と (with) - Grammar Discussion

With

Structure
Noun (A) + は + Noun (B) + + Verb

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I want to ask regarding this example

僕は友達とごはんを食べる。

why it is not “僕友達とごはんを食べる”?

That sounds more like someone else is eating with your friend

You don’t have to specify your friend. The topic of the sentence is you. What will you do? Eat, with a friend. We can assume it’s your friend since there isn’t a mention of it being anyone else’s friend/friends.

Same with English, “I’m going to eat with friends today” you don’t have to say my friends (unless you feel the need to point out to the listener that the friends belong to you, not them, and they are not apart of that group)

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Okeyyy. Thanks <3

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Is there a difference between the about sentence 「コーヒーを妻と飲む。」and the example sentence 「僕は友達とごはんを食べる。」? Does having Noun (B) after the object change the meaning than if it’s before the object?

To me it’s 90% the same thing. Think of it like:

I think I’ll go out today.
Today, I’ll go out I think.
I’ll go out today, I think.

There’s a minimal change in nuance, but it doesn’t change the sentence in a substantial way.

That makes sense. Thanks for the response and clarification!