Choosing an Activity Based on the Weather | Learn Japanese in English

Sentence explanations

1. 明日は屋内と屋外のどちらで何かしましょうか。

   Should we do something indoors or outdoors tomorrow?

   明日

   tomorrow

   屋内

   indoors

   屋外

   outdoors

   どちらで

   in which of the two?

   何か

   something

   しましょうか

   shall we do it?

   More detail

   明日 means “tomorrow,” the day after today. It is a time expression; in this sentence, は follows it to set tomorrow as the topic or time frame. Example: 明日行きます。— “I’ll go tomorrow.” 屋内 means “indoors” or “inside a building.” It functions as a location expression, and で can mark it as the setting where an activity takes place. The related contrast 屋外 means “outdoors.” 屋外 means “outdoors” or “outside.” It can also be followed by で when it marks where an activity happens. Example: 屋外で遊びます。— “I play outdoors.” どちらで asks “in which of the two?” Here, どちら selects between the two settings, and で marks the place or setting of the action. A more general “where?” question uses どこで instead. 何か means “something” here. 何 means “what,” and か makes the expression indefinite: 何か = “something.” Example: 何か食べます。— “I’ll eat something.” しましょうか is a polite way to ask about doing something together: “shall we do it?” or “should we do it?” しましょう is the polite volitional form of する, “to do,” and final か marks the utterance as a question. Together with 何か, 何かしましょうか means “shall we do something?” Example: 一緒に勉強しましょうか。— “Shall we study together?” Putting the parts together, 明日は sets tomorrow as the time, 屋内と屋外のどちらで presents a choice between an indoor and an outdoor setting, and 何かしましょうか asks whether the speakers should do something. The complete meaning is: “Should we do something indoors or outdoors tomorrow?” The polite volitional question is suitable for making a joint suggestion.

2. 決める前に天気予報を確認しましょう。

   Check the forecast before we decide.

   決める

   decide

   前に

   before

   天気予報

   weather forecast

   確認しましょう

   let’s check

   More detail

   決める means “to decide” here. It is the dictionary form of the verb and can also mean “to choose” when selecting among options. Example: 予定を決める。 — “I decide the plan.” 前に means “before” and follows an action or event to place it earlier in time. In 決める前に, the dictionary-form verb 決める combines with 前に to mean “before deciding.” Example: 寝る前に歯を磨きます。 — “I brush my teeth before going to bed.” 天気予報 means “weather forecast.” It is a compound noun: 天気 means “weather,” and 予報 means “forecast.” Here it is the thing being checked. Example: 天気予報を見ました。 — “I looked at the weather forecast.” 確認しましょう means “let’s check.” The useful verb is 確認する, “to check” or “to confirm”; 確認しましょう is its polite volitional form, used to propose doing it together. The ましょう ending expresses “let’s …,” while 確認 itself does not carry that meaning. Example: 時間を確認しましょう。 — “Let’s check the time.” Together, 決める前に sets the time as “before deciding,” 天気予報を marks the forecast as what is checked, and 確認しましょう makes a polite joint proposal. The whole utterance means: “Let’s check the weather forecast before we decide.”

3. 午前中は晴れるそうです。

   It says the morning will be sunny.

   午前中

   the morning

   晴れる

   be sunny

   そうです

   it is said that

   More detail

   午前中 means “the morning,” specifically the morning period, roughly from morning until noon. The ending 中 can mark a period during which something occurs; for example, 仕事中 means “during work” or “at work.” In this sentence, は marks 午前中 as the topic: “As for the morning…” 晴れる is the verb “to become sunny” or “to clear up.” Its dictionary form is 晴れる; the form is not changed here for a future time. Japanese nonpast forms can describe a future event when the context does so. Example: 明日は晴れる。 — “Tomorrow will be sunny.” This differs from 晴れた, which describes weather that became sunny or was sunny in the past. そうです follows the plain form 晴れる and reports information the speaker has heard or learned: 晴れるそうです means “I hear that it will be sunny” or “It says that it will be sunny.” This is the hearsay use of そうです. It is different from 晴れそうです, where そう follows a verb stem and means “looks likely to become sunny” based on the speaker’s impression. Together, 午前中は sets the time and topic, 晴れる states the expected weather, and そうです marks that expectation as reported information. The whole utterance therefore means: “It says the morning will be sunny.”

4. それなら、昼食の前に散歩に行けます。

   Then we could take a walk before lunch.

   それなら

   then; in that case

   昼食

   lunch

   前に

   before

   散歩

   walk; stroll

   行けます

   can go; be able to go

   More detail

   それなら connects this sentence to information just mentioned: “if that is so” or “in that case.” It is a reusable way to state a resulting option or conclusion. For example, それなら、行きましょう。 means “In that case, let’s go.” 昼食 is the noun “lunch.” It is a somewhat formal or neutral word; 昼ご飯 is a common everyday alternative. Here it names the reference point for the time expression, not a quantity. 前に means “before” when a time expression is followed by に: Nの前に means “before N.” Thus 昼食の前に means “before lunch.” For example, 寝る前に本を読みます。 means “I read a book before going to bed.” 散歩 means “a walk” or “strolling.” With に行く, the pattern 散歩に行く means “go for a walk”; に marks the purpose of going. The related verb is 散歩する, “to take a walk,” but the sentence uses the destination/purpose pattern with 行く. 行けます is the polite nonpast form of 行ける, the potential form of 行く (“to go”). It expresses ability or feasibility: “can go” or “be able to go.” The potential form is distinct from the basic form 行きます, “go/will go.” In this sentence, the subject is not stated in Japanese; the fixed translation supports “we” as the intended participant. Together, 昼食の前に散歩に sets “before lunch” as the time and “go for a walk” as the action. 行けます presents that action as feasible, while それなら links it to the preceding condition or information. The whole utterance therefore means: “Then we could take a walk before lunch.”

5. 後で雨が降ったら、カフェに行けます。

   If it rains later, we can visit a cafe.

   後で

   later

   雨

   rain

   降ったら

   if it rains

   カフェ

   cafe

   行けます

   can go

   More detail

   後で means “later” and places the condition in a later time. It is a reusable time expression: 後で電話します。 means “I’ll call later.” 雨 means “rain.” In this sentence it is the thing that falls, and Japanese commonly uses 雨が降る for “rain falls” or, naturally in English, “it rains.” The particle が marks 雨 as the subject of 降る here. 降ったら is built from 降る (“to fall,” and with 雨, “to rain”) + たら. The たら form commonly expresses a condition such as “if” or “when”: 時間があったら、来てください。 means “If you have time, please come.” Although 降ったら contains the past-form element た, the whole conditional refers here to a possible later event: “if it rains later.” カフェ means “cafe.” It is followed by に, which marks the destination with the movement verb 行く (“go”). For example, 駅に行きます。 means “I go to the station” or “I’ll go to the station,” depending on context. 行けます is the polite nonpast form of the potential form 行ける, “can go,” rather than the ordinary nonpast 行きます, “go/will go.” The subject is not stated in Japanese; the fixed translation presents it as “we,” so the sentence means that the relevant people can go. 行けません is the negative form, “cannot go.” Together, 後で雨が降ったら sets the condition “if it rains later,” and カフェに行けます gives the result “we can go to a cafe.” The complete utterance is therefore: “If it rains later, we can visit a cafe.”

6. それなら、予定を柔軟に変えられます。

   That keeps the plan flexible.

   それなら

   in that case

   予定

   plan; schedule

   柔軟に

   flexibly

   変えられます

   can change

   More detail

   それなら means “in that case” or “if that is so.” それ points to a situation already established in the conversation, while なら presents the condition based on that situation. In this context, it connects the preceding possibility with the conclusion that the plan can remain adaptable. 予定 means a plan or schedule. It can refer to something arranged or intended, as in 旅行の予定 (“travel plans”). In this sentence, it is the thing being changed; the form itself does not mark whether the plan belongs to one person or several. 柔軟に means “flexibly.” It is the adverbial form of 柔軟な (“flexible”): 柔軟な対応 means “a flexible response,” while 柔軟に対応する means “to respond flexibly.” The に here lets the descriptive word modify the action 変える. 変えられます means “can change” or “can alter.” Its base verb is 変える (“to change something”), and 変えられる is its potential form, expressing ability or possibility; ます makes it polite in this nonpast statement. For example, 時間を変えられます means “I can change the time.” The Japanese sentence leaves the actor implicit, so the form expresses that the plan can be changed without specifying who will do it. Together, それなら sets the situation, 予定を marks the plan as the object, 柔軟に describes the manner of changing it, and 変えられます says that such a change is possible. The whole utterance therefore means that, given that situation, the plan can be kept flexible or adjusted as needed. In this context, the fixed translation presents that as “That keeps the plan flexible.”

7. 午前中に散歩をする予定にしましょう。

   Let's plan on a morning walk.

   午前中に

   in the morning

   散歩をする

   take a walk

   予定

   plan

   にしましょう

   let’s make it; let’s decide

   More detail

   午前中に means “in the morning.” 午前中 refers to the morning part of the day, and に marks that period as the time when an action is scheduled or takes place. A reusable pattern is [time]に[activity], as in 七時に出発します (“I/we leave at seven”). 散歩をする means “take a walk.” The noun 散歩 means “a walk,” and する is the verb “do,” so this is a common noun-plus-する verb pattern. The observed form する is the nonpast form; it can describe a present or future action depending on context. For example, 毎朝散歩をします means “I take a walk every morning.” 予定 means “plan” or “schedule.” In this sentence it is the plan for the activity, rather than the activity itself. It can also be used in 予定があります (“I have plans”) and 予定を変更します (“I change the plan/schedule”). にしましょう expresses “let’s make it/decide on it.” Here, に links the chosen activity to する, while しましょう is the polite volitional form of する: する → しましょう. The pattern [noun]にしましょう can propose deciding on or choosing something, as in 昼食はカレーにしましょう (“Let’s choose curry for lunch”). Together, 午前中に sets the time, 散歩をする names the activity, and 予定にしましょう proposes making that activity the plan. The complete meaning is: “Let’s plan on a morning walk.”

8. 天気が変わったら、屋内の活動に変えられます。

   We can move indoors if the weather changes.

   天気

   weather

   変わったら

   if it changes

   屋内

   indoors; indoors area

   活動

   activity

   変えられます

   can be changed; can be moved

   More detail

   天気 means “weather.” It is a noun; が marks it as the subject of the change described next. For example, 天気がいいです。 means “The weather is good.” 変わったら means “if it changes.” The base verb is 変わる, “to change” or “to become different,” and 変わったら is its past-form conditional: literally, “when/if it has changed.” Here it describes a possible future change in the weather. Do not confuse it with 変える, “to change something”; 変わる is the intransitive verb, while 変える takes something being changed. 屋内 means “indoors” or “the indoor area.” In 屋内の活動, の links it to the noun that follows: “an indoor activity.” The related contrast is 屋外, “outdoors.” 活動 means “activity.” It is a noun and can be modified by a type or location, as in 屋内の活動, “an indoor activity.” 変えられます means “can change it” or, in this sentence, “can move it to a different form/location.” Its base verb is transitive 変える, “to change something.” The form 変えられます is its polite potential form, expressing ability or possibility; here the intended reading is potential, not passive. The thing being changed is understood from the situation: the planned activity mentioned in the preceding context. Compare 活動を変えます, “We change the activity,” with 活動を変えられます, “We can change the activity.” The sentence is structured as 天気が変わったら (“if the weather changes”) + 屋内の活動に (“to an indoor activity”) + 変えられます (“can change it”). Together, it means: “We can move indoors if the weather changes.” The に marks the resulting choice or destination—changing the plan to an indoor activity. The polite ending ます makes the statement suitable for a respectful or neutral conversation.