Learn Hardcore Japanese: syuumatu ha ribingu no sofa de kazoku to issyo ni kuturogimasu. - On weekends I relax with my family on the living room sofa.

週末は literally means "As for weekends," or "On weekends," setting 週末 as the topic of the sentence.
In this sentence it implies a general habit:
- 週末はリビングのソファで家族と一緒にくつろぎます。
  → As for weekends, (I) relax on the sofa in the living room with (my) family.
Using は instead of a time particle like に makes it sound like a regular routine rather than a one‑time event.

So 週末は suggests "On weekends (in general), I relax..." rather than "This weekend" or a specific time.

Could I say 週末にリビングのソファで… instead of 週末は…? What’s the difference between は and に here?

You can say 週末に, but the nuance changes:

週末は…
- Uses は as a topic marker.
- Emphasizes weekends as a general situation / contrast.
- Sounds like a habit or typical pattern.
週末に…
- Uses に as a time marker.
- Emphasizes when the action happens (on the weekend).
- Can describe a specific time or just the timing, without the "as for weekends" contrast.

Both are grammatically correct. In a "routine/habit" sentence like this, 週末は is more natural and common.

What is the role of の in リビングのソファ?

の here links two nouns in a "possessive" or "belonging" way:

リビングのソファ = "the sofa of the living room" → "the living room sofa"
Pattern: Noun A の Noun B = "Noun B that is related to Noun A"

So リビングのソファ is "the sofa that is in/for the living room".
This の is very general; it can show:

possession (私の本 = my book)
location/association (学校の先生 = teacher of/at the school)
category (日本のアニメ = Japanese animation)

Here, it’s association/location: the sofa associated with the living room.

Why is で used after ソファ? What does ソファで mean exactly?

で is the location-of-action particle.

ソファでくつろぎます
→ "(I) relax on the sofa."
で marks where an action takes place (for active verbs):
- 学校で勉強します。= I study at school.
- レストランで食べます。= I eat at a restaurant.

So ソファで means "on the sofa / at the sofa (as a place where I relax)".
If you used に instead of で, the nuance would be "existence" rather than action (e.g. ソファに座る = sit on the sofa; ソファにいます = be on the sofa), but くつろぐ is an action, so で is natural.

What does 家族 mean here? Is it "family" in general, or specifically "my family"?

家族 literally means "family", but:

In a sentence like
家族と一緒にくつろぎます,
it is normally understood as "with my family" (the speaker’s family).
Japanese often omits possessive words like "my/our" when they’re obvious from context.

So even though it doesn’t say 私の家族, that’s the natural reading.
To explicitly say someone else’s family, Japanese usually adds that person’s name or title:

田中さんの家族 = Tanaka’s family
友だちの家族 = my friend’s family

What is the function of と in 家族と一緒に? Is it the same と as in "A and B"?

Yes, it’s the same と, but here it has the nuance of "with":

家族と can mean:
- "family and ..." when listing: 家族と友だち = my family and friends
- "with my family" when paired with an action: 家族と住む = live with my family

In 家族と一緒にくつろぎます:

家族と = with my family
一緒に = together
So 家族と一緒に reinforces "together with my family".

Why do we need 一緒に if 家族と already means "with my family"? Isn’t it redundant?

It’s not strictly necessary, but it’s natural and common:

家族とくつろぎます。
→ I relax with my family.
家族と一緒にくつろぎます。
→ I relax together with my family.

一緒に emphasizes:

the togetherness and
doing the action as a group.

You could drop 一緒に and the sentence is still correct, just a little less explicit about the "together" nuance.

What exactly does くつろぎます mean? Is it just "relax"?

くつろぎます is the polite -ます form of the verb くつろぐ.

Nuance:

It means "to relax / to feel at ease / to be comfortable and unwind."
Often used in contexts like:
- 家でくつろぐ = relax at home
- 温泉でくつろぐ = relax at a hot spring

In this sentence:

くつろぎます suggests leisurely relaxing, feeling comfortable, unwinding, not just "taking a short rest" or "stopping work" (which could be 休む, 一息つく, etc.).

So it's closer to "to lounge and feel at home" than just "stop being busy."

Why is it くつろぎます and not くつろぐ? What’s the difference?

くつろぐ = dictionary/plain form (informal)
くつろぎます = polite -ます form

Use くつろぎます when:

speaking politely (to strangers, teachers, customers, etc.)
writing many types of learner/example sentences
talking in formal or neutral situations

Use くつろぐ when:

speaking casually with close friends/family
writing in informal style (diary, casual online posts, etc.)

The meaning is the same; only the level of politeness changes.

Where is the subject "I" in this sentence? Why isn’t there a word for "I"?

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

English: I relax on the sofa in the living room with my family on weekends.
Japanese:
（私は）週末はリビングのソファで家族と一緒にくつろぎます。

私は is perfectly correct but usually dropped if:

it’s clear we’re talking about the speaker’s own habits, and
there’s no need to emphasize "I (as opposed to someone else)."

So the unspoken subject here is understood as "I" by default.

Can I change the word order? For example: 週末は家族と一緒にリビングのソファでくつろぎます。 Is that okay?

Yes, that’s perfectly natural.

Japanese word order is quite flexible as long as:

particles (は, が, を, に, で, と, など) stay attached to the right words, and
the verb comes at the end.

These are all fine and natural:

週末はリビングのソファで家族と一緒にくつろぎます。
週末は家族と一緒にリビングのソファでくつろぎます。
週末は家族と一緒にリビングのソファでくつろぎます。

The nuance change is small; different orders can slightly change what feels more "in focus," but for this simple sentence they all mean the same thing to a normal listener.

What is リビング exactly? Is it the same as "living room"?

リビング is a loanword from English and usually means "living room" in Japanese homes.

More precisely:

リビング often refers to the main living space, especially in modern houses/apartments.
Sometimes you see リビングルーム, which is closer to the full English "living room," but in everyday speech リビング is more common.
A more traditional Japanese word is 居間（いま）, also meaning "living room"; リビング can sound a bit more modern/Western-styled.

In this context, you can just think of リビング as "the living room."

Does this sentence mean "I always do this" or "I will do this (next weekend)"? What’s the aspect?

Japanese non-past form (くつろぎます) can express:

habits / routines
future actions
general statements

Because the sentence uses 週末は ("as for weekends") without a specific one-time reference, the natural reading is:

a regular habit / typical routine
→ "On weekends, I (usually) relax on the sofa in the living room with my family."

If you wanted to clearly say this coming weekend, you’d normally add something like:

今週末は… = This weekend…
来週末は… = Next weekend…

Is 一緒に linked more strongly to 家族 or to くつろぎます? How should I think about the structure?

Think of it as:

家族と一緒に = "together with my family" (one unit)
くつろぎます = "(I) relax"

So the structure is:

週末は
リビングのソファで
家族と一緒に ← adverbial phrase modifying how you relax
くつろぎます

一緒に itself is an adverb meaning "together", but in practice Xと一緒に is treated as a chunk: "together with X."

Could I say 家族とくつろぎます without 一緒に and still sound natural?

Yes:

週末はリビングのソファで家族とくつろぎます。
is grammatically correct and natural.

Difference in nuance:

家族とくつろぎます
→ with my family (implied together, but not emphasized)
家族と一緒にくつろぎます
→ explicitly emphasizes "together with my family"

Both are fine; the original just sounds a bit warmer and more clearly group-like.

Is 家族 treated as singular or plural in Japanese grammar?

Japanese doesn’t mark singular/plural the same way English does, and 家族 itself is neutral:

It can mean:
- "family" as a unit
- "family members" (plural)

In this sentence:

The English translation often uses "my family" (as a group).
If you needed to stress individual family members, you might use something like:
- 家族のみんな = everyone in my family
- 家族全員で = with all family members

But grammatically, 家族 here is just a regular noun; number is determined by context, not form.