Monday

General_Ricardo   Saturday, October 02, 2004, 21:16 GMT
Assuming today is Friday, what would the following sentences mean?
"We have a test this Monday"
"We have a test this coming Monday"
"We have a test next Monday"
"We have a test the following Monday"
Mxsmanic   Saturday, October 02, 2004, 21:54 GMT
Usually:

this Monday = today + 3 days
this coming Monday = today + 3 days
next Monday = today + 10 days (but ambiguous in this context)
the following Monday = ambiguous (normally used only if a specific day is mentioned previously)
General_Ricardo   Sunday, October 03, 2004, 11:40 GMT
tu Mxs, anyone else, help plz
Mi5 Mick   Sunday, October 03, 2004, 12:49 GMT
The first two are straightforward, so moving right along...

Assuming today is Friday:

"We have a test next Monday" is ambigious and often causes confusion between interlocutors. This should mean the Monday in 10 days time, but is often used to mean this Monday! (in 3 days from now)

"We have a test the following Monday" : this is less ambigious and usually means the Monday following a specified day, as Mxs pointed out.

I think a better phrase to use, to mean in 10 days from now, is: "We have a test (on) Monday week".
Mi5 Mick   Sunday, October 03, 2004, 12:51 GMT
* ambigious -> ambiguous
Mi5 Mick   Sunday, October 03, 2004, 12:55 GMT
I'm not thinking straight! I got it the other way around:

"We have a test next Monday" should mean the Monday in 3 days time, but is often used to mean the Monday 10 days from now!
Peter   Sunday, October 03, 2004, 20:53 GMT
Yes, it's straight forward, in every language it means what someone has mean. Not more or less. In my language next Monday is often confused with the following Monday or with Monday after the following week.

But next Monday usually means Monday after following Monday.
Jim   Monday, October 04, 2004, 00:14 GMT
Here's what I make of it.

"We have a test this Monday."
"We have a test this coming Monday."

These both mean "We have a test in three days time."

"We have a test next Monday."

Literally this means the same as the above but can cause confusion because people often use it to mean "We have a test in ten days time." However, context usually sorts any confusion out.

"We have a test the following Monday."

This has no meaning without a reference time as Mxsmanic says. Suppose it's the beginning of October and you are talking about your essay which is due on the 17th of December. Then the sentence would mean "We have a test on the 20th of December."

I think it's best to use

"We have a test on Monday week.",
"We have a test Monday week." (as suggested by Mick) or
"We have a test on Monday the week after next"

If you mean "We have a test in ten days."
Someone really strange.   Monday, October 04, 2004, 00:15 GMT
.....When I use "next Monday" the week before, as in "I'm not going to be at work next Monday." It usually means, and is perceived as the Monday of next week, not the Monday after next week.
.....The only time I would perhaps say "this Monday" as in "I'm taking a sick day this Monday," is usually on Sunday, the beginning of a week in North America. Most of the people around here seems to be very cautious about dates and prepositions.