Learn Hardcore Chinese: zhōumò nǐ xuǎnzé zài jiā xiūxi, háishi gēn tóngxué qù gōngyuán? - On weekends, do you choose to rest at home or go to the park with your classmates?

You do not need a preposition like 在周末 here; plain 周末 is the most natural in everyday speech for “on/at the weekend” in this kind of question.

Is 选择 necessary here? Could I just say 周末你在家休息，还是跟同学去公园？

选择 literally means “to choose”. In this sentence, it makes the idea of “choice” explicit:

周末你选择在家休息，还是跟同学去公园？
→ “On weekends, which do you choose: resting at home or going to the park with classmates?”

If you remove 选择:

周末你在家休息，还是跟同学去公园？
→ “On weekends, do you stay home and rest, or go to the park with classmates?”

Both are natural. Without 选择, the sentence sounds a bit more straightforward and conversational. With 选择, it sounds slightly more “survey-like” or deliberate, focusing on the act of choosing.

What’s the exact role of 在 in 在家休息? Why not just say 家休息 or 回家休息?

在 is a location marker meaning “at / in / on”.

在家休息 = “rest at home”
- 在 → “at”
- 家 → “home”
- 休息 → “rest”

You cannot say 家休息 by itself; Chinese normally needs 在 before a place to show location.

回家休息 would mean “go back home and rest” (emphasizing the movement “go back”).
在家休息 emphasizes the location of the resting, not the movement.

So in this sentence, 在家休息 is the most natural expression for “resting at home” as one of the options.

What is 跟 doing in 跟同学去公园? Can I replace it with 和?

Here 跟 means “with (someone)”:

跟同学去公园 = “go to the park with classmates”.

You can almost always replace 跟 with 和 in this sense:

和同学去公园 – also correct and common.

Nuance:

跟 is very common in spoken Chinese for “with”.
和 is slightly more neutral and can sound a bit more “textbook” or formal in some contexts, but the difference is small here.

So:

周末你选择在家休息，还是跟同学去公园？
周末你选择在家休息，还是和同学去公园？

Both are fine.

Why is 还是 used instead of 或者 for “or” in this question?

Chinese has two main words for “or”:

还是
- Used mainly in questions where the speaker is offering a choice.
- Pattern: A，还是 B？
- Example: 你喝咖啡，还是喝茶？ – “Do you drink coffee or tea?”
或者
- Used in statements, not in this kind of choice-question.
- Example: 你可以喝咖啡或者茶。 – “You can drink coffee or tea.”

In this sentence, the speaker is directly asking the listener to choose between two options:

在家休息
跟同学去公园

So 还是 is the correct choice. Using 或者 here would sound wrong or at least very unnatural in standard Mandarin.

Why isn’t there a 吗 at the end of the sentence? Isn’t it a question?

It is a question, but not a yes/no question.

There are two main types of questions in basic Chinese:

Yes/no questions – often end with 吗
- 你周末在家休息吗？ – “Do you rest at home on weekends?”
Choice (A-or-B) questions – use 还是 and do not normally use 吗
- 你周末在家休息，还是跟同学去公园？
  → “On weekends, do you rest at home, or go to the park with classmates?”

Because 还是 is already marking the “this or that?” structure, you do not add 吗 at the end.

What’s the purpose of the comma before 还是? Does it mark a special structure?

Yes. The comma separates the two options being contrasted:

Option A: 在家休息
Option B: 跟同学去公园

Written Chinese often uses a comma where English might not, especially to separate clauses or large chunks:

周末你选择在家休息，还是跟同学去公园？

The comma makes it clearer that 还是 connects two larger phrases, not just two small words. In speech, you’d naturally pause slightly there.

Why is 同学 used without 你 or 们? Why not 跟你的同学们去公园?

Chinese often leaves out possessives and plural markers when the meaning is clear from context.

同学 by itself can mean:
- “classmate(s)” in general, or
- “your classmates” if we’re already talking about you.

Adding both 你的 and 们 is possible but a bit heavier and more specific:

跟同学去公园 – natural, general: “go with (your) classmates”
跟你的同学去公园 – more explicitly “with your classmates”
跟你的同学们去公园 – very explicit and sounds more “counting the people” or strongly emphasizing the group.

In casual speech, 跟同学去公园 is the most natural and sufficiently clear.

How do we know if 公园 here means “a park” or “the park”? Why isn’t there a word for “a/the”?

Mandarin doesn’t have articles like a / an / the.

公园 just means “park / parks” in general.
Whether we translate it as “a park” or “the park” in English depends on context.

In this sentence, it could be understood as:

“go to the park (that you usually go to / that we both know),” or
“go to a park (in general).”

Chinese only adds extra words when it really needs to be specific, e.g.:

那家公园 – that park (specific)
这个公园 – this park

Otherwise, plain 公园 is enough.

How do we know whether this means “What do you usually choose on weekends?” vs “What will you choose this weekend?” There’s no tense marking.

Mandarin does not change the verb form for tense (no equivalent of -ed, -s, will, etc.). Instead, it relies on:

Time words: 昨天, 现在, 明天, 周末
Context: is the conversation about habits or about upcoming plans?
Aspect particles like 了, 过, 在, etc. (none appear here).

So:

周末你选择在家休息，还是跟同学去公园？
- In context of general habits:
  → “On weekends, which do you usually choose…?”
- In context of planning the coming weekend:
  → “This weekend, which will you choose…?”

Chinese leaves this to context rather than verb inflection.

Could I say 周末你选择休息在家，还是跟同学去公园？ putting 在家 after 休息?

That word order is unnatural. Location phrases like 在家 normally come before the main verb phrase:

在家休息 – correct, natural: “rest at home”
休息在家 – generally sounds wrong or at least very odd in this context.

The usual pattern is:

Subject + 在 + place + Verb (+ object)

So here:

你 + 在家 + 休息 → 你在家休息

Does 还是 here mean “still”? I’ve seen 还是 used as “still” in some sentences.

还是 has two common, different uses:

“or” in choice questions (as in this sentence)
- 你喝咖啡，还是喝茶？ – “Do you drink coffee or tea?”
“still / after all / had better” in statements
- 还是你来吧。 – “You’d better come (instead).”
- 他还是那么忙。 – “He’s still that busy.”

In 周末你选择在家休息，还是跟同学去公园？, it is clearly the “or” usage because it connects two options in a question. It does not mean “still” here.

Is 周末 just “weekend”? Do I ever need 一个周末 or 在周末?

周末 by itself is a time word meaning “weekend / weekends”.

As a general time phrase (“on weekends / this weekend”), you usually just say 周末:
- 周末你常常做什么？ – “What do you often do on weekends?”
- 周末我们去爬山吧。 – “Let’s go hiking this weekend.”

You might use:

一个周末 – “one weekend” (as a countable unit), e.g.
我们只见过一次面，就在一个周末。 – “We only met once, on one weekend.”
在周末 – grammatically okay, but in everyday speech, plain 周末 at the start is more natural in sentences like this. 在周末 might appear more in written or slightly formal contexts, or in longer sentences where you need extra clarity.

In your sentence, 周末 on its own is exactly what you want.