The next meeting vs A next meeting

The phrases are both correct, but they would be used in dissimilar contexts. 'The next meeting' is used when referring to a specific upcoming meeting that has already been mentioned or is known. 'A next meeting' is used when referring to any upcoming meeting without specifying which one. Therefore, the choice between the two depends on the context in which they are used.

Explained by Gregg
Editor at TextRanch

Last updated: October 11, 2024 • 14083 views

The next meeting

This phrase is correct and commonly used in English when referring to a specific upcoming meeting that has already been mentioned or is known.

Use 'the next meeting' when you are talking about a particular upcoming meeting that has been previously mentioned or is known to the listener.

Examples:

I will see you at the next meeting.
The next meeting is scheduled for Friday.
Please bring your notes to the next meeting.

Show examples from the web [+]

The next meeting was scheduled for 29 November.
The next meeting is scheduled for 12 March 2014.
The next meeting will be held in Mexico in 2014.
The next meeting will be held in September in Sofia.
The next meeting is in three hours.
The next meeting for Ibero-American rare disease stakeholders will take place in Guadalajara, Mexico, in 2015.
The next meeting with the Greek authorities will take place tomorrow.
The next meeting of these Episcopal commissions will take place between August and September.
The next meeting will take place at the end of July 2011 at Santiago di Compostella in Spain.
The next meeting is planned for Damascus, from January 27 to February 2, 2008.
The next meeting of the EU-China IP working group should be held in the coming month.
The next meeting in Medjugorje will take place around the Anniversary of the Apparitions.
The next meeting in Los Angeles is being hosted by a guy named Raynaud - Dr. Maurice Raynaud.
WHEN? And WHERE? The next meeting?
The next meeting will be in 2006 (JESAM Assembly) in view of the next General Congregation.
Argüello: We will see. The next meeting that we will have here in the United States is in Philadelphia with many brothers.
The next meeting among the Intermed partners will be held in Barcelona, after the presentation of the European Green Paper, at the end of the year.
The next meeting of the EAB will be held in Budapest, on the 27th of September 2012.
The next meeting of the Working Group will take place in Ankara in early 2018.
The next meeting for those responsible for formation will be at Barcelona between 9 and 11 May 2012, in the context of a general European Assembly for Formation Delegates.

Alternatives:

the upcoming meeting
the following meeting
the subsequent meeting
the forthcoming meeting
the succeeding meeting

A next meeting

This phrase is correct but less commonly used in English. It is used when referring to any upcoming meeting without specifying which one.

Use 'a next meeting' when you are talking about any upcoming meeting without specifying a particular one.