[quote=“Feiren”]I think Chris has identified the real issue. Chu2le…zhi1wai4 is an extremely common introductory phrase in Chinese that starts the sentence off by adding something to what follows. For example
[quote]除了咖啡以外還有那些飲料或東西有提神作用
Besides coffee, what other drinks have a stimulant effect?[/quote]
It’s hard to say that anything is really wrong with this sentence, but it doesn’t sound quite right to my ear.
[/quote]
Yes, beginning that sentence with Besides doesn’t sound quite right, but what if they instead use the “aside from” … “what other” structure, would that still sound so weird?
“Aside from coffee, what other drinks have a stimulant effect?”