kyou wa shigoto o hayame ni owarasete, ie de yasumimasu.

Today I will finish work early and rest at home.

Breakdown of kyou wa shigoto o hayame ni owarasete, ie de yasumimasu.

• は: topic particle
• を: direct object particle
• 今きょ日う: today
• 家いえ: home

Questions & Answers about kyou wa shigoto o hayame ni owarasete, ie de yasumimasu.

What is the role of は after 今日? Why not just say 今日、仕事を…?

は marks 今日 as the topic of the sentence: “As for today, …”.

• 今日は: “Today (at least / in contrast to other days) I’ll finish work early and rest at home.”
  There’s a slight nuance that today is being highlighted or contrasted with what usually happens.
• 今日、仕事を早めに終わらせて… is also possible. That sounds a bit more neutral, just giving the time frame without strongly making it the topic.

So 今日は is natural and common when you want to frame the whole sentence around “today.”

Why is 仕事 marked with を? Could I use が or something else?

Here, 仕事を終わらせて is based on the verb 仕事を終わらせる – “to finish (one’s) work.”

• を marks 仕事 as the direct object of the verb 終わらせる.
• You can’t use が here in normal speech, because 終わらせる takes its object with を:
  • ❌ 仕事が終わらせて – ungrammatical
  • ✅ 仕事を終わらせて

There is a different, intransitive pattern with 終わる:

• 仕事が終わる – “The work ends / is over.” (the work itself is the subject)
• 仕事を終える / 終わらせる – “(I) finish the work.” (someone actively finishes it)

In your sentence, you are actively choosing to finish your work early, so 仕事を終わらせて is appropriate.

What exactly does 早めに mean, and how is it different from 早く?