Learn Hardcore Chinese: wǒ xīwàng míngnián néng gēn shìyǒu yìqǐ qù biéde chéngshì lǚyóu. - I hope to travel to another city with my roommate next year.

我希望明年能跟室友一起去别的城市旅游。
→ “I hope I can go travel to another city with my roommate next year.”
This sounds like: I hope circumstances will allow it / I’ll have the chance.

If you say:

我希望明年跟室友一起去别的城市旅游。

it’s still understandable, but it feels a bit like something is missing in the middle (native speakers would almost always add 能, 可以, or a similar modal here).

So:

with 能 = natural and common.
without 能 = grammatically possible but less natural in this pattern.

What’s the difference between 希望 and 想 here? Could I say 我想明年能跟室友一起去别的城市旅游?

Both 希望 and 想 can be translated as “want/hope,” but their feel is different:

希望 = to hope, often for something not fully in your control, more wish-like.
- 我希望明年能去中国。 – “I hope I can go to China next year.”
想 = to want / to feel like doing / to intend, more about your personal desire or intention.
- 我想明年去中国。 – “I want to go to China next year.”

In this sentence:

我希望明年能跟室友一起去别的城市旅游。
Emphasizes: I hope that circumstances will allow this.
我想明年跟室友一起去别的城市旅游。
Emphasizes: This is what I want / plan / feel like doing.

Both are grammatical; the original 希望 makes it sound more like a wish than a plan.

Why is 明年 placed after 希望? Could I say 明年我希望能跟室友一起去别的城市旅游 or 我明年希望能…?

Chinese word order is flexible with time expressions. All of these are acceptable:

我希望明年能跟室友一起去别的城市旅游。
明年我希望能跟室友一起去别的城市旅游。
我明年希望能跟室友一起去别的城市旅游。

Nuances:

Subject + Time + Verb is a very common structure:
我明年希望… (I, next year, hope…)
Time + Subject + Verb is used when you want to emphasize the time:
明年我希望… (As for next year, I hope…)

The original version (1) is also natural: 希望 is the main verb, and 明年 is specifying when you want the action (能…去旅游) to happen. All are fine in conversation.

What’s the function of 跟 here? Is it the same as 和? Can I say 和室友一起 instead of 跟室友一起?

跟 and 和 are very similar when they mean “with (someone)”:

跟室友一起
和室友一起

Both mean “together with my roommate.”

Differences:

跟 is a bit more colloquial and very common in everyday speech.
和 is slightly more formal / neutral, often seen in writing but also used in speech.
跟 can also mean “to follow” or “to with” in structures like 跟他说 (“tell him / speak with him”).

In this sentence, 跟室友一起 and 和室友一起 are both natural. No real change in meaning.

Why don’t we say 我的室友 (“my roommate”)? Is 室友 alone enough?

In Chinese, the possessive 的 and pronouns (like 我) are often omitted when the relationship is obvious or contextually clear:

我室友 or 我的室友 = “my roommate” (both used; 我的室友 is more standard)
Just 室友 can be understood as “my roommate” when:
- You’re talking about yourself and your life
- There is no reason to think it’s someone else’s roommate

So 跟室友一起 is interpreted as “with my roommate / with my roommates” from context. If you want to be explicit:

跟我的室友一起 – very clear: “(with) my roommate(s).”

Where should 一起 go in this kind of sentence? Could I move it to another place, like 跟室友去别的城市一起旅游?

The most natural placement is:

跟 + person + 一起 + Verb

So:

跟室友一起去别的城市旅游
= “go travel to another city together with my roommate.”

Other possibilities:

我和室友一起去别的城市旅游。 ✅ (natural)
我一起跟室友去别的城市旅游。 ❌ (sounds wrong/awkward)
跟室友去别的城市一起旅游。 ❌ (unnatural word order)

General pattern: > Subject + (Time) + (Modal) + 跟/和 + Person + 一起 + Verb + Object

Keep 一起 right before the main action verb (去, 玩, 吃, etc.) and after the person you are doing it with.

Why do we use both 去 and 旅游? Isn’t 旅游 already “to travel”? Is 去旅游 redundant?

In Chinese, 去 often indicates “go (to do something)”, then it’s followed by the purpose:

去买菜 – go (to) buy groceries
去看电影 – go (to) watch a movie
去旅游 – go (to) travel / go on a trip

In this sentence:

去别的城市旅游
= “go to another city to travel / take a trip in another city.”

You could say:

去别的城市 – go to another city (no purpose stated)
在别的城市旅游 – travel in another city

But 去别的城市旅游 is a very natural way to express both:

The movement (去别的城市), and
The purpose (旅游).

What’s the difference between 别的城市 and just 别的 or other words like 其他城市?

别的城市 literally means “other/different city (or cities).”

别的 + noun = “other _”
- 别的人 – other people
- 别的地方 – other places
- 别的城市 – other cities

Comparisons:

别的城市 vs 别的
- 别的城市 is specific: “other cities” or “a different city.”
- 别的 alone just means “other ones / something else,” and needs context.
别的城市 vs 其他城市
- Both mean “other cities.”
- 其他 is slightly more formal/neutral; 别的 is very common, everyday.
- In this sentence, either 别的城市 or 其他城市 works.

You cannot drop 的 here (别城市 ❌); 别 needs 的 before a noun in this use: 别的 + N.

Why is there no measure word like 一个 before 别的城市? Shouldn’t it be 去一个别的城市旅游?

Chinese can omit measure words when you are speaking in general or talking about something non-specific:

去别的城市旅游 – go travel in other city/cities (in general).
去一个别的城市旅游 – go travel in one specific other city.

So:

我希望明年能去别的城市旅游。
= I hope I can travel to some other city (or other cities), not specifying how many.

You only need a measure word like 一个 if the number or unit is important:

我希望明年能去一个别的城市旅游。
Emphasizes: one (single) different city.

What’s the difference between 旅游 and 旅行? Could I say 去别的城市旅行 instead?

Both 旅游 and 旅行 can mean “to travel,” but there are subtle differences:

旅游
- Focus: sightseeing / leisure travel
- Common collocations: 去旅游, 旅游景点, 旅游团
- Your sentence’s meaning (“go traveling for fun”) fits 旅游 very well.
旅行
- Slightly more general, can feel a bit more literary/formal in some contexts.
- Often used in set phrases: 旅行社 (travel agency), 旅行箱 (suitcase), 去国外旅行

You can say:

我希望明年能跟室友一起去别的城市旅行。

This is also natural. In everyday speech about “going on a trip,” 旅游 is extremely common.

Could I use 可以 instead of 能: 我希望明年可以跟室友一起去别的城市旅游? Is there any difference?

Yes, 可以 works as well, and the sentence is natural:

我希望明年可以跟室友一起去别的城市旅游。

Nuance:

能
- Often emphasizes ability / possibility (whether it’s feasible, whether you have the chance, time, money, etc.).
可以
- Often emphasizes permission (“be allowed to”) or acceptability.
- But in many everyday contexts, it overlaps with 能 and just means “can.”

In this context (a personal wish), 能 and 可以 are very close in meaning; 能 might feel a bit more about practical possibility, 可以 a bit more about being allowed to / circumstances permitting. Both are fine.

Can this sentence be shortened to 我希望明年能跟室友一起去旅游 without 别的城市? Does that change the meaning much?

Yes, that’s fine:

我希望明年能跟室友一起去旅游。
= “I hope I can go traveling with my roommate next year.”

Differences:

with 别的城市:
- Specifies that you want to go to a different / another city, not stay where you are.
without 别的城市:
- Just says you want to go traveling (maybe near or far; the place is unspecified).

Both are grammatical; it just depends on how specific you want to be about the destination.

What’s the overall structure of this sentence? How can I use it as a pattern for other sentences?

The structure is:

我　希望　明年　能　跟　室友　一起　去　别的城市　旅游。
Subject + Verb (wish) + Time + Modal + Prep + Person + Together + Go + Place + Main action

Pattern:

[Subject] 希望 [Time] 能/可以跟/和 [Person] 一起去 [Place] [Activity]。

You can plug in other words:

我希望暑假能跟家人一起去海边玩。
I hope I can go have fun at the beach with my family in the summer vacation.
他希望以后可以和朋友一起去日本旅行。
He hopes he can travel to Japan with his friends in the future.
我们希望明年能一起去别的国家学习。
We hope we can go study in another country together next year.

Using this pattern helps you build natural, longer sentences about hopes and plans.