Answer Question
To Be or Not to Be?
NOTE: I am missing accent marks because I do not yet know how to type them outside of my lesson. But, it will be easy enough to see my question I hope.
"Is this the menu?" in pin yin is "zhe shi caidan ma?"
"Is this coffee good?" in pin yin is "zhe ge kafei hao ma?"
I don't understand why we don't say "zhe ge caidan ma?" OR "zhe shi kafei hao ma?" Why does the word "the" seem to necessitate the usage of "shi" or "to be?"
"Is this the menu?" in pin yin is "zhe shi caidan ma?"
"Is this coffee good?" in pin yin is "zhe ge kafei hao ma?"
I don't understand why we don't say "zhe ge caidan ma?" OR "zhe shi kafei hao ma?" Why does the word "the" seem to necessitate the usage of "shi" or "to be?"