Why is it correct to say:
We would like to thank the following contributors:
- Mr. X
- Mrs. Y
- Mr. Z
while it is NOT correct to say:
We would like to thank the next contributors:
- Mr. X
- Mrs. Y
- Mr. Z
I see how the word "following" makes sense:
coming next; listed or shown next
but I don't see why "next" is a bad choice, especially as it's part of the definition above:
coming after this one; in the time or place that follows or comes directly after someone or something : after this
I saw this answer on ELU which just says "'following' is generally used," and the question was closed as answerable by commonly available references, but I don't see this answered in those references (maybe I'm just missing it).
Is there any source, rule, or more general way to intuitively understand this?
Best Answer
If you say "next", it implies that there was also a "previous". You can't start a list with "next".
You can say
but only if he's not the first guest.
So you could say
if you've already thanked Ms. T, Mr. U, Miss V, and Mr. W.