Double Is

The double "is", also known as the double copula, reduplicative copula, or Is-is,^[1][2] is the usage of the word "is" twice in a row (repeated copulae) when only one is necessary. Double is appears largely in spoken English, as in this example:

My point is, is that...

This construction is accepted by many English speakers in everyday speech, though some listeners interpret it as stumbling or hesitation,^[3] and others as "annoying".^[4]

Some prescriptive guides^[5] do not accept this usage,^{[clarification needed]} but do accept a circumstance where "is" appears twice in sequence when the subject happens to end with a copula; for example:

What my point is is that...

In the latter sentence, "What my point is" is a dependent clause, and functions as the subject; the second "is" is the main verb of the sentence. In the former sentence, "My point" is a complete subject, and requires only one "is" as the main verb of the sentence. Another use of "is is" is, "All it is is a ..."

Some sources describe the usage after a dependent clause (the second example) as "non-standard" rather than generally correct.^[6][7]