Learn Hardcore Korean: hyeongwan ap sinbaljangeul jeongrihaesseo. - I organized the shoe rack in front of the entrance.

현관 means “entrance” or “front door,” and 앞 means “in front (of).” Together, 현관 앞 literally means “in front of the entrance” (i.e., the area just outside your front door).

Why is there no particle like 에 after 현관?

When you use 앞 (front) to indicate location with another noun, you form a compound [noun] + 앞 (e.g., 집 앞, 학교 앞, 현관 앞) without adding 에. The word 앞 itself already marks the place.

What does 신발장 mean?

신발장 is a compound noun: 신발 (shoes) + 장 (cabinet, shelf). So 신발장 means “shoe cabinet” or “shoe rack.”

Why is -을 attached to 신발장 (to make 신발장을)?

정리하다 is a transitive verb (“to organize,” “to tidy up”), so its object takes the accusative particle -을/를. Since 신발장 ends in a consonant, you add -을, yielding 신발장을.

What does 정리했어 mean and how is it formed?

정리했어 is the casual past tense of 정리하다.

정리하다 = to organize / to tidy up
Remove 다, attach the past casual ending -았어 → 정리했어 (“organized,” “tidied up”).

What level of formality is 정리했어? How can I say it more politely?

정리했어 is informal (반말), used with close friends or younger people.

Polite (해요체): 정리했어요
Formal (하십시오체): 정리했습니다

Why is the verb placed at the end of the sentence?

Korean follows a Subject-Object-Verb (SOV) word order, so verbs generally come last. Here, the implied subject “I” is dropped (common in Korean), 신발장 is the object, and then 정리했어 ends the sentence.

Why is the subject “I” not mentioned?

Korean often omits subjects when they’re clear from context. In 현관 앞 신발장을 정리했어, it’s understood that the speaker (I) did the tidying, so “I” isn’t explicitly stated.