Double copula

Double copula

The double copula, also known as the double is and reduplicative copula, is the nonstandard usage of two successive copulae in the English language when only one is necessary. For example:

My point is, is that...

This should not be confused with legitimate usages of two successive copulae, such as:

What my point is is that...

In the latter sentence, "What my point is" is a dependent clause, and functions as a subject. In the former sentence, "My point" is a complete subject, and requires only one copula.

The term double is, though commonly used to describe this practice, is somewhat inaccurate, since other forms of the word (such as "was", "were") can be used in the same manner:

The problem being, is that...[1]

According to the third edition of Fowler's Modern English Usage (as revised by Robert Burchfield), the double copula originated around 1971 in the United States and had spread to the United Kingdom by 1987.

References

  1. ^ Massam, Diane (1999), "Thing is constructions: the thing is, is what’s the right analysis?", English Language and Linguistics (Cambridge University Press) (3.2): 349 

External links


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Поможем написать реферат

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Copula (linguistics) — To be redirects here. For the song, see To Be. For to be, or not to be , see To be, or not to be. In linguistics, a copula (plural: copulae or copulas) is a word used to link the subject of a sentence with a predicate (a subject complement). The… …   Wikipedia

  • HEBREW GRAMMAR — The following entry is divided into two sections: an Introduction for the non specialist and (II) a detailed survey. [i] HEBREW GRAMMAR: AN INTRODUCTION There are four main phases in the history of the Hebrew language: the biblical or classical,… …   Encyclopedia of Judaism

  • Eddie Prévost — Edwin Prévost (born June 22, 1942 in Hitchin) is an English drummer and percussionist.An important figure in the history of free improvisation, Prévost began as a jazz drummer before branching out into entirely improvised music. He was a co… …   Wikipedia

  • The Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist —     The Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist     † Catholic Encyclopedia ► The Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist     In this article we shall consider:     ♦ the fact of the Real Presence, which is, indeed, the central dogma;     ♦ the …   Catholic encyclopedia

  • Ebonics — /i bon iks/, n. (used with a singular v.) See Black English. Also, ebonics. [1970 75, Amer.; b. of EBONY and PHONICS] * * * ▪ dialect also called  African American Vernacular English (AAVE) , formerly  Black English Vernacular (BEV)  …   Universalium

  • Bonan language — Infobox Language name=Bonan familycolor=Altaic states=China region=Gansu, Qinghai speakers=9,000 fam1=Altaic fam2=Mongolic fam3=Eastern Mongolic fam4=Mongour iso2=tut iso3=pehThe Bonan language (保安语) (IPA: [ˌpaoˈnaŋ] ) is the Mongolic language of …   Wikipedia

  • Japanese language — Language spoken by about 125 million people on the islands of Japan, including the Ryukyus. The only other language of the Japanese archipelago is Ainu (see Ainu), now spoken by only a handful of people on Hokkaido, though once much more… …   Universalium

  • AMM (group) — Infobox musical artist Name = AMM Img capt = Img size = Landscape = Background = group or band Alias = Origin = London, England Genre = Free improvisation, Experimental music, Free jazz Years active = 1965 – present Label = Electra, Matchless… …   Wikipedia

  • African American Vernacular English — African American topics History  Atlantic slave trade · Maafa Slavery in the United States Military history of African Americans …   Wikipedia

  • Uralic languages — Family of more than 30 languages spoken by some 25 million people in central and northern Eurasia. A primary division is between the Finno Ugric languages, which account for most of the languages and speakers, and the Samoyedic languages. The… …   Universalium

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”