Breakdown of seorap ane osdo jeongrihaesseoyo.
~에~e
destination particle
~도~do
additive particle
안an
inside
정리하다jeongrihada
to organize
서랍seorap
the drawer
옷os
clothes
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Questions & Answers about seorap ane osdo jeongrihaesseoyo.
What does 서랍 안에 mean, and why is 안에 used instead of just 서랍에?
- 서랍 means “drawer.”
- 안에 is a compound of 안 (“inside”) + -에 (location particle), so 서랍 안에 = “inside the drawer.”
- If you say 서랍에, it usually means “at/to the drawer,” which can be ambiguous (you might be standing by it). 안에 specifically pinpoints “within” the drawer.
Why is it spelled 안에 and not 않에?
- 안 (inside) and 않 (negation root of 않다, “not do”) are different words.
- 안에 uses 안 (“inside”).
- 않에 would combine the negation root 않 with -에, but that doesn’t make sense because you don’t say “not inside.”
What role does 도 play in 옷도 정리했어요?
- 도 means “also” or “too.”
- When attached to 옷, 옷도 means “(the) clothes, too.”
- It implies you organized clothes in addition to something else (for example, shoes or books).
Could I instead say 서랍 안에도 옷을 정리했어요? How would that change the nuance?
- Yes, you can.
- 서랍 안에도 (“also inside the drawer”) emphasizes the location as an additional place you organized—“I also organized clothes in the drawer (besides other places).”
- In the original, 옷도 focuses on adding “clothes” to a list of items you organized.
Why is there no subject like 제가 or 저는 in the sentence?
- Korean often omits the subject when it is obvious from context.
- Here, the speaker (I) is understood.
- If you want to be explicit or contrast, you can say 저는 서랍 안에 옷도 정리했어요 (“As for me, I also organized clothes in the drawer.”).
What is the nuance of 정리했어요 and what are its other common forms?
- 정리했어요 is the polite past tense of 정리하다 (“to organize/tidy up”).
- Casual speech: 정리했어.
- Formal polite: 정리했습니다.
- Present tense polite: 정리해요.
- Future tense polite: 정리할 거예요.
Is the word order 서랍 안에 옷도 정리했어요 fixed, or can I say 옷도 서랍 안에 정리했어요?
- Korean word order is relatively flexible because particles mark each word’s role.
- 옷도 서랍 안에 정리했어요 is also correct and means the same thing—“I also organized clothes inside the drawer.”
- Starting with 서랍 안에 just sets the scene on location first, but neither order is ungrammatical.