this post was submitted on 14 Jul 2023
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English usage and grammar

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How do you call the item after the next (counting from now), and the one after that, and so on, in a sequence that started in the past? (lemmy.ca)
submitted 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) by pglpm@lemmy.ca to c/english@lemmy.ca
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Imagine there's a sequence of items, it started somewhere in the past and will keep on going. The kind of items could be anything – say days, or football matches, or lectures, or widgets out of an assembly line.

I'd like to refer to the future item that will be, say, the 100th if I start counting them from now. I hope you understand what I mean: the 1st would be the next, the 2nd would be the one after the next, and so on.

How do I denote that future 100th item with a concise expression? I thought of "the next 100th item", but it doesn't sound right.

The problem is that if I just say "the 100th item", that refers to the number 100 since the sequence started, not the number 100 starting counting from now.

Example:

The last 10 widgets were red and blue; the 20th widget from now will be yellow.

Saying "the 20th widget from now" doesn't sound right – but maybe it is? Nor does "the next 20th widget" sound right.

As usual, if possible please also give some references. Cheers!

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[–] BD1sHappyFeet@lemm.ee 4 points 1 year ago (1 children)

There's not a specific name for it in the way you're thinking. If you're looking at object A, then object B is next. One could say that object C is "the one after that," but it's also just as common to say third. Anything larger than two (for this one and next) gets unwieldy and English just uses the number. It wouldn't be the next 100th, simply the 100th. Spoken aloud, the "one" is dropped and it's said as "the hundredth." Usually, that is. You wouldn't be incorrect in adding "the" because English likes to make up its own rules.

[–] pglpm@lemmy.ca 1 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

Thank you. My problem is differentiating the "coming" 100th from the "past" 100th. But I realize my post in unclear about that, I'll edit it now!