
It is a confusing topic that native English speakers still get confused about.
In your specific scenario, it wouldn't be rude to ask him "Do you mean this week and last?" or "Do you meant the last 14 days?" or "Do you mean last week and the week before?". I personally have found it common to ask for clarification of dates in casual conversation. Legal documents and conversation where it really matters would likely have explicit dates.