Learn Hardcore Japanese: sobo ha hotondo soto ni denai ga, syuumatu ha kouen ni iku. - My grandmother hardly goes outside, but she goes to the park on weekends.

は marks the topic: it sets up “as for my grandmother…” and frames the rest as information about her. Using が would mark 祖母 as the grammatical subject and often implies focus/contrast like “it’s my grandmother (not someone else) who…”. In this sentence, は is natural because we’re describing her general habits and then contrasting weekends. While 祖母がほとんど外に出ないが… is not ungrammatical, it’s less natural and risks clashing with the conjunction が later.

Why is ほとんど used with a negative verb? What happens if I use it with an affirmative?

With a negative, ほとんど means “hardly/rarely/almost never”: ほとんど外に出ない. With an affirmative, it means “almost all/most,” but it typically modifies a countable noun or a quantifiable set: ほとんどの人, ほとんどの日. Saying ほとんど外に出る is odd; instead say ほとんど毎日外に出る (“goes out almost every day”).

Is the placement in ほとんど外に出ない fixed? Can I say 外にほとんど出ない?

Both are possible. ほとんど外に出ない is the default and a bit smoother. 外にほとんど出ない is also natural and can slightly emphasize the place component (“as for going outside, [she] hardly does so”). Meaning doesn’t change much.

Why 外に出ない and not 出かけない or 外出しない? What’s the nuance?

外に出ない: literally “doesn’t go outside” (even step out). Neutral, everyday.
出かけない: “doesn’t go out (to go somewhere/for an outing).” Focuses on not leaving home to go places.
外出しない: “doesn’t go out” in a more formal, bookish register (Sino-Japanese). All would fit depending on nuance/register. Here, 外に出ない is plain and concrete.

Why is it 外に? Could it be 外へ?

Yes. With 出る, both 外に出る (destination/result) and 外へ出る (direction) are fine. In negatives, 外に出ない and 外へは出ない are both natural. へ slightly highlights direction; に is the default.

Why is に after 公園? Could I use へ or を?

With 行く, destinations take に or へ. 公園に行く is most common; 公園へ行く is also correct, a bit more directional/literary. You can’t use を here.

Why 週末は instead of 週末に? Are both correct?

Both work, but they nuance differently:

週末に公園に行く: neutral time-marking “on weekends.”
週末は公園に行く: topical/contrastive “as for weekends, (she) goes,” which fits the contrast with “hardly goes out” on other days. That’s why は feels especially natural here.

Wouldn’t 週末に公園に be two に in a row? Is that a problem?

It’s fine: 週末に公園に行く is perfectly grammatical (time に + destination に). Writers sometimes switch the first に to は (as in your sentence) to highlight contrast and avoid repetitive rhythm.

What is the が in the middle doing? Is it the subject marker?

Here が is the conjunctive が meaning “but/however,” linking two clauses: “…doesn’t go out much, but … goes to the park.” Alternatives:

Casual: けど／けれど
Polite: ですが／けれども Sentence-initial しかし is also possible in formal writing.

Do I need the comma before が?

It’s optional. Many write …出ないが週末は… without a comma; others insert one for readability. Both are acceptable.

What tense is 出ない／行く? How does Japanese show habitual actions?

They are non-past plain forms. Japanese uses the non-past (dictionary form or ます-form) plus time/frequency expressions to express general habits: （普段は）出ない／（週末は）行く.

How would I say this politely?

Polite version: 祖母はほとんど外に出ませんが、週末は公園に行きます。 Note: 祖母 is used for your own grandmother. For someone else’s grandmother, おばあさま is respectful, and you might increase politeness elsewhere, but this polite version is fine for most contexts.

Does 公園 mean “the park” or “a park”? How do articles work here?

Japanese has no articles. 公園に行く could be “go to the park” or “go to a park,” depending on context. To specify, add a demonstrative: その公園 (that park), 近所の公園 (the neighborhood park).

Can I reverse the clause order?

Yes: 週末は公園に行くが、祖母はほとんど外に出ない。 Grammatically fine; it makes the weekend activity the starting point and then adds the general habit as a contrast. Original order emphasizes the exception after stating the rule.

Why are there spaces? Do Japanese normally write with spaces?

No. Standard Japanese doesn’t use spaces between words. The normal writing is: 祖母はほとんど外に出ないが、週末は公園に行く。 The spaces in your prompt are for learner clarity.

How do I pronounce each word?

祖母: そぼ (sobo)
ほとんど: ほとんど (hotondo)
外: そと (soto)
出ない: でない (denai)
週末: しゅうまつ (shūmatsu)
公園: こうえん (kōen)
行く: いく (iku)
が: が (ga)
Particles は／に: pronounced as わ (wa) / に (ni)

Can I use でも instead of が?

Not in the same way. でも works well at the start of a new sentence (“However,”) or as “even,” but inserting でも mid-sentence as a clause connector here is unnatural. Also, 週末でも公園に行く means “even on weekends (still) goes to the park,” which changes the meaning.

Could I say 週末も公園に行く?

週末も means “also on weekends,” implying she goes on other days as well—this clashes with ほとんど外に出ない unless you mean “she rarely goes out, but weekends are one of the few times, and also some other times.” For the clean contrast “only (at least) on weekends,” 週末は is better.

Is it okay to have both 祖母は and 週末は in the same sentence?

Yes. You can stack topics: 祖母は、週末は公園に行く。 It’s grammatical and understandable. Too many は can feel heavy, so use judiciously.

Can I drop particles in casual speech, like saying 外出ない?

In casual conversation, dropping some particles happens: 外出ない will be understood. For clear and standard writing/speech, keep the に: 外に出ない.