syuumatu ni ribingu no yuka ni atarasii kaapetto wo sikimasita.

On the weekend I laid a new carpet on the living room floor.

Breakdown of syuumatu ni ribingu no yuka ni atarasii kaapetto wo sikimasita.

• を: direct object particle
• の: possessive case particle
• に: time particle
• 週末しゅうまつ: weekend
• 新あたらしい: new
• に: location particle
• リビング: living room
• カーペット: carpet
• 床ゆか: floor
• 敷しく: to lay

Questions & Answers about syuumatu ni ribingu no yuka ni atarasii kaapetto wo sikimasita.

Why is there no word for “I” in this sentence? Who is doing the action?

Japanese often omits the subject when it is clear from context.

In 週末にリビングの床に新しいカーペットを敷きました。, the implied subject is usually 私 (I), or possibly we / someone in the speaker’s group, depending on the context.

If you need to be explicit, you could say:

• 私は週末にリビングの床に新しいカーペットを敷きました。
  I laid a new carpet on the living room floor on the weekend.

But normally Japanese just leaves out 私 when it’s obvious from the situation who did it.

Why is に used after 週末? Could I say 週末で instead?

After time expressions like 週末 (the weekend), に marks the point in time when something happens:

• 週末に敷きました。 = I laid (it) on the weekend.

Using で with time usually sounds wrong here. で is used more for locations or the means/way of doing something, not for simple points in time.

You can sometimes omit に after certain time words:

• 週末、新しいカーペットを敷きました。 (Still okay, sounds natural in speech.)

But 週末で新しいカーペットを敷きました is not correct for “on the weekend.”

There are two に’s: 週末に and 床に. Are they doing the same thing?

They use the same particle に, but the function is different:

1. 週末に – time に

   • Marks when the action happened.
   • 週末に敷きました。 = I laid it on the weekend.

2. 床に – location に (with a placement verb)

   • With verbs like 置く (to put), 置いてある (to be placed), 乗せる, 貼る, 敷く, etc., に marks the place onto/into which you put something.
   • 床にカーペットを敷きました。 = I laid a carpet on the floor.

So same particle, but:

• 週末に = at/on the weekend (time)
• 床に = on/onto the floor (destination/location of placement)

Why is it リビングの床 and not something like リビングで?

リビングの床 is a noun phrase meaning “the floor of the living room.”

• リビング = living room
• 床 (ゆか) = floor
• リビングの床 = the living room’s floor / the floor in the living room

Here, の is connecting two nouns: “living room” + “floor.”

If you said リビングで, that just means “in the living room / at the living room (as a place of action)”:

• リビングでテレビを見ました。
  I watched TV in the living room.

But when you explicitly talk about the floor as the surface you put the carpet on, you say:

• リビングの床にカーペットを敷く。
  Lay a carpet on the living room floor.

Why does カーペット take the particle を?

を marks the direct object of a transitive verb.

• Verb: 敷く (to lay / spread out something, e.g., a carpet, futon, mat)
• Direct object: カーペット (carpet)

So:

• カーペットを敷きました。
  I laid a carpet.

The pattern is:

• [place] に [thing] を 敷く
  → 床にカーペットを敷く。
  to lay a carpet on the floor.

What is 敷きました exactly? What is the dictionary form and meaning?

敷きました is the polite past form of the verb 敷く（しく）.

• Dictionary form: 敷く
• ます-stem: 敷き
• Polite non-past: 敷きます
• Polite past: 敷きました

Basic meaning of 敷く:

• to lay / spread (something) out flat over a surface

Common uses:

• カーペットを敷く – to lay a carpet
• 布団を敷く – to lay out a futon
• シートを敷く – to spread out a sheet (e.g., picnic sheet)

So in the sentence, 敷きました = laid (polite, past).

How flexible is the word order? Can I say 週末に新しいカーペットをリビングの床に敷きました?

Yes, word order in Japanese is relatively flexible as long as the particles are correct.

All of these are grammatical and natural:

• 週末にリビングの床に新しいカーペットを敷きました。
• 週末に新しいカーペットをリビングの床に敷きました。
• 新しいカーペットをリビングの床に週末に敷きました。 (fine, but a bit less natural)

The main constraint is that the verb tends to come at the end:

• ✅ …カーペットを敷きました。
• ❌ 敷きましたカーペットを。 (normally wrong in standard Japanese)

The most natural version often puts information in roughly this order:

1. Time: 週末に
2. Place: リビングの床に
3. Object: 新しいカーペットを
4. Verb: 敷きました。

Can I use は anywhere in this sentence? What changes if I do?

Yes, you can add は to mark a topic and change the nuance or focus.

For example:

1. 週末はリビングの床に新しいカーペットを敷きました。

   • Topic: 週末
   • Nuance: As for the weekend, I laid a new carpet on the living room floor.
   • Implies contrast with other times (e.g., on weekdays you did something else).

2. 新しいカーペットはリビングの床に敷きました。

   • Topic: 新しいカーペット
   • Nuance: As for the new carpet, I laid it on the living room floor.
   • Perhaps contrasting with an old carpet, or other items.

3. リビングの床には新しいカーペットを敷きました。

   • Topic: リビングの床
   • Nuance: As for the living room floor, I put a new carpet on it.
   • You might be talking about different rooms: In the bedroom we did X, but as for the living room floor, we put a new carpet.

So は adds topic/contrast; the basic event doesn’t change, but what you highlight does.

Why is it 敷きました and not just 敷いた? What’s the difference?

• 敷きました is polite past (ます-form).
• 敷いた is plain past (dictionary/plain form).

Use 敷きました when:

• speaking politely to someone not very close to you (customer, teacher, colleague, etc.)
• writing polite sentences (texts, emails, etc.)

Use 敷いた when:

• talking casually with friends, family, or people of equal/lower status (in a casual setting)
• writing in a diary, informal messages, etc.

Example contrast:

• 週末にカーペットを敷きました。
  (polite: what you might say to a neighbor or coworker)

• 週末にカーペット敷いた。
  (casual: what you might say to a close friend)

How do I read 床? Is it ゆか or とこ?

In this sentence, 床 is read ゆか.

• 床（ゆか） – the floor (the surface you walk or put things on)
• 床（とこ） – appears in some compound words or set phrases:
  • 床屋（とこや） – barber shop
  • 床の間（とこのま） – alcove in a traditional Japanese room

So:

• リビングの床（ゆか） = the living room floor.

Is カーペット the normal word for “carpet”? I’ve also seen じゅうたん.

Both are used, with slightly different nuances:

• カーペット

  • A loanword from English.
  • Often used for Western-style carpets and rugs.
  • Very common in everyday speech.

• じゅうたん / 絨毯

  • A native/Chinese-origin word.
  • Can sound a bit more formal or descriptive, but is also used in normal conversation.

In most everyday contexts, you can say either:

• 新しいカーペットを敷きました。
• 新しいじゅうたんを敷きました。

Both would be understood as “I laid a new carpet.”

What’s the difference between 敷く and 置く? Could I say カーペットを置きました?

Both 敷く and 置く are placement verbs, but they’re used differently:

• 敷く – to lay / spread something flat over a surface

  • カーペットを敷く – lay a carpet
  • 布団を敷く – lay out a futon
  • シートを敷く – spread a sheet

• 置く – to put / place / set something somewhere

  • テーブルを置く – put a table
  • 本を机の上に置く – put a book on the desk

Since a carpet is something you spread out flat, 敷く is the natural, specific verb:

• ✅ カーペットを床に敷きました。

You could technically say カーペットを床に置きました, but it sounds odd or less precise, as if you’re treating the carpet like a box you just “put down,” not something you properly spread out. Native speakers normally use 敷く for carpets, futons, mats, etc.