The English language is bizarre, littered with inconsistent rules, surprising pronunciations and subtle quirks in phrasing that we often overlook. With that in mind, what is "is is"? For starters, it’s a pretty common grammatical pet peeve. Beyond that, it’s also a strange repetition that you might find yourself saying out loud even though you’d never write it.

Before we go any further, let’s give some examples. You might encounter "is is" in sentences like "The problem is, is that we don’t have time for dinner" or "My point is, is that rock music is best experienced on headphones." You might read both of those sentences and think, "I’d never say that." But read them out loud, using those commas for intentional pauses, and the concept should crystalize. (Next time you listen to your favorite podcast, keep this front of mind—it might now become your pet peeve. You’re welcome.)

When it comes to English grammar, the weird thing is is that we can use "is" two times in a row - but how? And why? Let's talk about it! #language #linguistics #english #grammar #learnontiktok #education #fyp

This isn’t just the stuff of online griping—linguists do have technical names for it. One common term is a "double copula," and an excellent article from the website GrammarBook.com uses the way catchier and more accessible "is-is hiccup." "Often these are statements made by sophisticated and qualified spokespersons," their author writes, distinguishing between real examples of this verbal flub ("The fact of the matter is, is that…") and others that are clunky and unorthodox but are technically correct ("[A] comedian from North Carolina named Andy Griffith once made America laugh with 'What It Was, Was Football,' his monologue about college football from a country boy’s perspective.")

So, why do we do this anyway? In 2013, Slate's Alyssa Pelish spoke to linguists and presented an educated guess. At one point, they ask readers to consider the following sentence as spoken out loud: "The thing is we are all out of pickles." They explain, "If the speaker places a definite stress on is, the rest of the sentence is likely to be followed by a pause, no? Linguists like Patrick McConvell at Australian National University and Laura Michaelis-Cummings at the University of Colorado have found that the stressed is, coupled with the break immediately after, sounds awkward to speakers’ ears, since it’s unlike the general patterns that stresses and pauses typically follow in English." The resulting "is is," according to Michaelis-Cummings, is something of a "workaround."

Teachers explain grammatical rules. Photo credit: Canva, Pressmaster (left, cropped) / pixelshot (right, cropped)

In other words, you’re probably using "is is" for the sake of clarity—even if some find it annoying. Speaking of which: One user created a thread about this topic in the r/grammar subreddit, and multiple people replied by theorizing about the concept. "The unnecessary 'is' comes from the fact that people often don't speak grammatically, but often speak in sentence fragments, especially when they're still figuring out what they want to say," one Redditor suggested. "I used to have to transcribe recordings of conversations, and it really struck me just how much people tend to stammer, use filler words, or change tacks in mid-sentence."

Others chimed in while also playfully using "is is." This comment wins the thread: "What the meaning of 'is is' is is not so clear." In response to one breakdown, someone replied, "This is very clear and actually helpful," highlighting the key difference between the written and spoken word. (But as another person noted, some examples in the thread are grammatically correct, and others aren’t. Confusing stuff!)

In summary: The thing is, is that words are weird.

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"What's for dinner?" has been asked by kids for millennia, probably, and the most common answers depend on both where and at what time in history it was asked. In ancient times, people were limited to what they could hunt or gather. Medieval recipes look different than what people ate in the 19th century. And what our grandparents ate when they were children was different from what our kids eat today.

Obviously, people couldn't DoorDash Chipotle in the '70s, but when someone on Reddit asked people born before 1970 what they ate for dinner most weeks, there were some standard meals a lot of Americans clearly ate regularly growing up. Lots of meatloaf and beef stroganoff. Pork chops and chop suey. Convenient assistance from Shake n' Bake, Hamburger Helper and TV dinners. Canned fruits and veggies. So much Jell-O.

Here are some of the most popular responses:

"Overcooked pork chop, minute rice, canned green beans, canned fruit cocktail

Spaghetti with ground beef and sauce made from a packet (Durkee?)

Pot roast (whatever cut of meat was on sale) cooked with Lipton onion soup mix. Frozen peas. Canned peaches.

Meatloaf with mashed potatoes and canned green beans. Canned pears

Shake n bake chicken and scalloped potatoes from a box. Canned fruit of some kind.

On awesome days Chef Boyardee pizza mix from a box.

I liked LaChoy chop suey.

Always with a jug of milk on the table."

Meatloaf was a staple dinner.Photo credit: Canva

"So I think many of our moms went to the same home ec classes. Our house also had on rotation:

Goulash: It wasn’t what I have come to understand is Hungarian Goulash, but ground beef/spices/tomatoes.

Chicken Diane: Way overcooked chicken with rosemary, thyme and other seasonings.

Meatloaf: Yes, ketchup on top.

And the ever-present rice. Dad bought an aluminum rice cooker from his time in Japan and we had rice (he added soy sauce on top) 3x per week. The other side was baked potatoes.

The big treat!!!??? Chef Boy Ar Dee pizza from a tube on Friday once per month. Mom had a round aluminum baking pan and make dough, spread the included sauce on the dough, add the Parmesan Cheese (in the included packet). That was the biggest treat - and in all honesty I would go back to that day cause I miss my mom. Best pizza ever."

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"Hamburger patty or braised round steak, green salad, canned vegetable (peas, beans, corn, beets). Occasionally a baked potato. Sometimes my mom would toss chicken in a flour/seasoning mix and bake it and we'd have oven fried chicken--maybe once every couple of weeks. We got beef from a cousin so it was cheap, and chicken was expensive.

Mom also made spaghetti with ground beef, and beef stew with the tougher cuts of the cow. Oh--and liver--God how I hated liver night.

We always had cheap grocery store 'ice milk' in the freezer for dessert."

Spaghetti is still a classic.Photo credit: Canva

"Sunday - Spaghetti/macaroni and homemade spaghetti sauce and a salad.

Monday - Roast chicken, a side (potatoes, Rice-a-Roni), and a veg.

Tuesday - Pork chops, a side (potatoes, Rice-a-Roni), and a veg.

Wednesday - Spaghetti/macaroni and homemade spaghetti sauce and a salad.

Thursday - Rump or sirloin steak, a side (potatoes, Rice-a-Roni), and a veg.

Friday - breaded and fried fish (ugh--haddock, halibut, or cod if the latter was on sale), a side (potatoes, Rice-a-Roni), and a veg.

Saturday - Rump or sirloin steak, a side (potatoes, Rice-a-Roni), and a veg.

Dessert would be supermarket ice cream (carton, usually Neopolitan), Jello chocolate pudding, Table Talk pie (usually apple)."

Why were pork chops so popular?Photo credit: Canva

"Typical meals: stroganoff made with ground beef and egg noodles. Pot roast. Swiss steak. Chicken cacciatore. Fried chicken. This........

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