的 at the end of sentences

[Beo]

Hi guys,

 

could anyone explain me why there's a 的 after 下雪?:

 

外边什么时候开始下雪的？都变成白色的了。

 

Couldn't I just omit the 的 ?: 

 

外边什么时候开始下雪？

 

Cheers Beo

[Dlezcano]

The complete sentence should be 外边是什么时候开始下雪的？but 是 is omitted. This is a "是……的" sentence which is used to emphasize, among other things, that something happened in the past, therefore the translation should be "When did it start to snow outside?" . If you said 外边什么时候开始下雪？the time would not be clear and could be interpreted as "When will it start to snow outside?"

[Beo]

Thanks so much for the explanation, Dlezcano! I know the 是。。。的  pattern, but I didn't know that you can omit the 是!

[mungouk]

The Chinese Grammar Wiki page on 是……的 is useful.

 

https://resources.allsetlearning.com/chinese/grammar/The_"shi..._de"_construction_for_emphasizing_details

 

Quote

Although this structure is called the 是⋯⋯的 construction, the 是 is nearly always optional. You will often hear this structure with 是 omitted, so be aware. The only time 是 is required in this construction is when it's being negated. Other than that, 是 is commonly omitted.

 

[Beo]

Thanks! that's a great source