kaigi no mae ni, kare wa shiryou o hotchikisu de matomemashita.

topic particle

Breakdown of kaigi no mae ni, kare wa shiryou o hotchikisu de matomemashita.

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

Questions & Answers about kaigi no mae ni, kare wa shiryou o hotchikisu de matomemashita.

Why is の used in 会議の前に?

の connects nouns. Here, 会議 and 前 are both nouns, so 会議の前 literally means the meeting’s before, or more naturally, before the meeting.

This pattern is very common:

• 昼ご飯の前 = before lunch
• 授業の後 = after class
• 駅の近く = near the station

So in 会議の前に, の is just linking meeting and before.

What does に mean in 会議の前に?

In this sentence, に marks a specific time point or timing: at / before / when in the sense of before the meeting.

With words like 前 and 後, に is often used to show when something happens:

• 食事の前に薬を飲みます。 = I take medicine before meals.
• 授業の後に先生に会いました。 = I met the teacher after class.

So 会議の前に tells you when he did the action.

Why is 彼は marked with は instead of が?