kaigi no mae ni shinkokyuu o suruto, kimochi ga sukoshi ochitsukimasu

When I take a deep breath before a meeting, I feel a little calmer.

Breakdown of kaigi no mae ni shinkokyuu o suruto, kimochi ga sukoshi ochitsukimasu

• を: direct object particle
• が: subject particle
• の: possessive case particle
• に: time particle

Questions & Answers about kaigi no mae ni shinkokyuu o suruto, kimochi ga sukoshi ochitsukimasu

Why is の used in 会議の前?

の links two nouns.

• 会議 = meeting
• 前 = front / before

So 会議の前 literally means the before of the meeting, which naturally becomes before the meeting.

This is a very common pattern:

• 学校の前 = in front of the school
• 食事の前 = before the meal
• 寝る前 = before sleeping
  
  • with verbs, 前 often attaches directly instead of using の

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Why is there に after 前 in 会議の前に?

In this sentence, に marks the time point when the action happens.

So:

• 会議の前に = before the meeting
• then the next action happens at that time: 深呼吸をすると

A useful pattern is:

• noun + の + 前に
• verb dictionary form + 前に

Examples:

• 会議の前に = before the meeting
• 食べる前に = before eating

Here, に helps show that before the meeting is the timing for the action that follows.

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Why does the sentence say 深呼吸をする? Can you also say 深呼吸する?