Why is の所 used after ドア in this sentence?

Question

Here is my sentence, ドアの所にかさを立てておきます. I've seen this の所 usage where it didn't quite make sense in other readings as well. This specific reading is from the tango n4 book and they have the english translation as, "I stood my umbrella by the door." 所 can mean place or spot. Is it common in Japanese to add this on to specific locations? So while ドアにかさを立てておきます may be acceptable, the usage of の所 in ドアの所にかさを立てておきます is the more common way of saying a target location in certain situations. Would that be correct?

Answer 1

「ドアの所{ところ}にかさを立{た}てておきます。」

You have pretty much answered your own question. 「～～の所」 means the same thing as 「～～のすぐ近{ちか}く」 or 「～～のそば」, which would be "in close proximity to ~~" in English.

This 「ところ」 is used heavily by the native speakers, so you will keep encountering it.

Not that you would need to know at this stage, but we often pronounce 「～～のところ」 as 「～～んとこ」 in colloquial speech. Thus, you will hear us say 「ドアんとこ」.

Without using 「の所」, the sentence:

「ドアにかさをたてておきます。」

is grammatical, but it means "I will stand the umbrella (directly) against the door." People generally would not do that for obvious reasons.