Learn Hardcore Japanese: watasi ha syuumatu ni ie de souzi wo suru.

In this sentence, the topic 私 is also the person doing the action, so in English it naturally becomes the subject “I.” But grammatically, は marks what the sentence is about, not who/what is grammatically the subject.

You could also say:

週末は家で掃除をする。 – “As for weekends, I clean at home.”

Here the topic would be 週末 instead of 私.

Why is は pronounced “wa” here and not “ha”?

When the character は is used as a particle (topic marker), it is pronounced wa.

When it’s part of a word, it’s pronounced ha:

Particle: 私は（わたしは）
Word: 花（はな, hana “flower”）

So:

Spelling (kana): は
Pronunciation as a particle: wa

What does に after 週末 mean? Why is it 週末に?

に after a time expression marks a specific point in time when something happens.

週末 = weekend / weekends
週末に = “on the weekend / on weekends”

So 週末に tells us when the cleaning happens.

Compare:

月曜日に – on Monday
7時に – at 7 o’clock
誕生日に – on (my) birthday

You could also use 週末は instead of 週末に:

週末は家で掃除をする。
Emphasis: As for weekends, I (typically) clean at home.

週末に is a neutral way to say “on weekends (at that time).”

What is the role of で after 家? Why is it 家で and not 家に?

で marks the place where an action is performed.

家で掃除をする。
= “I do cleaning at home.”
(で = “at / in,” as the location of the activity)

に is different:

家に行く。 – I go to home. (に = destination)
家にいる。 – I am at home. (に = location of existence)

Rough rule:

Action taking place somewhere → で
Going to a place (destination) → に
Existing at a place (be, stay) → usually に

Why is there an を after 掃除? What does 掃除をする mean?

を marks the direct object of a verb—the thing the action is done to.

掃除 = cleaning (a noun)
する = to do
掃除をする = literally “to do cleaning”

So:

掃除
- を (object marker) + する (verb)
  → 掃除をする = “to clean / to do the cleaning”

This noun + を + する pattern is very common:

勉強をする – to study (lit. “do study”)
運動をする – to exercise (lit. “do exercise”)

Can I say 掃除する without を? Is there any difference?

Yes, you can also say:

掃除する instead of 掃除をする

Both are grammatically correct and commonly used. In casual speech, 掃除する (without を) is very natural.

Nuance:

掃除をする: slightly clearer/“fuller”; often heard in neutral / slightly careful speech.
掃除する: a bit more casual/compact.

In meaning, they’re effectively the same: “to clean.”

Why does the verb する come at the end of the sentence?

Japanese basic sentence order is Subject – Object – Verb (SOV):

私（subject/topic）
週末に（time）
家で（place）
掃除を（object: cleaning）
する（verb: do）

Japanese almost always puts the main verb at the end of the clause. So even if you reorder some pieces, the verb する stays at the end:

家で週末に私は掃除をする。 – still grammatical
But the natural neutral order is what you saw:
私は週末に家で掃除をする。

Why is the verb in the dictionary form (する) instead of the polite form (します)?

する is the plain (dictionary) form; します is the polite form.

掃除をする。 – I clean. (plain)
掃除をします。 – I clean. (polite)

Use します when:

Talking to strangers
Talking to teachers / superiors
In most formal situations

Use する when:

Talking to friends / family
Writing in casual contexts
In dictionary examples / grammar explanations

So in real conversation, you would very often say:

週末に家で掃除をします。 (polite)
or
週末に家で掃除する。 (casual)

The verb is する (non‑past), but the English translation is “I clean on weekends” (habitual). How does tense work here?

Japanese non‑past form (する) covers both:

Present habitual: I usually / regularly do
Future: I will do

In this sentence, because you have a time expression like 週末に (“on weekends”), it naturally reads as a habitual action:

週末に家で掃除をする。
→ “I clean at home on weekends.” (habitual)

Context and time expressions decide whether we translate non‑past as “do,” “will do,” “usually do,” etc.

Could I say 家を掃除する instead? What’s the difference from 家で掃除をする?

Yes, 家を掃除する is also correct.

家を掃除する。
Literally: “I clean the house.” (家 is the object being cleaned.)
家で掃除をする。
Literally: “I do cleaning at home.” (The place of the cleaning is 家.)

In many contexts, both will be translated as “I clean the house,” but grammatically:

家を掃除する focuses on what you are cleaning (the house).
家で掃除をする focuses on where you are cleaning (at home), without explicitly saying what is being cleaned (though “house” is implied).

What is the difference between 家（いえ） and うち? Could I say うちで掃除をする?

You can say うちで掃除をする, and it’s very natural.

Rough differences:

家（いえ）
- The physical building / house
- More neutral, can sound a bit more “外から見る” (from the outside)
うち
- “My home / our place,” including family/household feeling
- Often sounds more intimate or casual

Examples:

うちでご飯を食べる。 – I eat at home (my place).
新しい家を買った。 – I bought a new house (building).

In your sentence, using 家で or うちで are both fine; うちで is slightly more “it’s my home” in tone.

Why is 私 even written here? Don’t Japanese speakers often drop “I”?

Yes, in natural conversation Japanese speakers often omit the subject when it’s clear from context.

So instead of:

私は週末に家で掃除をする。

you’d very frequently hear simply:

週末に家で掃除をする。

Context (who’s talking, what was said before) tells you that the subject is “I.” 私 is often kept in:

Beginner textbooks
Very first introductions of grammar
Situations where the speaker wants to emphasize “me, as opposed to other people”

Why doesn’t Japanese have words like “a / the” (articles) here, as in “at the house” or “on the weekend”?

Japanese has no articles like a, an, the.

週末 can mean “the weekend,” “a weekend,” or “weekends (in general)” depending on context.
家 can mean “the house,” “a house,” or “home” depending on context.

So:

週末に家で掃除をする。 → “I clean at home on weekends.” → could also be “I clean at the house on the weekend,” if the context requires that.

The specificity (a/the, singular/plural) is handled by context, or by adding extra words if you really need to be explicit (like その家 “that house,” 毎週末 “every weekend,” etc.).