Learn Hardcore Japanese: titi ha mainiti isogasiku hatarakimasu.

父 (ちち): used when talking about your own father to someone outside your family. It’s the “humble” way to say my father.
- Example: 父は会社員です。 – My father is a company employee.
お父さん (おとうさん):
- used when addressing your father directly: Dad / Father
  - お父さん、ただいま。 – Dad, I’m home.
- used when talking about someone else’s father, out of respect.
  - 田中さんのお父さん – Mr. Tanaka’s father

So in 父は毎日忙しく働きます, the speaker is talking to an outsider (e.g., friend, teacher) about their own father, so 父 is natural.

What does the particle は do in this sentence?

は is the topic marker. It tells you what the sentence is “about.”

父は = “As for my father,” / “My father, [speaking about him] …”

The basic structure is:

[Topic] は [Comment about the topic].
- Here: 父は (topic) 毎日忙しく働きます (comment)

So は does not mean is; it just marks 父 as the topic of the sentence.

Where is the word “my” in this sentence? Why is it just 父 and not 私の父?

Japanese often omits possessive pronouns like my, your, his when they’re obvious from context.

In most everyday situations, if you say 父, people will assume “my father” unless context clearly says otherwise.
私の父 (my father) is correct and can be used, but it often sounds a bit heavier or more formal, and is usually only needed when you must make it explicit or avoid confusion.

So 父は毎日忙しく働きます naturally means “My father works hard every day.”

What is the difference between 父は and 父が? Could I say 父が毎日忙しく働きます?

Both は and が can mark something like a “subject,” but they have different nuances.

父は毎日忙しく働きます。
- Sets 父 as the topic: “As for my father, he works hard every day.”
- Neutral, explanatory, or introducing general information about your father.
父が毎日忙しく働きます。
- Emphasizes who it is that works hard every day.
- Often used when contrasting or answering a “who?” question.
  - Q: 毎日忙しく働くのは誰ですか。 – Who works hard every day?
    A: 父が毎日忙しく働きます。 – My father does.

In isolation, the は version is more natural as a stand‑alone factual statement about your father.

Why is it 毎日忙しく働きます and not 毎日働きます忙しく like English “works hard” at the end?

Japanese word order is generally:

[Topic] は [Time] [Manner] [Verb].

Here:

父は – topic
毎日 – time (every day)
忙しく – manner (in a busy way / busily)
働きます – verb (works)

So adverbs of time and manner usually come before the verb, not after it.
Putting 忙しく after 働きます would be ungrammatical.

What form is 忙しく? How is it different from 忙しい?

忙しい (いそがしい) is an i‑adjective meaning busy.

忙しい – basic (dictionary) form, used before nouns or at the end of a sentence:
- 忙しい人 – a busy person
- 父は忙しいです。 – My father is busy.

忙しく is the adverbial/continuative form (連用形) of 忙しい:

Used to modify verbs, like an adverb:
- 忙しく働きます – work busily / work in a busy way → work hard

So:

忙しいです – describes a state: “He is busy.”
忙しく働きます – describes how he works: “He works in a busy/hard-working way.”

Could I say 父は毎日忙しいです instead? What’s the difference?

Yes, you can, but the nuance changes:

父は毎日忙しく働きます。
- Focus on the action: how he works.
- Natural English: “My father works hard every day.” / “My father works busily every day.”
父は毎日忙しいです。
- Focus on his state: he is busy every day.
- Natural English: “My father is busy every day.”

Both are correct, but 忙しく働きます emphasizes his way of working, not just that his schedule is full.

What exactly does 働きます mean, and what is its dictionary form?

働きます (はたらきます) is the polite ます‑form of the verb 働く (はたらく).

働く – to work (usually physical/regular work; not used for simply being “on duty” like いる)
働きます – polite form used in normal conversation with non‑close people, in class, etc.

Basic forms:

Dictionary (plain) form: 働く
Polite non‑past: 働きます
Polite past: 働きました – worked
Plain past: 働いた

So 忙しく働きます = “(He) works busily / works hard.”

Why is there no particle after 毎日? Should it be 毎日に or something?

Time expressions like 毎日, 今日, 明日, 昨日 often appear without a particle when they directly modify the verb.

毎日働きます。 – I work every day.
昨日映画を見ました。 – I watched a movie yesterday.

Adding に after 毎日 is generally not done in this simple “every day” sense; 毎日に働きます sounds unnatural.

You can add particles when combining with others, like:

毎日には – in certain contrastive or special contexts, but that’s more advanced/marked.

For standard usage, 毎日 + verb without a particle is normal:

父は毎日忙しく働きます。 – My father works hard every day.

Could I change the word order to 父は忙しく毎日働きます?

Native speakers might understand it, but it sounds unnatural.

The usual, natural order is:

父は毎日忙しく働きます。
- Topic – Time – Manner – Verb

In Japanese, time expressions like 毎日 are usually placed closer to the beginning of the predicate, before other adverbs like 忙しく.

So, for clear, natural Japanese, keep:

毎日 before 忙しく, and both before 働きます.

Is there any object missing here? In English we often say “work at something / somewhere.”

The verb 働く does not need a direct object in Japanese. It simply means “to work (as a job).”

If you want to add more detail, you add it with other particles:

Place:
- 父は会社で毎日忙しく働きます。
  – My father works hard at the company every day.
Type of work:
- 工場で働きます。 – (He) works at a factory.

In the original sentence, it’s perfectly natural to just say:

父は毎日忙しく働きます。 – My father works hard every day.