Learn Hardcore Japanese: watasi ha syuumatu ni hitori de eigakan ni ikimasu. - I go to the movie theater alone on the weekend.

It tells you what the sentence is about: 私は… = “As for me… / Speaking about me…”
The actual grammatical subject of 行きます can be understood from context and doesn’t always need to be marked by が.

In many simple sentences the topic and the subject are the same, so English speakers often think of は as a “subject marker,” but in Japanese:

は = topic (what you’re talking about, may or may not be the grammatical subject)
が = subject (focus on who/what is doing the action, or introducing something)

Here, 私は is just setting up “me” as the topic: what I do on the weekend.

Can 私 be left out? Do people really say 私は週末に… in normal conversation?

Yes, 私 can definitely be left out, and often is.

Native speakers usually say something like:

週末に一人で映画館に行きます。
(when it’s already clear we are talking about “I”)
Or in casual speech: 週末に一人で映画館に行く。

In Japanese, pronouns like 私, あなた, 彼, 彼女 are omitted whenever the subject is obvious from context. Including 私 is fine (and common in textbook sentences), but in a real conversation you would only say it when you need to make it clear that you (and not someone else) go to the theater.

Why is に used with 週末? What does 週末に mean exactly?

に after a time expression usually marks a point in time:

月曜日に – on Monday
7時に – at 7 o’clock
週末に – on/at the weekend

So 週末に is “on the weekend / at the weekend.”

A couple of notes:

For some broad time words (今日, 明日, 毎日, etc.), に is usually omitted (e.g., 明日行きます is natural).
With 週末, 週末に is very natural and standard, but in casual speech you might also hear 週末、一人で映画館に行きます。 (dropping に) without sounding wrong.

Why is に used twice: in 週末に and 映画館に? Do they mean the same thing?

It’s the same particle に, but it has two different roles here:

週末に – marks time (“at/on the weekend”).
映画館に – marks destination/goal of movement (“to the movie theater”).

So:

Time に: when something happens.
Place/destination に with movement verbs like 行く, 来る, 帰る: where you go/come/return to.

They’re written the same, but the function is clear from context.

What exactly does 一人で mean, and why is で used after 一人?

一人で means “by oneself / alone.”

Here, で is not a location marker but a “manner/means” marker: it describes how you do the action.

バスで行きます。 – I go by bus.
車で行きます。 – I go by car.
一人で行きます。 – I go by myself / alone.

So:

一人 = “one person”
一人で = “in the state of being one person / by oneself” → “alone.”

Without で, just 一人 would not sound natural in this sentence; you need 一人で to form the adverbial meaning “alone.”

Why is the word order 週末に一人で映画館に行きます? Can I change the order?

Japanese word order is flexible, but the verb must come at the end. A common pattern is:

[Time] + [Manner] + [Place] + Verb

So:

週末に一人で映画館に行きます。

You can usually move the chunks before the verb around without becoming ungrammatical, for example:

週末に映画館に一人で行きます。
一人で週末に映画館に行きます。

All are understandable. The differences are subtle emphasis/flow, not correctness.

However, beginners are safest sticking to something like: > Time → Manner → Place → Verb
> 週末に一人で映画館に行きます。

Does 行きます mean “I go” or “I will go”? What tense is it?

行きます is the polite non-past form. Japanese non-past covers:

Present/habitual: “I (usually) go.”
Future: “I will go.”

Context decides which reading is natural.

With something like 毎週週末に… (every weekend), it sounds habitual: “I go every weekend.”
In a context like making plans, 週末に一人で映画館に行きます is naturally “I will go to the movie theater alone this weekend.”

English forces you to choose between present and future; Japanese doesn’t for this form.

What is the politeness level of 行きます? How would this sentence look in casual speech?

行きます is polite form (ます-form). You use it in normal public situations, with strangers, teachers, customers, etc.

The casual/plain form of 行きます is 行く.

So, casual versions of the sentence could be:

週末に一人で映画館に行く。
If you keep 私: 私は週末に一人で映画館に行く。 (still casual, just more explicit)

The grammar is the same; only the politeness level changes.

What’s the difference between 映画館 and 映画? Why not say 映画に行きます?

映画館 = movie theater (the place).
映画 = movie/film (the thing you watch).

行く (“to go”) normally takes a place as its destination, so:

映画館に行きます。 – I go to the movie theater.
If you said 映画に行きます, it would sound strange; you can’t literally “go to a movie” in Japanese in the same way English says it.

To talk about watching a movie, you might say:

映画館で映画を見ます。 – I watch a movie at the movie theater.

Here, 映画館で uses で because it marks where the action of watching happens.

Why is で used with 一人 but に used with 映画館? Could 映画館で ever be used?

Yes, both に and で can be used with places, but they have different roles:

映画館に行きます。
- に = destination/goal of movement → “go to the movie theater.”
映画館で映画を見ます。
- で = location of action → “watch a movie at the movie theater.”

For 一人で:

で is used for manner/means: “do something in the state of being alone” → “alone / by myself.”

So in your sentence:

映画館に: where you go to.
一人で: how you go (alone).

And yes, 映画館で is perfectly correct, but only when the movie theater is the place where the action happens, not the destination of motion.

Could I use へ instead of に in 映画館に行きます? What’s the difference between に and へ here?

You can say:

映画館へ行きます。
映画館に行きます。

Both are correct and very common.

Subtle nuance (often small or ignored in everyday speech):

へ emphasizes direction: “toward the movie theater.”
に emphasizes destination/arrival: “to the movie theater (and arriving there).”

In most everyday contexts, they are practically interchangeable with 行く / 来る / 帰る, but に is generally more common in modern speech for destinations.

Why are there no words like a/the in this sentence? Is it “a movie theater” or “the movie theater”?

Japanese does not have articles like a/an or the.

映画館 by itself can mean:

“a movie theater”
“the movie theater”
“movie theaters” (in general)

Which one is intended is decided purely by context.

In English, if you translate it naturally, you’ll choose whatever sounds right:

“I’ll go to the movie theater this weekend.”
“I go to a movie theater alone on weekends.”

But in Japanese, the original phrase 映画館に行きます doesn’t specify; it’s neutral.

Is it okay to drop some of the particles, like in casual speech?

Yes, in casual spoken Japanese, particles are often omitted when the meaning is still clear. For example:

Full: 私は週末に一人で映画館に行きます。
Natural casual speech might become:
週末一人で映画館行く。

Common omissions in speech:

Drop は when the topic is obvious.
Often drop に after time expressions (週末, 明日, etc.).
Sometimes drop に after locations with 行く / 来る in very casual speech, though this can sound rough or slangy depending on context: 映画館行く.

For learners, it’s better to keep the particles until you’re comfortable, then notice how natives drop them in real conversations.