uija wie chaegi nohyeo isseoyo.

의자 위에 책이 놓여 있어요.uija wie chaegi nohyeo isseoyo.
A book is placed on the chair.
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Questions & Answers about uija wie chaegi nohyeo isseoyo.

What is 놓여 있어요 and how is it different from simply saying 놓아요?
The verb 놓다 is active “to put (something) down.” When you say 놓아요, you focus on the action of placing. 놓여 있어요 comes from the passive 놓이다 + the stative -어 있다, so it literally means “(it) is placed (and remains that way).” It describes the state or result of the item having been put down, rather than the act of putting it down.
Why do we use -어 있다 after 놓여, and what nuance does it add?
The structure V-어 있다 expresses a resulting state after an action. Here, 놓여 있다 tells you the book is in the state of having been placed on the chair. Without -어 있다, you’d be left with a simple passive 놓여 (which is not used on its own in modern Korean). With -어 있다, you emphasize that the book remains on the chair now.
What’s the difference between 놓다, 놓이다, and 놓여 있다?
  • 놓다: active verb, “to put (something) down.”
  • 놓이다: passive form of 놓다, “to be put (by someone).”
  • 놓여 있다: passive 놓이다
    • -어 있다, “to be placed and remain there,” focusing on the current state.
Can I say 책이 의자 위에 있어요 instead of 의자 위에 책이 놓여 있어요? Are they the same?

Both are grammatically correct, but the nuance differs:

  • 책이 의자 위에 있어요 simply states that “there is a book on the chair” (existence).
  • 의자 위에 책이 놓여 있어요 highlights how it’s there—it’s been placed there intentionally and is still in that position.
Why is the particle 에 used with 위 (in 위에) instead of 에서?
  • 위에: using -에 to mark a static location (“on top of”).
  • 위에서: would mark the location of an action (“doing something on top of”).
    Since we’re describing where the book is, we use -에.
Why is the subject of the sentence marked with 이 in 책이 instead of the topic marker 은?
The particle 이/가 simply marks the grammatical subject, often used when introducing new information or focusing on the subject itself. Using 은/는 would make 책 the topic and could imply contrast or known information, shifting the nuance.
The sentence starts with 의자 위에 책이... Can I swap the order to 책이 의자 위에 놓여 있어요, and does it change the meaning?
Korean word order is relatively flexible. You can say 책이 의자 위에 놓여 있어요; it’s the neutral Subject-Object-Verb (SOV) order. Placing 의자 위에 at the start gives a locational emphasis, spotlighting where before introducing what. The basic meaning stays the same.