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What does "until next week" means?

Today is Tuesday of Week 1.

My boss said she will be on leave today until next week.

(1) She will be on leave from Tuesday to Sunday of Week 1 and back on Monday of Week 2.

(2) She will also be on leave in Week 2.

Which one is correct? My interpretation will be Option 1 but I wonder if there is a correct answer to interpret this sentence?

Michelle
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    This is a specific example of the general problem that arises whenever the deadline for something is specified by a term that stands for a period of time, rather than a moment in time. The deadline (in this case the return from the leave), by its nature must be a moment in time; when it is stated by a term for a period of time (especially a relatively long period, such as a week), there is an ambiguity as to whether the actual deadline is at the beginning of the period, or its end, or somewhere in between; the context may or may not remove the ambiguity. – jsw29 Nov 06 '21 at 16:21

1 Answers1

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There is no ambiguity in the phrase "until next week". But it is not exact either. A week lasts a week, so "until next week" applies to any point within that period.

Your boss might re-appear on Monday. She might re-appear on Friday. She could be off the whole of next week as well, being on leave until the end of next week (which is also "next week").

The only way of determining exactly when within the week your boss will return is to ask her.

Andrew Leach
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