Learn Hardcore Japanese: kaigi no mae ni, siryou wo tukue no ue ni narabete okimasu. - Before the meeting, I line up the materials on the desk in advance.

Word

会議かいぎ　の　前まえ　に、　資料しりょう　を　机つくえ　の　上うえ　に　並ならべて　おきます。kaigi no mae ni, shiryou o tsukue no ue ni narabete okimasu.

Meaning

Before the meeting, I line up the materials on the desk in advance.

Part of speech

sentence

Pronunciation

Course

Lesson

Breakdown of kaigi no mae ni, shiryou o tsukue no ue ni narabete okimasu.

Why is 並べておきます used instead of just 並べます?

～ておく adds the idea of doing something in advance or as preparation.

So:

In this sentence, that nuance matters because the action is being done before the meeting.

Why are there two に particles in the sentence?

They do two different jobs:

会議の前に: に marks a time point
→ before the meeting
机の上に: に marks the place where something is put/ends up
→ onto/on the desk

So even though the same particle appears twice, the meaning depends on what comes before it.

What is の doing in 会議の前 and 机の上?

Here, の connects nouns.

This pattern is very common:

Why is it but ?