“は…は” usage: What’s the function of the first は?


午後は授業はありません。 I saw this sentence in my book, and from my understanding the
second は marks the topic of the sentence, and in some cases “は…は” highlights
the contrast between two topics, but in this case 午後 obviously means “in the
afternoon”, so why is 午後 followed by は?




You can drop は for 午後は: 午後授業はありません.

As noted in the comment, both can be topic or contrast.

  * 午後は授業はありません. (午前中は授業があります) 1st: contrast 2nd: topic
  * 午後は授業はありません. (パーティーがあります) 1st: topic 2nd: contrast




You can drop は for 午後は: 午後授業はありません.

As noted in the comment, both can be topic or contrast.

  * 午後は授業はありません. (午前中は授業があります) 1st: contrast 2nd: topic
  * 午後は授業はありません. (パーティーがあります) 1st: topic 2nd: contrast

