chaeksang wie chaegeul nohayo.

I put a book on the desk.

Breakdown of chaeksang wie chaegeul nohayo.

• ~에: destination particle
• ~을: object particle
• 책: book
• 책상: desk
• 위: top
• 놓다: to put

Questions & Answers about chaeksang wie chaegeul nohayo.

Why is 위에 used in this sentence instead of just 위 or another particle?

위에 combines the noun 위 (“top” or “above”) with the location particle -에, indicating “at/on that spot.”

• 위 alone is just the noun “top.”
• 위에 specifically means “on top of.”
  Other particles like 에서 mark “at/in” for actions taking place there, but here you’re placing something on a surface, so 위에 is correct.

What role does 을 play in 책을?

The particle -을 is the object marker. It tells us that 책 (“book”) is the direct object of the verb 놓아요 (“put”).

• If the noun ends in a vowel, you’d use -를 (e.g. 사과를).
• If it ends in a consonant, you use -을, as in 책(ㄱ) + 을.

What does the verb 놓아요 mean, and how is it formed?

놓아요 comes from the dictionary form 놓다 (“to put” or “to place”).
Formation:

1. Remove -다, giving the stem 놓-.
2. Since the stem ends in the vowel ㅗ, you add -아요 → 놓아요.
   This ending also indicates polite present tense.

Why is the sentence ordered as 책상 위에 책을 놓아요 and not something like “I put the book on the desk”?

Korean is a Subject-Object-Verb (SOV) language. The general order is:

1. Location phrase (optional)
2. Subject (often omitted if clear)
3. Object
4. Verb
   Thus 책상 위에 (location) → 책을 (object) → 놓아요 (verb) follows the standard SOV pattern.

Why is there no explicit subject like “I” in the sentence?

Korean often omits subjects when they’re clear from context. Here, it’s assumed you or someone is doing the action, so you don’t need 저는 or 나는. If you wanted to include it for emphasis or clarity, you could say 저는 책상 위에 책을 놓아요.

What is the formality level of 놓아요, and are there other polite forms?

놓아요 is polite but not overly formal (it’s the -요 style, often called 해요체).
Other levels:

• Formal polite: 놓습니다 (합니다체)
• Casual/informal: 놓아 (friends or younger people)

Could you use a different verb instead of 놓다 to express “put/place”?

Yes. Common alternatives:

• 두다 (also “to put/place,” often implying leaving it there) → 놓다 vs 두다 nuance: 놓다 focuses on the action of placing, 두다 can emphasize leaving.
• 올려놓다 (compound of 올리다 “to raise” + 놓다) to mean “to put up on” or “to place on.”
  So 책상 위에 책을 두어요 or 책상 위에 책을 올려놓아요 are valid with slight nuance shifts.

Is there any difference between 위에 and 위에서 when talking about placing something?

Yes.

• 위에 = “on top of” (destination or static location)
• 위에서 = “at/on top of” for actions happening there (like “I study on the desk”).
  Since 놓아요 describes moving something onto the desk, you use 위에 as the “destination” particle.