[Grammar] Right next to it "is" baked sandwich, and then tempura, oyster omelet ...

[sitifan]

Keelung Temple Space (Miaokou) Snacks
Robert：My goodness. This place is packed！
Taike：Well of course! This is the world-renowned Keelung Miaokou night market!
Kitty：Alas, these stands are filthy and stinky; you probably won't like the food here.
Robert：Not really-actually, the foods here look very...er, interesting! Hey, what's that round stuff
Taike：Oh, that's my favorite greasy rice cake. Right next to it is baked sandwich, and then tempura, oyster omelet, spearfish stew, shrimp and meat stew, shaved ice; and of course the one and only pot side scrapings soup!
http://city.udn.com/50132/1849877

Is the sentence in red grammatical?

 

[Charlie Bernstein]

Re: Right next to it "is" baked sandwich, and then tempura, oyster omelet ...

This is from a Keelung Temple Space (Miaokou) Snacks commercial:

That's just a guess. Is it dialogue from a commercial?

Please give us complete sentences and tell us their sources so we don't have to guess what you mean.

Robert：My goodness. This place is packed！

Taike：Well of course! This is the world-renowned Keelung Miaokou night market!

Kitty：Alas, these stands are filthy and stinky. You probably won't like the food here.

Robert：Not really. Actually, the foods here look very...er...interesting! Hey, what's that round stuff?

Do not mix brackets. If you have an elipsis on one side, use an elipsis on the other.

Taike：Oh, that's my favorite: greasy rice cake. Right next to it is baked sandwich, and then tempura, oyster omelet, spearfish stew, shrimp and meat stew, shaved ice, and of course the one and only pot side scrapings soup!
http://city.udn.com/50132/1849877

Is the sentence in red grammatical?

Yes.

Do you mean: Next to it are hot sandwiches?

Are these dishes supposed to be jokes? Some of them sound like jokes, and some don't.

Why do you think it might not be grammatical?

 

[sitifan]

Re: Right next to it "is" baked sandwich, and then tempura, oyster omelet ...

The quoted dialog was written by Dr. Wen-Jiun Rebecca Huang, an associate professor of English at the department of applied foreign languages, National Taiwan University of Science and Technology. https://homepage.ntust.edu.tw/wjhuang/
It was intended to be used as a model conversation for Taiwanese students to introduce Taiwanese night markets to foreigners. Mike Liu, a Taiwanese teacher of English, says that the sentence in red was not grammatical. The correct version should be as follows: https://blog.xuite.net/chihchien_liu/wretch/589575049
Right next to it are baked sandwiches, tempuras, oyster omelets, spearfish stew, shrimp and meat stew, shaved ice and the one and only pot side scrapings soup!

Which version do native speakers think is grammatically correct?

 

[emsr2d2]

Re: Right next to it "is" baked sandwich, and then tempura, oyster omelet ...

I prefer: Right next to it is a baked sandwich; then ...

That long list of other foods can't all be "right next to" the rice cake.

 

[Tarheel]

Re: Right next to it "is" baked sandwich, and then tempura, oyster omelet ...

Right next to it are baked sandwiches, tempuras, oyster omelets, spearfish stew, shrimp and meat stew, shaved ice and the one and only pot side scrapings soup!

That one.

I get it that it wouldn't all be right next to the rice cake, but I think that only applies to the baked sandwiches.

 

[GoesStation]

Re: Right next to it "is" baked sandwich, and then tempura, oyster omelet ...

Tempura is a non-countable noun.

 

[jutfrank]

Re: Right next to it "is" baked sandwich, and then tempura, oyster omelet ...

No, the red sentence is not grammatically correct.

Right next to it are baked sandwiches, tempuras, oyster omelets, spearfish stew, shrimp and meat stew, shaved ice and the one and only pot side scrapings soup!

Which version do native speakers think is grammatically correct?

Mike Liu's version is correct. The idea is that there are multiple items of each thing, so you need to use plural nouns for the countable items.

(But note GoesStation's point in post #6 that we don't usually use tempuras as a plural noun in English.)

 

[Tdol]

Re: Right next to it "is" baked sandwich, and then tempura, oyster omelet ...

Speaking as a fan, if we're talking Taiwanese night markets, shouldn't we give stinky tofu a mention for its contribution to the things Kitty is complaining about? :up:

 

[Tarheel]

Re: Right next to it "is" baked sandwich, and then tempura, oyster omelet ...

Stinky tofu? Is the name supposed to attract interest?

 

[Tdol]

Re: Right next to it "is" baked sandwich, and then tempura, oyster omelet ...

It does stink, but it is a delicacy.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stinky_tofu

 

[Tdol]

Re: Right next to it "is" baked sandwich, and then tempura, oyster omelet ...

And then an oyster omelette and my boxes are ticked.

 

[tedmc]

Re: Right next to it "is" baked sandwich, and then tempura, oyster omelet ...

Do you call those setups by the street-food vendors at the night market "food stands" or "food stalls"?

 

[Tdol]

Re: Right next to it "is" baked sandwich, and then tempura, oyster omelet ...

They both work for me.