Learn Hardcore Korean: siktak gaundee gwairi nohyeo isseoyo. - There is fruit placed in the middle of the dining table.

식탁 가운데 literally means "the middle (center) of the table." By adding the locative particle -에 to 가운데, you mark it as the location where something exists or happens. So 식탁 가운데에 means "in the middle of the table." Without -에, you just have the noun phrase "table middle" without explicitly saying “at/in” that place.

Why not say 식탁의 가운데에 instead of 식탁 가운데에?

While 의 is the possessive marker (equivalent to English “’s”), Koreans often drop 의 in set phrases to sound more natural. Both 식탁의 가운데에 and 식탁 가운데에 are grammatically correct and mean the same thing, but 식탁 가운데에 is more concise and commonly used in everyday speech.

What is the function of 이/가 in 과일이 놓여 있어요?

이/가 marks the subject of the sentence. Here, 과일이 is the grammatical subject—it’s what is “being placed” or “lying” there. In this passive/resultative construction, 과일이 takes 이 because 과일 ends in a consonant.

What does 놓여 있어요 mean? Isn’t 놓다 an active verb?

Yes, 놓다 means “to place” or “to put (something) down.” When you change it to 놓여 있다, you’re using the passive/resultative form. It describes the state resulting from that action—“to be placed” or “to lie (there) as a result of being placed.” So 놓여 있어요 means “(it) is placed (there)” or “(it) lies there.”

How is 놓여 있다 different from 놓고 있다?

놓고 있다 = Active + 있다. It often implies that someone has placed something and is keeping it there or is in the process of placing it.
놓여 있다 = Passive/resultative. It simply describes the current state of the object (it has been placed and remains so), without focusing on the agent or ongoing action.

In our sentence, we just want to describe the state of the fruit, so we use 놓여 있어요.

Why is 에 used after 가운데 instead of 에서?

-에 marks a static location—“at/in/on X,” where something exists or is in a state.
-에서 marks the place of an action—“do something at/from X.”

Since 놓여 있어요 describes a state of existence (“is placed there”), we use 에. If you were talking about the act of placing, you might say 식탁 가운데에 과일을 놓았어요 (“I placed fruit in the middle of the table”), and you could still use 에 because placing something is targeting that location.

Is 식탁 위에 과일이 놓여 있어요 also correct? What’s the difference?

Yes, 식탁 위에 과일이 놓여 있어요 is perfectly correct. Here:

위에 = “on (top of).”
가운데에 = “in the middle (center).”

So 식탁 위에 과일이 놓여 있어요 means “There is fruit placed on the table,” whereas 식탁 가운데에 과일이 놓여 있어요 adds the nuance that the fruit is specifically in the center of the tabletop.

Can I change the word order to 과일이 식탁 가운데에 놓여 있어요?

Yes. Korean word order is relatively flexible for subject and location phrases, as long as the verb stays at the end. Both of these are grammatically correct and mean the same thing:

식탁 가운데에 과일이 놓여 있어요.
과일이 식탁 가운데에 놓여 있어요.

Choosing one over the other may slightly shift the emphasis—placing 과일이 first can highlight “the fruit” more.