"What does this cat eat?"

Translation: Kucing ini makan apa?

[KamoSaru]

They say one answer to this question is "Apa yang kucing ini makan?".
Is "yang" necessary here? I don't really get why "Apa kucing ini makan?" which is the answer I thought is not acceptable.

[joeldipops]

Yes, the yang is necessary.
Apa kuciing ini makan = "Does this cat eat?"
Apa yang kucing ini makan = "What is it that this cat eats" which is translated easily to "What does this cat eat"

I think "Kucing ini makan apa?" = "This cat eats what?" is more natural in Indonesian

[ImNasser]

is it okay to say for example : Aku perbuatan apa? (what am i doing)
or is there something else more natural to say

[joeldipops]

I'm used to saying "lagi apa?" to very casually say "What are you doing?" Or more formally "Anda sedang melakukan apa?"

I don't know how natural it would be to apply those to oneself "Aku sedang melakukan apa" but it's at least grammatically correct.

Also I don't think perbuatan works like that. It means "deed" or "action" and is a noun. You could probably say "perbuatan aku apa?" But it's unlikely to mean "What am I doing?" in the same sense as "lagi apa"

[HenriCooks]

is ''Apakah kucing ini makan'' correct?

[chuman205]

No. "Apakah kucing ini makan? = Does this cat eat? Kucing ini makan apa = What does this cat eat?

[HenriCooks]

I see, thanks for the reply!

[tsuj1g1r1]

Does "apakah" have to come at the beginning of the sentence?

[chuman205]

Apakah is a way to ask a yes/no question. Roughly equivalent to "do or does" in English for forming questions.

[1CN5ijzC]

No, the position depends on what are you asking

Please note that "apakah" is not "apa"+ suffix ", although they share 1 same meaning, to ask characteristics of a noun. So, this question cannot use "apakah"

[dsky9693]

I don't get which order is right. Apa kucing ini makan is wrong?

[joeldipops]

That's wrong because it changes the meaning of the sentence to "Does this cat eat?"

[BrendaDodd]

Hmm, I believe "Does this cat eat?" would be "Apakah kucing ini makan?"

[joeldipops]

It's common to drop the -kah and even drop the "apa", but the meaning is the same as long as you say it like a question.

[mohelhageen]

The Language Of Reverse.

[CamulosPE]

Why is the sentence not in order?

[joeldipops]

It's in order for an Indonesian sentence. You /can/ flip it around to say "Apa yang kucing ini makan?" but it's more natural to say it like the above.

[PatrikoEsperanto]

Can you also say "Kucing ini apa makan?" to ask what the cat eats/ is eating?

[joeldipops]

No, I don't think that sentence is grammatical.

[vibhorkata1]

Kapan kucing ini makan ? Incorrect why

[joeldipops]

Kapan means "when", not "what"

[JuliePrz1]

Is "Ini kucing makan apa?" correct?

[joeldipops]

That translates to "This is a cat that eats what?"

[EJNRr1]

Could "Siapa" work in this sentence?

Like... Siapa kucing ini makan?

[joeldipops]

No, I'm not sure what you're trying to say with that.

Do you mean "Kucing ini makan siapa?" ie "This cat ate who?"

[BrendaDodd]

"Siampa" means "who," so no.

[Brian401692]

What is this cat eating? - same sentence?

[joeldipops]

Yep.