Learn Hardcore Japanese: watasi ha asita sigoto wo yasumimasu. - I will take a day off from work tomorrow.

The particle は (pronounced wa here) marks the topic of the sentence—it tells you what the sentence is about (“as for me…”). In contrast, が is the subject marker, often used to introduce new information or emphasize the doer of an action. Here we’re not emphasizing “I” as new information; we’re simply stating that “as for me, I will take tomorrow off.”

Why is 明日 placed before the object and verb, and why is there no particle such as に after it?

Time expressions like 明日 (tomorrow) can appear freely before the verb to indicate when something happens. When used adverbially like this, に is optional and often omitted for simplicity. If you include it (明日に), it’s still correct but sounds more formal or emphatic.

What is the role of を in 仕事を休みます? Isn’t 休む intransitive?

While 休む often means “to rest” (intransitive), it can also take an object with を to mean “to take a break from…” In this case, 仕事 is what you’re taking off from. So 仕事を休みます literally means “to rest/take a day off from work.”

How do we know 休みます refers to a future action (“will take off”) and not just “take off” in the present?

Japanese has a non-past tense that covers both present and future actions. We rely on time indicators like 明日 (“tomorrow”) to show it’s a future event. Without such context, 休みます could mean “I take off” or “I will take off.”

Why is the verb 休む conjugated as 休みます here, and how would I say it more casually?

休みます is the polite –ます form used in formal or everyday polite speech. The plain (dictionary) form is 休む, so casually you could say 私は明日仕事を休む or even drop 私は: 明日仕事を休む.

Why is は in 私は pronounced wa when it looks like ha?

Though the particle は is written with the hiragana for ha, it’s always pronounced wa when used as the topic marker. This is a historical spelling convention.

Can I omit 私 in this sentence since subjects are often dropped in Japanese?

Yes. If context makes it clear who you’re talking about, you can simply say 明日仕事を休みます. Including 私 adds clarity or emphasis (“I, specifically, will take tomorrow off”).

Does word order matter here? Could I say 仕事を明日休みます or 休みます明日仕事を?

Japanese generally follows SOV (subject‐object‐verb), but time words are flexible. 仕事を明日休みます is acceptable, though 明日 at the front is more natural. Putting the verb before the time or object, as in 休みます明日仕事を, is unnatural—verbs almost always come at the end.

Could I express “I’m off tomorrow” differently, like 明日は休みです or 明日は仕事が休みです?

Yes. 明日は休みです (“Tomorrow is a day off”) or 明日は仕事が休みです (“As for tomorrow, work is off”) uses 休み as a noun (or na-adjective) with です. That form states your schedule, while 仕事を休みます emphasizes the action of taking time off.