kaigi no mae ni, shiryou o kasanete tsukue no ue ni okimasu.

direct object particle

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

• の: possessive case particle
• に: time particle
• 〜て: connective form

Questions & Answers about kaigi no mae ni, shiryou o kasanete tsukue no ue ni okimasu.

What does 会議の前に mean, and why is の used there?

会議の前に means before the meeting.

• 会議 = meeting
• 前 = front / before
• の links 会議 and 前
• に marks the time point

With nouns, Japanese often uses:

Noun + の + 前に = before Noun

So:

• 会議の前に = before the meeting
• 授業の前に = before class
• 昼ご飯の前に = before lunch

The の is needed because 前 is functioning like a noun here, and 会議 modifies it.

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Why are there two に particles in this sentence?

They are doing two different jobs.

1. 会議の前に

   • Here に marks a time reference: before the meeting

2. 机の上に

   • Here に marks the destination/location where something is placed: onto/on top of the desk

So even though both are に, they are not the same in meaning.

• Time に: when/before/at
• Location に with 置きます: where something is put

This is very common in Japanese.

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What does 重ねて mean here?