Hi ChinesePod team, my question is this: Hi。 I am puzzled by the word order and use of the character 的 in sentences like this. 那里的风景非常美丽. To me, the literal translation is " ‘There’s’ scenery is beautiful " or “The ‘there’ scenery is beautiful.” It’s easy to see how the real English translation would be: “The scenery there is beautiful.” But the use of 的 in sentences this feels very unnatural. I’ve been unable to find a video on this subject. Thanks
If you try to make the most direct possible translation of Chinese sentences into English you are always going to find things that “sound funny.” Your long term goal should be not to translate in your head and start “thinking in Chinese.” That said, maybe you would be more comfortable in this specific example if you thought of its meaning as “That place’s scenery is very beautiful” with 那里的 translate at “that place’s” .
Thanks. Still struggling with the path to “thinking in Chinese.”