Learn Hardcore Japanese: syuumatu ni tomodati to soto de syokuzi wo simasu. - I have a meal outside with friends on the weekend.

週末は友達と外で食事をします。
→ More like “As for weekends, I (usually) eat out with friends.”
Here は makes 週末 the topic and can sound more general or habitual.

For a one-time, specific weekend plan, 週末に is the basic, safe choice.

What exactly does the particle と do after 友達 (友達と)?

Here と means “with” in the sense of doing something together with someone.

友達と食事をします。
→ I will have a meal *with a friend / my friends.*

This same と also means “and” when listing items:

りんごとバナナ = apples and bananas
友達と家族と外で食事をします。
→ I will eat out with friends and family.

How do I know if 友達 means “friend” or “friends”? There’s no plural form.

Japanese usually doesn’t mark singular vs plural for nouns, so 友達 can mean:

a friend
my friend
friends
my friends

Context tells you which makes sense. In English we often translate 友達と as “with friends”, but it could be just one.

If you really need to be specific, you can add a number:

友達一人と外で食事をします。
→ I will eat out with one friend.
友達二人と外で食事をします。
→ I will eat out with two friends.

What does で mean after 外 (外で)?

で marks the place where an action happens.

外で食事をします。
→ I will have a meal outside / out (that’s where the action “having a meal” takes place).

Compare:

学校で勉強します。 → I study at school.
家でテレビを見ます。 → I watch TV at home.

So:

に after a place often marks destination or where something exists:
- 学校に行きます。 → go to school
- 学校にいます。 → be at school
で marks where you do something:
- 学校で勉強します。 → study at school

Does 外で mean “outside (in the open air)” or “eat out (not at home)”?

It can mean either, depending on context:

Literally outside / outdoors
- For example, in a park, in the garden, on a terrace.
Not at home / eat out
- In everyday conversation it can be understood as “not at home,” often implying restaurants or cafés.

If you want to clearly say “eat out (at restaurants),” Japanese also has a specific verb:

外食します。 (がいしょくします)
→ I will eat out / dine out (at restaurants).

So:

外で食事をします。
→ Literally “have a meal outside,” often interpreted as not at home.
外食します。
→ Very clearly “eat out (at restaurants).”

Why is it 食事をします instead of just 食べます?

Both are correct but have slightly different nuances:

食べます = “to eat” (focus on the act of eating something)
- 週末に友達と外で食べます。
  → On the weekend I will eat outside with friends. (simple “eat”)
食事をします = literally “to do a meal” = “to have a meal / dine”
- Sounds a bit more formal or neutral/polite, like English “have a meal” or “have dinner”.

In practice, they often overlap:

食事をします can sound slightly more polite or “complete meal”-like.
食べます is more basic and common for “eat.”

For a textbook-style sentence, 食事をします is very typical.

Why do we use the particle を with 食事 (食事をします)?

を marks the direct object of a verb.

食事 is a noun meaning “meal”.
する / します is the verb “to do.”

So 食事をします literally means “do a meal”, which we naturally translate as “have a meal”.

This pattern is very common:

勉強をします → do study → study
運動をします → do exercise → exercise / work out
宿題をします → do homework → do my homework

In everyday speech, を is often dropped with する-type expressions:

食事します
勉強します

Both forms are acceptable; textbooks usually keep を to show the grammar clearly.

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

Japanese often omits the subject when it’s clear from context.

In this sentence, there’s no explicit word for “I” (私 / 僕 / 俺, etc.), but the listener can easily understand that the speaker is talking about their own plan.

So:

週末に友達と外で食事をします。
→ (I) will have a meal outside with friends on the weekend.

If needed, you can add it:

私は週末に友達と外で食事をします。
But this is only used if you need to emphasize “I (as opposed to someone else)” or if the subject isn’t clear yet.

What tense is します here? How can it mean “will do” and “do (usually)”?

します is the non-past form of する.
Japanese non-past covers both:

future actions
present / habitual actions

So:

週末に友達と外で食事をします。
→ “I will eat out with friends on the weekend.” (a future plan for this coming weekend)

But:

週末は友達と外で食事をします。
→ can easily mean “On weekends, I (usually) eat out with friends.” (habit)

The past form would be:

食事をしました。 → “I ate / I had a meal.”

Can I change the word order, like 友達と週末に外で食事をします?

Yes. Because particles show each word’s role, Japanese word order is quite flexible.
The basic rule is that the verb usually comes at the end, and the rest can move around.

All of these are grammatically fine:

週末に友達と外で食事をします。
友達と週末に外で食事をします。
外で週末に友達と食事をします。

The difference is nuance and what you want to emphasize, but for everyday use, the most natural and common is usually:

[time] + [person] + [place] + [object] + [verb]
→ 週末に友達と外で食事をします。

Could I say 週末に友達と外で食べます instead? Is there any problem?

Yes, that’s perfectly fine:

週末に友達と外で食べます。

This simply uses 食べます (“eat”) instead of 食事をします (“have a meal”).
In everyday conversation, 食べます might actually be more common.

Nuance:

食べます: simple “eat.”
食事をします: “have a meal” (slightly more formal / neutral, often used in textbooks or polite speech).

Both are natural; choose based on style and what your textbook or teacher prefers.

What is the level of politeness? How would this look in casual speech?

します is the polite ます-form of する.

Polite:
- 週末に友達と外で食事をします。
Casual/plain:
- 週末に友達と外で食事をする。

In conversation with friends, you will often hear:

週末に友達と外でごはん食べる。
(very natural casual version using ごはん “meal/food” and 食べる.)

Textbooks teach the ます-form first because it’s safe and polite in most situations.

Can I drop some particles, like saying 週末友達と外で食事します?

In casual spoken Japanese, some particles (especially を and sometimes time に) are often dropped:

週末(に)友達と外で食事(を)します。

People might say:

週末友達と外で食事します。

This is common in speech, but:

For learners and in writing, it’s better to keep the particles:
- 週末に友達と外で食事をします。

Using correct particles makes your Japanese clearer and more natural, especially while you’re still learning.