Difference between 今週の週末でもいい? and 今週の週末はいい?


What is the difference in nuance between using でも or は in the next sentences?:

> 今週の週末でもいい？
>
> 今週の週末はいい？

I got several and different replies about this topic, so I don't know what to
think about this.

One of these replies said that in the first one, only this weekend is
available to me. "(The weekend that is available tome is only this weekend,
but) Is it okay for you?". In the second one, I don't say so. You're just
asking if this weekend is convenient for him or her.

Is that true? How would you explain the difference? I find myself kind of
confused right now.




At the risk of winding up, within a few minutes, as one of those who tried to
help, I shall give it a shot. At the very least, I am a Japanese-speaker.

To me, the two sentences mean **_very_** different things from each other and
they are not interchangeable. That is unless you have a particular situation
in mind that is beyond my imagination.

> 「今週{こんしゅう}の週末{しゅうまつ} **でも** いい？」

This question is asked when the speaker wants/needs to do something with/for
the listener and wants to know if this weekend is convenient for the listener.

「いい」 here means "convenient" or "good" for **_doing_** something.

> 「今週の週末 **は** いい？」

In this sentence, the meaning of 「いい」 will be quite different than in the
first sentence. It means " ** _good (without doing something)_** ".

Suppose you bring home-grown vegetables to your friend's home on weekends on a
fairly regular basis. This coming weekend, however, your friend is going on a
4-day trip and will not be able to consume the vegetables if you brough them.
When you find out about your friend's trip on the phone, you might say
「じゃあ、今週末はいい？」 meaning that it would be good for both you and your friend if
you did **_not_** bring vegetables this weekend.

This usage of 「いい」 (and of 「は」) is extremely common among us native speakers,
but not at all among J-learners as far as I am aware. We speak like:

Mom: 「明日{あした}はお弁当{べんとう}いる？」"Do you need a bento tomorrow?"

Son: 「明日は **いい** 。明後日{あさって}お願{ねが}い。」"No, thanks! I'm fine (without a bento)
tomorrow. Please make one the day after tomorrow."

