Learn Hardcore Japanese: watasi ha syuumatu ni zimaku nasi de eiga wo mite nihongo no benkyou wo simasu. - On weekends I watch movies without subtitles to study Japanese.

は marks the topic of the sentence: what you’re talking about.
が usually marks the grammatical subject or puts focus on “who/what” is doing something.

In 私は週末に字幕なしで映画を見て日本語の勉強をします。:

私 = “I / me”
は = “as for…” → “As for me, …”

The sentence is not focusing on who studies; it’s just setting “me” as the general topic, then describing what I do on weekends. That’s why は is natural.

You could say 私が週末に… but that would sound like you’re contrasting with someone else or emphasizing “I (not someone else) do this on weekends,” which is not the neutral, default meaning here.

Why is に used after 週末, and could I say 週末で instead?

に is the standard particle to mark a specific time point:

週末に = “on the weekend”

General pattern:

月曜日に – on Monday
3時に – at 3 o’clock
誕生日に – on (my) birthday
週末に – on the weekend

で is used for:

location of an action:
- 学校で勉強します。 – I study at school.
means/manner:
- バスで行きます。 – I go by bus.

So:

週末で is usually wrong for “on weekends.”
For time expressions, に is the normal choice: 週末に.

What exactly does 字幕なしで mean, and why is it なし and not ない?

字幕なしで literally means “in the state of no subtitles” → “without subtitles.”

Breakdown:

字幕 – subtitles
なし – “none / without / lack of” (a noun meaning “absence”)
で – particle marking state/manner (“in/with this condition”)

So 字幕なしで映画を見ます = “I watch movies in a state of having no subtitles” → “I watch movies without subtitles.”

Why not 字幕ないで?

ない is the negative form (as in 字幕がない – “there are no subtitles”).
To modify a noun with ない, you normally need の:
- 字幕のない映画 – “a movie that doesn’t have subtitles.”
In this sentence, we don’t want “a movie that doesn’t have subtitles” as a noun phrase; we want an adverbial phrase “without subtitles” describing how we watch.

That’s why 字幕なしで (noun + で) is used to express a manner/state: “without subtitles.”

What does the particle で do after なし in 字幕なしで? Could we just say 字幕なし映画?

で after なし marks the state or manner in which the action happens.

字幕なしで映画を見ます。
→ “I watch movies without subtitles”
(I watch in the condition of “no subtitles.”)

で here is similar to:

一人で行きます。 – I go alone (in the state of being alone).
日本語で話します。 – I speak in Japanese (using Japanese).

字幕なし映画 is grammatically possible as a noun phrase (“subtitle-less movie”), but:

It sounds more like a label or title, especially written language (e.g., on a DVD cover).
In a natural spoken sentence about how you watch, 字幕なしで映画を見ます is much more natural.

So:

字幕なし映画 – “a no-subtitles movie” (noun phrase)
字幕なしで映画を見ます – “I watch movies without subtitles” (describing manner of watching)

Why does 映画 take を, and why does 勉強 also take を?

を marks the direct object of a verb: the thing directly acted on.

映画を見て
- 映画 – movie
- 見る – to watch
- 映画を見る – “watch a movie” → 映画 is what you watch, so it takes を.
日本語の勉強をします
- 勉強する – to study (literally “to do study”)
- 勉強 is a noun meaning “study,” and する is the verb “to do.”
- 勉強をします literally = “do study” → 勉強 is the thing you “do,” so it takes を.

So:

映画を見ます – I watch a movie.
勉強をします – I do study / I study.

In both, を marks what the verb is acting on.

Why is it 見て and not 見ます or 見てます? What is the て-form doing?

見て is the て-form of 見る. The て-form is used to connect actions.

In this sentence:

映画を見て日本語の勉強をします。 → literally: “I watch a movie and (then) do study of Japanese.”

The て-form links the two actions:

Action 1: 映画を見て – (by) watching movies
Action 2: 日本語の勉強をします – I study Japanese

So 見て instead of 見ます tells you:

“watching movies” is not a separate, completed sentence.
It’s connected to “studying Japanese” as part of one flow of activity.

見てます is colloquial contraction of 見ています (“am watching”/progressive) and doesn’t fit here, because we’re not describing a current ongoing action but a habitual routine.

Does 見て日本語の勉強をします mean “I watch movies and then I study Japanese” or “I study Japanese by watching movies”?

It can express both ideas, but in context it’s usually understood as “I study Japanese by watching movies.”

The て-form XてY has several possible nuances:

Sequence: do X, then do Y
- Ex: ご飯を食べて、宿題をします。
  → I eat and then do my homework.
Manner/means: do Y by doing X
- Ex: テレビを見て日本語を勉強します。
  → I study Japanese by watching TV.

In your sentence:

映画を見て日本語の勉強をします。

Because “watching movies” is a very natural method of studying a language, native speakers will usually read this as:

“On weekends, I study Japanese by watching movies without subtitles.”

If you wanted to be very clear about sequence, you might say:

週末にまず映画を見て、それから日本語の勉強をします。
(“First I watch movies, then I study Japanese.”)

What’s the difference between 日本語の勉強をします and 日本語を勉強します?

Both are correct and very common. The difference is mostly style and nuance, not meaning.

日本語の勉強をします
- 日本語の勉強 = “study of Japanese” (noun phrase)
- Literally: “I do study of Japanese.”
- Slightly more noun-heavy, can feel a bit more formal or explanatory.
日本語を勉強します
- 日本語 is directly the object of 勉強する.
- Literally: “I study Japanese.”
- Slightly more verb-focused, very straightforward.

In everyday conversation, 日本語の勉強をします and 日本語を勉強します are both natural. In your sentence, 日本語の勉強をします emphasizes “doing the study of Japanese” as an activity, which fits nicely after 映画を見て.

Why is it 日本語の勉強 and not 日本語勉強?

In Japanese, when one noun modifies another, you usually need の between them.

日本語 – Japanese (language)
勉強 – study

To say “study of Japanese,” you use:

日本語の勉強

General pattern:

日本の文化 – Japanese culture
学校の先生 – school teacher
日本語の勉強 – study of Japanese

日本語勉強 without の is not standard; it sounds unnatural in normal Japanese. There are some set expressions where の is dropped (like brand names), but 日本語勉強 is not one of them.

Can I drop 私 or some particles in this sentence? Would it still be correct?

Yes, some things can be naturally dropped.

Dropping 私
- Japanese often omits the subject when it’s obvious.
- 週末に字幕なしで映画を見て日本語の勉強をします。
  is perfectly natural in many contexts.
  The listener understands “I” from context.
Dropping particles:
- In careful or polite speech, it’s better to keep the particles, especially as a learner.
- Native speakers sometimes drop particles in casual speech, but not randomly and not all at once.

For this sentence, in standard polite speech, you should keep:

は, に, で, を, の as written.
Trying to say something like:
週末字幕なし映画見て日本語勉強します
is too “particle-starved” and would sound rough or unnatural, especially for a learner.

Why is します (non-past) used here for a habitual action like “on weekends I do X”? Shouldn’t it be some kind of “I usually do” form?

Japanese non-past (plain する, polite します) covers:

Present
Future
Habitual/repeated actions

So:

日本語の勉強をします。
can mean:
- I study Japanese (in general / habitually).
- I will study Japanese.

In your full sentence:

私は週末に字幕なしで映画を見て日本語の勉強をします。
The presence of 週末に (“on weekends”) makes it clear this is a regular habit, not a one-time future plan.

You don’t need a separate “usually” form; the simple します plus context expresses habitual actions.

Is the word order fixed? Could I say something like 私は字幕なしで週末に映画を見て日本語の勉強をします。 instead?

Japanese word order is flexible, but there are preferences for what sounds natural.

The most common, natural pattern is:

Time → (other adverbs/manner) → object → verb

Your original:

私は週末に字幕なしで映画を見て日本語の勉強をします。
- 週末に (time) comes early → very natural.

If you say:

私は字幕なしで週末に映画を見て日本語の勉強をします。
- It’s not wrong, but it sounds a bit less smooth. Listeners might briefly parse 字幕なしで週末に as one unit (“in a subtitle-less weekend”), then re-interpret.

More natural variations include:

週末に私は字幕なしで映画を見て日本語の勉強をします。
私は週末に映画を字幕なしで見て日本語の勉強をします。

Key point: putting time expressions like 週末に near the beginning is usually the most natural and clear.

Is this sentence polite or casual? When would I use します versus する?

します is the polite form of する.

日本語の勉強をします。 – polite
日本語の勉強をする。 – plain/casual

Your full sentence with します:

Is polite, appropriate for:
- talking to teachers
- speaking in class
- talking to people you’re not close to
- writing in many formal/neutral contexts

Casual version:

週末に字幕なしで映画を見て日本語の勉強をする。

You’d use する when:

talking to close friends, family (if they’re the same generation or lower),
in very casual writing (like to a close friend in a message).

So:

します → safe, polite, textbook style (good default for learners).
する → casual, for informal situations.