Learn Hardcore Chinese: xiàge xīngqī wǒmen dǎsuàn gēn lǎoshī yìqǐ cānguān chéngshì lǐ de bówùguǎn. - Next week we plan to visit the museum in the city together with our teacher.

下个星期 – very common in everyday spoken Mandarin.
下星期 – same meaning; just drops the particle 个. Also natural in speech; some regions prefer this shorter form.
下周 – a bit more concise/formal; common in writing, news, work emails, etc.

In this sentence, you could say:

下个星期我们打算……
下星期我们打算……
下周我们打算……

All sound fine. No difference in tense or politeness; just style and habit.

What exactly does 打算 mean here, and how is it different from 想, 要, or 会?

打算 (dǎsuàn) means “to plan to / intend to”. It implies some thought has gone into it.

Common contrasts:

打算 – plan/intend to
- 下个星期我们打算…… – We plan to…
想 – want to / would like to / feel like
- 下个星期我们想去…… – We want to go…
要 – going to / want to / going to (often more definite)
- 下个星期我们要去…… – We’re going to go next week (sounds more decided).
会 – will / likely to (future or probability)
- 下个星期我们会去…… – We will / will probably go next week.

Using 打算 emphasizes the idea of a plan or intention, not just desire (想) or firm arrangement (要).

Why is 跟 used for “with” in 跟老师一起? Can I use 和 or 同 instead?

Yes, you can often replace 跟 with 和 or 同, but there are small style differences:

跟老师一起 – very common and natural in spoken Mandarin.
和老师一起 – also correct; slightly more neutral; many people say this too.
同老师一起 – more formal/literary; more likely in writing or speeches.

All of these can work:

我们打算跟老师一起参观……
我们打算和老师一起参观……
我们打算同老师一起参观…… (more formal)

In everyday speech, 跟 and 和 are by far the most common. Here 跟 simply means “with (someone)”.

Is 一起 (“together”) necessary? What changes if I leave it out?

一起 (yìqǐ) explicitly expresses “together”.

跟老师一起参观…… – visit together with the teacher.
跟老师参观…… – visit with the teacher (the together idea is still there, but less explicit).

If you leave 一起 out:

The sentence is still correct.
It sounds slightly less “we’re all doing this as a group” and more neutral about the relationship.

In most natural speech, when we mean “do something with someone as a group,” 跟/和 + 人 + 一起 + Verb is a very typical pattern, so including 一起 is very common.

Why does the sentence use 参观 instead of simply 去 or 看?

参观 (cānguān) means “to visit (for learning or sightseeing)” and is used for places like:

museums, exhibition halls, factories, schools, scenic spots, etc.

Some contrasts:

参观博物馆 – visit a museum to look around, learn, sightsee.
去博物馆 – go to the museum (only emphasizes going there, not what you do).
看博物馆 (alone) – sounds odd; 看 is usually used with what you watch/look at (a movie, a painting, etc.), not just with “museum.”

So 参观博物馆 is the natural, idiomatic way to say “visit a museum (as a visitor).”

What does 城市里 add? Why not just say 参观城市的博物馆 or 参观在城市的博物馆?

城市里 (chéngshì lǐ) literally means “inside the city”.

城市里的博物馆 – “the museum(s) that are in the city.”

This is more natural than:

城市的博物馆 – grammatically fine, but can sound a bit like “the city’s museum(s)” (ownership/association), not just “located in the city.”
在城市的博物馆 on its own is awkward as a modifier; you’d usually say:
- 在城市里的博物馆 (add 里)
- or restructure: 在城市里的博物馆参观 (but then the word order becomes strange).

里 here functions like “inside/within.”
So 城市里的博物馆 comfortably means the museum(s) located within the city.

What is the role of 的 in 城市里的博物馆?

的 (de) links a modifier to a noun.

Structure here:

城市里 – “in the city”
的 – connecting particle
博物馆 – “museum(s)”

So 城市里的博物馆 literally is:

“the museum(s) [that are] in the city”

You can think of it like a relative clause or descriptive phrase:

(the museums) that are in the city

Without 的, 城市里博物馆 would be incorrect; the modifier must be linked to the noun with 的 in this kind of phrase.

Is 博物馆 singular or plural here? How do I say “the museum” vs “the museums”?

Chinese nouns usually do not mark singular/plural explicitly, so:

博物馆 can mean “museum” or “museums” depending on context.

If you want to be explicit:

一个博物馆 – one museum
几个博物馆 – several museums
一些博物馆 – some museums
所有的博物馆 – all the museums

You can also use different measure words:

一座博物馆 – one museum (common for buildings)
一家博物馆 – one museum (viewed as an organization/institution)

In the original sentence, 城市里的博物馆 is ambiguous in number, and that’s perfectly normal in Chinese.

Why is the order 跟老师一起参观城市里的博物馆 and not something like 参观跟老师一起城市里的博物馆?

Chinese word order is much stricter than English. A typical pattern:

Subject + (time) + (manner/with whom) + Verb + Object

Here:

我们 – subject
下个星期 – time
跟老师一起 – with whom / manner
参观 – verb
城市里的博物馆 – object

So:

下个星期我们跟老师一起参观城市里的博物馆。

Putting 跟老师一起 after the verb or in the middle of the object breaks this pattern and sounds unnatural:

✗ 参观跟老师一起城市里的博物馆 – wrong order.
✗ 参观城市里的跟老师一起博物馆 – also wrong.

“Who with” and “how” you do something (跟老师一起) normally come before the verb.

Could I drop 我们 and just say 下个星期打算跟老师一起参观城市里的博物馆?

Yes, you can omit 我们 in many real-life contexts if it’s clear from context who is meant:

下个星期打算跟老师一起参观城市里的博物馆。

Chinese often drops pronouns when they’re obvious, especially in conversation. However:

Keeping 我们 makes the sentence clearer and a bit more complete, especially if it’s an isolated example or written text.
Dropping it is most natural in a continuing conversation where it’s already obvious who is planning this.

So grammatically it’s fine, but in a textbook-style example, 我们 is usually kept.

Can I say 去参观城市里的博物馆 or 参观一下城市里的博物馆? What’s the difference?

Both are natural variants, with small nuances:

去参观城市里的博物馆
- 去 (qù) = “go (to)”
- Emphasizes the going plus the act of visiting.
- Feels a little more complete: “go and visit the museum(s)”.
参观一下城市里的博物馆
- 一下 softens the verb, making it sound lighter/more casual:
  - “have a look around / visit briefly”
- Very common in spoken Chinese to sound less heavy or formal.

Your full sentence could be:

下个星期我们打算跟老师一起去参观城市里的博物馆。
下个星期我们打算跟老师一起参观一下城市里的博物馆。

Both are correct; the original without 去 or 一下 is also fully fine and natural.