student asking question

Since he already took a bite, would it be awkward to express it with a past tense?

teacher

Native speaker’s answer

Rebecca

It would be a bit awkward in the past tense! "What is this" is appropriate since he is still holding the sandwich. "This" indicates that you are holding something. If he didn't have it or someone took it away from him after he bit it, he could have said "what was that?". Ex: What was the cake they had in the cafe window? Ex: Wow! What is this delicious meal? How did you make it? Ex: What was that? It flew past us so fast. Ex: Dan, what is this that we're drinking? Decaf or caffeinated coffee?

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