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chimsire noheul jageun chaeksangeul sagiro haesseo.

침실에 놓을 작은 책상을 사기로 했어.chimsire noheul jageun chaeksangeul sagiro haesseo.
I decided to buy a small desk to place in the bedroom.
FromLesson 18inHardcore Korean
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Questions & Answers about chimsire noheul jageun chaeksangeul sagiro haesseo.

Why is 에 attached to 침실?
에 is the location particle. It tells us where something happens or where something is placed. In 침실에 놓을, it means “(that I will) put it in the bedroom.”
Why is 놓을 used instead of 놓는다 or 놓았다?

Because 놓을 is the attributive (modifier) form of 놓다. When you want to modify a noun (here, 작은 책상) with a verb, you use its ✱relative clause✱ form:

  • Present/future modifier: verb stem + -(으)ㄹ → 놓을 (that I will put)
  • Habitual or descriptive: verb stem + -는 → 놓는 (the desk I put)
  • Past modifier: verb stem + -은/ㄴ → 놓은 (the desk I put)
What’s the difference between the -을 in 놓을 and the -을 in 책상을?

They look the same but serve different roles:

  • In 놓을, -을 is the future/attributive suffix attached directly to the verb stem (no space).
  • In 책상을, -을 is the object particle marking 작은 책상 as the object of 사기로 했어 (it’s written as part of the noun but conceptually a separate particle).
Where does 작은 come from, and why not just 작다?

Korean adjectives have two main stems:

  • Predicative form (after a verb): 작다 → 작아 (e.g. 이 책상은 작아.)
  • Attributive form (before a noun): 작다 → 작은 (e.g. 작은 책상)

Since we’re describing the noun 책상, we use the attributive 작은.

What does 사기로 했어 mean, and how is it formed?

This comes from the grammar pattern ~기로 하다, which means “to decide to do something.”

  1. Take the verb stem (사- from 사다)
  2. Add -기로 하다 → 사기로 하다 (“to decide to buy”)
  3. Conjugate 하다 in past/casual: 했어 → 사기로 했어 (“(I) decided to buy”)
Who is the subject of this sentence? It isn’t written.
Korean often omits pronouns when they’re understood from context. Here, the implied subject is “I” (or “we,” if context allows). In full it would be (나는) 침실에 놓을 작은 책상을 사기로 했어.
How do I make this sentence more polite?

Adjust the ending of 하다 to a higher speech level:

  • Informal polite: 사기로 했어요
    → 침실에 놓을 작은 책상을 사기로 했어요.
  • Formal polite: 사기로 했습니다
    → 침실에 놓을 작은 책상을 사기로 했습니다.
Can I use 두다 instead of 놓다 in this sentence?

Yes. 두다 also means “to put/place.” The attributive form is 둘. You could say:
침실에 둘 작은 책상을 사기로 했어.
However, 놓다 is more colloquial here; 두다 is perfectly correct but slightly more formal or literary in this context.

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Korean has multiple speech levels that indicate formality and politeness. The most common are the formal polite (‑습니다/‑ㅂ니다), informal polite (‑아요/‑어요), and casual (‑아/‑어) forms. Which level you use depends on who you're speaking to and the social context.

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