![]() In (8b) it is clear that the doubled copula results from the mechanism of pseudoclefting, parallel to constructions in which the main verb is not is. ![]() When the verb in the original sentence is a copula, as in (8a), forming the pseudocleft results in a sentence with two consecutive copulas, as in (8b):ī. Shapiro and Haley (2002) succinctly illustrate the formation of a pseudocleft, shown in sentence (7b), from the base sentence in (7a):ī. In this construction, it is unremarkable and grammatical to have two copulas in a row. The difference between (6a) and (6b-d) provides further evidence that the double-IS construction is not a speech error but rather a syntactic construction.ĭouble-IS has been extensively compared to the wh- pseudocleft construction, where there is a relative clause beginning with a wh-word in subject position, followed by the verb be. *The question is, is do we have enough time?ĭ. *The problem is (is) that you’re always late.ī. (2006) show that speakers produce significantly fewer pauses between the first and second is in grammatical constructions like the assertion in(6a) than in examples of ungrammatical speech errors such as questions like (6b), predicative sentences like (6c), and constructions where the first is functions as an auxiliary as in (6d):Ħ) a. Double-IS seldom occurs in written English, but its prosodic profile supports the view that it is not a speech error because the first is must be spoken in a more prominent way than the second, which does not fit the typical pattern associated with mid-speech corrections (Coppock et al. Prosody is a term that refers to the stress and intonation used when speaking a language. For example, (5) is unacceptable to many speakers:ĥ) *The thing is, was that we had no control over the situation. However, when the initial copula is in the present tense and the second is in the past tense, many speakers judge the sentence as unacceptable. *The thing was, is that we had no control over the situation. *My feeling was, was that she doesn’t have a professional hold on the situation.ī. When the initial copula is in the past tense, is and was are both permitted in the second position, as illustrated in (4a) and (4b).Ĥ) a. Occurrence with the past tenseĭouble-IS appears in the past tense as well as the present. *The problem always is is hypersensitivity. *The purpose of this is is to make sure that no one is taking anything inside.Ĭ. *Well, the fact is is the money is there in the budget.ī. Curzan (2012) also gives examples in which double-IS occurs before a clause not introduced by that as in (3a), before an infinitive phrase as in (3b), and before a noun phrase as in (3c):ģ) a. ![]() In both of the example sentences above, double-IS precedes a clause that begins with that. Syntactic Properties Syntactic environment There is no known evidence of geographic or sociological factors that might characterize its speaker distribution (McConvell 1988). ![]() Curzan’s (2012) analysis of the Corpus of Contemporary American English (COCA) suggests that this construction first appeared in the second half of the 20th century. Double-IS is well-attested in contemporary American English as well as in Australian and New Zealand English.
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