Breakdown of usaneul chaeksang wie dugo wasseoyo.
Questions & Answers about usaneul chaeksang wie dugo wasseoyo.
두고 오다 combines the verb 두다 (“to put/leave something somewhere”) with 오다 (“to come”). Together they mean “to leave something behind somewhere and then come (back).” In this context, it expresses that the speaker accidentally left their umbrella on the desk and then returned (to the current location) without it.
The choice between 오다 and 가다 depends on the speaker’s perspective. If you’re talking about returning to the place where you currently are (e.g., home or office) you use 오다 (“came”). If you were describing leaving the umbrella and going away from your current location, you’d use 갔어요. Here, the speaker is explaining how they came back (to the present spot) but without the umbrella.
Both mean “to put,” but with a nuance:
- 두다 often implies leaving something as is (like “leave it there”).
- 놓다 focuses more on the action of placing down.
In many contexts they’re interchangeable, but 두다 emphasizes that the item remains there afterward, which fits “I left it on the desk.”
위 is a noun meaning “top” or “above,” but to mark a location you need the locator particle –에. Combining them gives 위에, meaning “on top of.” So 책상 위에 = “on the desk.”
을 (or 를 after a vowel) marks the direct object of a verb. Here 우산을 두고 왔어요 means “I left the umbrella…,” so 우산 is the object being left.
Yes, you can. 놓아두다 is a compound of 놓다 + 두다, so 놓아두고 왔어요 highlights both placing and leaving intentionally. It sounds slightly more descriptive: “I placed the umbrella on the desk and then came back.” The original 두고 왔어요 is more concise.
In casual speech, 두다 sometimes contracts to 둬. So you might hear 우산을 책상 위에 둬(서) 왔어요, though that can sound very informal. The full 두고 왔어요 is standard for polite or written Korean.