私 は 週末 に 山道 を 歩きます。watasi ha syuumatu ni yamamiti wo arukimasu.
I walk the mountain road on weekends.
Breakdown of watasi ha syuumatu ni yamamiti wo arukimasu.
はha
topic particle
私watasi
I
をwo
direct object particle
にni
time particle
週末syuumatu
weekend
歩くaruku
to walk
山道yamamiti
mountain path
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Questions & Answers about watasi ha syuumatu ni yamamiti wo arukimasu.
What is the role of は in 私は週末に山道を歩きます?
は is the topic marker. It tells us that 私 (“I”) is what the sentence is about. You could think of it as saying “As for me, …” in English. It does not mean “subject” in a strict grammatical sense but highlights the topic of the conversation.
Why do we use に after 週末 instead of another particle?
に marks a specific point in time. Here, 週末に means “on the weekend.” If you used で (週末で), it would sound awkward because で indicates the place or context of an action, not a time when it happens.
What does を do in 山道を歩きます?
を is the direct-object marker. It indicates that 山道 (“mountain trail” or “mountain road”) is what is being “walked.” In English we say “walk the trail,” so Japanese marks 山道 with を.
Why is the verb 歩きます in this form?
歩きます is the polite present (or non-past) form of 歩く (“to walk”). In everyday conversation with people you’re not extremely close to, Japanese speakers often use the polite –ます form. It can express both habitual actions (“I walk”) and future actions (“I will walk”).
Could you explain the word order: why is it “私は週末に山道を歩きます” instead of English order?
Japanese is generally Subject–Object–Verb (SOV), while English is Subject–Verb–Object (SVO). So in Japanese you put the topic (私は), then time phrase (週末に), then object (山道を), and finally the verb (歩きます). That’s the normal flow.
What nuance does using 週末に give compared to just saying 週末?
Adding に makes it clear you’re talking about when you walk: specifically on the weekend. Without に, 週末歩きます would be ungrammatical because Japanese needs a particle to show the time function.
Is it natural to say 山道を歩きます, or would you use another verb for “hiking”?
歩きます is perfectly natural for “walking” on a mountain trail. If you want to emphasize “hiking” as a sport, you could use ハイキングします (haikingu-shimasu), but 山道を歩きます is fine and common.
How would I say “I don’t walk on the mountain road on weekends”?
You can negate the verb and keep the same particles:
私は週末に山道を歩きません。
Here, 歩きません is the polite negative form of 歩く.