Learn Hardcore Japanese: raisyuu, ryuugaku no setumeikai ga daigaku de hirakareru node, tomodati to issyo ni kiki ni iku tumori da. - Next week there will be a study-abroad information session at the university, so I plan to go listen with a friend.

の here links two nouns: 留学 (study abroad) and 説明会 (information session / briefing).
It’s like saying “study-abroad information session” in English.

Pattern:

Noun A + の + Noun B → “Noun B related to Noun A”
So 留学の説明会 = an information session about study abroad.

Why is が used in 留学の説明会が大学で開かれる instead of は?

が marks the grammatical subject of the verb 開かれる (to be held / to be opened).
Here we’re stating a fact: “A study-abroad information session will be held at the university.”

If we used は (topic marker), it would sound like we’re contrasting or thematizing 留学の説明会, e.g.:

留学の説明会は大学で開かれる。
“As for the study-abroad info session, it will be held at the university (as opposed to somewhere else / in contrast to something else).”

With が, it’s a more neutral statement of what will happen.

Why does 来週 not have any particle? Could we say 来週に or 来週は?

Time expressions like 今日, 明日, 来週, 毎日 often appear without a particle when they simply indicate when something happens.
So 来週、～ is very natural.

You can say:

来週に: grammatically OK, but often unnecessary and can sound a bit stiff in casual speech.
来週は: puts contrast or emphasis on “next week” (e.g., “Next week, (at least), I plan to go …” or “As for next week …”).

In this neutral sentence, leaving 来週 without a particle is the most natural.

What does 説明会 literally mean?

説明会 is made of:

説明 – explanation
会 – meeting / gathering

So literally it’s an “explanation meeting”, i.e., an information session, briefing, or orientation where someone explains something to a group of people.

In context, 留学の説明会 is a study-abroad information session.

What does 大学で mean here? Why で and not に?

大学で uses the particle で, which marks the place where an action occurs.
Since 開かれる (to be held) is an event/action, 大学で開かれる means “is held at the university.”

に is used more for existence or arrival/goal:

大学に行く – go to the university
大学に学生がいる – there are students at the university

Here we want “at (place of action),” so で is correct.

Why is 開かれる (passive) used instead of 開く?

開かれる is the passive form of 開く. In this context, it means “(an event) is held / will be held.”

Japanese often uses the passive when:

The agent (the organizer) is not important or obvious
The focus is the event itself, not who organizes it

So 留学の説明会が大学で開かれる =
“A study-abroad information session will be held at the university.”
Using active voice (誰かが説明会を開く) would shift attention to “who is holding it,” which isn’t needed here.

What is the nuance of ので in 開かれるので? How is it different from から?

Both ので and から can mean “because / so.”

ので:

Sounds a bit softer, more formal or objective
Often used to politely give reasons or explanations

から:

More casual, often more direct
Common in everyday conversation

So:

開かれるので、友達と一緒に聞きに行くつもりだ。
“Since it will be held, I plan to go…” (slightly softer/explanatory)

You could say 開かれるから in casual speech with a similar meaning, but the tone changes slightly.

What does 友達と一緒に literally mean? Why use both と and 一緒に?

友達と – “with my friend” (と = “with / and”)
一緒に – “together”

So 友達と一緒に literally means “together with my friend.”

You could say:

友達と行く – “go with my friend”
一緒に行く – “go together” (the friend is usually understood from context)

Using 友達と一緒に is clear and natural: it emphasizes that you and your friend are going together.

What is the function of に in 聞きに行く?

This is a very common pattern:
ます-stem of verb + に行く / 来る / 帰る → “go/come/return in order to do X”

聞き is the ます-stem of 聞く (to listen / to ask)
聞きに行く = “go to listen” / “go to hear (it)”

So に here is a purpose marker, not a location marker. It’s saying “go for the purpose of listening.”

What’s the difference between 聞きに行く and something like 行って聞く?

Both can describe going somewhere and then listening, but the focus is different:

聞きに行く: emphasizes the purpose of going.
→ “I will go in order to listen (to it).”
行って聞く: more like a sequence of actions.
→ “I will go and (then) listen.”

In planning/intention sentences like this, Vます-stem + に行く is the most natural way to say “go to do X.”

What does つもりだ express? How is it different from 予定だ?

つもりだ expresses the speaker’s intention or plan—what they personally intend to do.

行くつもりだ = “I plan to go / I intend to go / I’m thinking of going.”

予定だ describes a schedule or fixed plan, often something more formal or decided:

行く予定だ = “I’m scheduled to go / I’m planning to go (it’s on my schedule).”

In this sentence, 友達と一緒に聞きに行くつもりだ sounds like a personal decision/intention, not just a calendar entry.

Why does the sentence end with だ and not です? Is this casual?

Yes. だ is the plain (dictionary) form of です for nouns and na-adjectives.

つもりだ – plain / casual
つもりです – polite

So the sentence is in plain form, appropriate for:

Casual writing
Talking to friends
Narration in many textbooks, novels, etc.

A polite version would be:
来週、留学の説明会が大学で開かれるので、友達と一緒に聞きに行くつもりです。

Can the word order be changed, like 大学で留学の説明会が開かれる?

Yes. Japanese word order before the verb is relatively flexible. All of these are natural:

来週、留学の説明会が大学で開かれるので…
来週、大学で留学の説明会が開かれるので…

Both mean the same thing.
The basic rule is that the main verb comes at the end, and the elements before it (time, place, subject, etc.) can be rearranged to adjust focus or style.

Where is the subject “I” in this sentence? Why is it not written?

Japanese often omits the subject when it is clear from context.
Here, the action 友達と一緒に聞きに行くつもりだ (plan to go and listen with a friend) is clearly something the speaker is doing, so “I” is understood.

In English we must say “I,” but in Japanese it’s natural to leave out 私 when it’s obvious who is being talked about.

Is 来週、…行くつもりだ talking about the future even though there is no future tense?

Yes. Japanese does not have a separate future tense form; it uses the present (dictionary) form for both present and future.

Future meaning is understood from:

Time expressions like 来週, 明日, 今度, etc.
Context and verbs like つもりだ, 予定だ, etc.

So 行くつもりだ with 来週 clearly means “I plan to go (next week)” in the future.