15 Comments
Wouldn't it be "What does the cat eat“? Cat is in singular form here, right? Cats would be 고양이들, isn't it?
Both "cats" and "the cat" should be accepted. It's normal to leave out 들 when talking about nouns that aren't people.
*nouns that aren't animate
고양이 in this exercise refers to cats in general, which is why 들 is left out.
More like "What does a cat eat?" But the original comment is correct - since Korean doesn't have definite or indefinite article, the meaning isn't unambiguous without context. The speaker could be looking at a cat eating something and use the same sentence to mean "What does the cat eat?" or "What is the cat eating?" (since Koreans often prefer simple present tense to the progressive).
Because "what does a cat eat?" is the exact same question as "what do cats eat?". Also, as others pointed out, ~들 clarifies plurality, it doesn't indicate singluarity if it's missing.
I don't think I'd use the word "consume" on a daily basis. "What does the cat eat" should be correct.
when i first read this i thought it meant "what kind of cat do you eat"?
That is technically a possible translation, but do you understand the structure?
