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- "My daughter-in-law is the be…
"My daughter-in-law is the beautiful and tall one."
Translation:Menantu saya yang cantik dan tinggi.
8 Comments
Menantu saya yang cantik dan tinggi. Why is the "yang" in there? I would back translate this as "My daughter-in-law who is beautiful and tall" -- which is not a complete sentence. I wrote "Menantu saya cantik dan tinggi." It was marked wrong.
"Menantu saya cantik dan tinggi."
"My daughter-in-law is beautiful and tall."
It's a different sentence, that's why it's marked wrong.
"Menantu saya yang cantik dan tinggi."
You are right that you could back-translate the current sentence as a phrase instead of a complete sentence.
"My daughter-in-law who is beautiful and tall, ..." (phrase)
"My daughter-in-law is the beautiful and tall one." (sentence)
Compare the next two questions and the answers:
"Bagaimana menantu kamu ?" (How is ...)
"Menantu saya cantik dan tinggi."
"Yang mana menantu kamu ?" (Which one is ...)
"Menantu saya yang cantik dan tinggi."
Your translation is an answer to the first question.
This sentence is an answer to the second question.
Why is the "yang" in there?
Without "yang" the sentence has a different meaning.
"yang" is used to refer to something that is previously mentioned.
As you correctly pointed out yourself, it can even be back-translated as a phrase instead of a complete sentence.
As a phrase, "yang" refers to the noun phrase "menantu saya".
As a sentence, "yang" also refers to the previous sentence/question.
"Yang" is optionally used to describe a subject or object.
But whenever we are comparing something to another, we MUST insert "yang".
Example:
-
Buku saya tebal. --> My book is thick.
-
Buku saya yang tebal. --> My book is the thick one.
In regard to the question: The speaker is using a comparison to single out which person his/her daughter-in-law is, with a clear description: she's THE ONE that's tall and beautiful.
Because of this comparison, we must insert "yang", otherwise it would just mean "my daughter-in-law is tall and beautiful".
"Yang" can also be used in a question, meaning "which one?".
Example:
A: Yang mana punya saya? --> Which one is mine?
Which you can answer with:
B: Punya kamu yang itu! --> Yours is that one!
If you take out the "yang" out of both examples, you get totally different sentences:
A: Mana punya saya? --> Where is mine?
B: Punya kamu itu! --> That's yours!
Would it sounds natural to have "adalah" or "seorang" before the word "yang" in that sentence? Just trying to understand when/how they are used. Thanks!
