{"id":639,"date":"2010-04-15T12:00:52","date_gmt":"2010-04-15T18:00:52","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.kirkmahoney.com\/blog\/2010\/04\/the-dreaded-double-is\/"},"modified":"2010-04-15T18:42:28","modified_gmt":"2010-04-16T00:42:28","slug":"the-dreaded-double-is","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.kirkmahoney.com\/wordpress\/blog\/2010\/04\/the-dreaded-double-is\/","title":{"rendered":"The Dreaded Double “is”"},"content":{"rendered":"

A site visitor by the name of Kyle today reminded me about this common English blunder.<\/p>\n

Problem:<\/strong>
\nSome people follow one “is” by a comma and another “is” when speaking.<\/p>\n

Explanation:<\/strong>
\nHere is Kyle’s first example:<\/p>\n

“What I’m trying to say is, is that I can’t remember his exact words.”<\/em><\/p>\n

Read this example aloud, and you will recognize the pattern.<\/p>\n

Read this example silently, though, and you will see the problem. The speaker, perhaps out of a sense of hypercorrection, has put a pause (the comma) after the first “is” and has put a second “is” after that pause — as if the listener has forgotten about the first “is” instance.<\/p>\n

Correcting this example gives us:<\/p>\n

“What I’m trying to say is that I can’t remember his exact words.”<\/em><\/p>\n

Read this example, and you see that the “is” connects (or “equates”) the phrase on the left side of it to the phrase on the right side of it.<\/p>\n

Here is reader Kyle’s second example:<\/p>\n

“The thing is, is that I’m having a hard time remembering his exact words.”<\/em><\/p>\n

Again, the solution is simple: replace “is, is” with “is”:<\/p>\n

“The thing is that I’m having a hard time remembering his exact words.”<\/em><\/p>\n

Solution:<\/strong>
\nAvoid the dreaded double “is” by replacing “… is, is …” with “… is …”.<\/p>\n

Thanks, Kyle, for this excellent submission of what, unfortunately, is becoming yet another common English blunder!<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A site visitor by the name of Kyle today reminded me about this common English blunder. Problem: Some people follow one “is” by a comma and another “is” when speaking. 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