raishuu wa shiken ga aru node, konya wa geemu bakari shite iru wake ni wa ikimasen.

I have an exam next week, so I cannot just spend tonight playing games.

Breakdown of raishuu wa shiken ga aru node, konya wa geemu bakari shite iru wake ni wa ikimasen.

• は: topic particle
• が: subject particle
• する: to do
• ので: reason particle

Questions & Answers about raishuu wa shiken ga aru node, konya wa geemu bakari shite iru wake ni wa ikimasen.

Why are 来週 and 今夜 followed by は, but 試験 is followed by が?

This is a very common pattern in Japanese.

• 来週は sets the topic/time frame: as for next week
• 試験がある says what exists in that time frame: there is an exam / I have an exam
• 今夜は sets a new topic/time frame: as for tonight

So the sentence is structured like this:

• As for next week, there is an exam, so...
• As for tonight, I can’t...

The two は markers also create a natural contrast between next week and tonight.

---

What does 試験がある mean literally, and why is ある used?