I have this sentence:
The problem is he is very stingy with his money.
But I feel it sounds weird or even wrong with the two ises so close. Is the sentence structure grammatical? If it isn't, how to fix it?
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5The sentence is perfectly fine. Nothing wrong with it. It wouldn't sound weird to anyone. That said, if for your own personal reasons you want to avoid saying "is" twice, you could try using a contraction: "The problem is that he's very stingy" or "The problem's that he is very stingy", or even "The problem's that he's very stingy." (it's not necessary to say "with his money", because the word "stingy" carries that meaning by default; though saying "stingy with his money" is perfectly fine, and even lends some emphasis).– Dan BronCommented Aug 23, 2014 at 11:55
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1@DanBron I think you're right ... missing that because after the first is, the rest is a complete sentence. that is necessary to join.– SrJovenCommented Aug 23, 2014 at 11:59
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1@SRJoven, I think it would scan better with a "that", but I don't believe it's necessary. The sentence works fine as it is.– Dan BronCommented Aug 23, 2014 at 12:02
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4Agreed with @Dan. The that isn’t necessary, but it makes the sentence flow better and would probably rarely be left out by a native speaker. I admit, though, that I find the versions with contracted problem’s quite jarring—ungrammatical, actually. As I’ve argued elsewhere, stressed verbs cannot be contracted, and it seems that a relative clause stands outside the predicate stress slot, leaving the is after problem here as the sole element in the mandatory stress slot.– Janus Bahs JacquetCommented Aug 23, 2014 at 12:23
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1"But I feel it sounds weird or even wrong with the two ises so close." - Weird and wrong are two different things. Why would having the same word more than once (however close together) be wrong?– nnnnnnCommented Sep 11, 2021 at 13:08
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4 Answers
It's perfectly grammatically correct.
The problem is just that: you repeat the word "is".
It's that simple.
It's a commonplace in English, say speechwriting or advertising writing (I mean say for radio or TV voiceovers), that you don't repeat a word in a sentence or, really, in a passage, and particularly not close.
Here you have two "is"s very close, so it sounds awkward. It's that simple.
(AND INDEED, he/his are almost the same word - that's another repeat.)
The solution is this simple:
The problem is this: he's very stingy with money.
The problem is: he's very stingy with money.
or any other combo.
{Note - it goes without saying there are many other situations where, for emphasis, for drama, because you are Winston Churchill, etc, you repeat a word closely. Say ... "May the luck be with the player." .. repeating the "the" sounds cool and dramatic there. But in the example at hand, it's simple: the sentence sounds lousy since you have (indeed two different) close repeats.}
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hey @DanBron - I just realised in your first comment, you (like me above) explained the actual issue here. perhaps U should have just made it an answer, dude ..– FattieCommented Aug 23, 2014 at 18:12
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The problem is things that sound reasonable when said aloud, with all the rhythm and intonation that give them meaning, often look weird when you get them down in black and white.– user205876Commented Sep 12, 2021 at 17:23
Not sure how correct it is right now; is it just me or does it need a comma? Like so: "The problem is, he is very stingy with his money."
I know for sure that "The problem is that he is very stingy with his money." is correct though.
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Hi and welcome to ELU. Please only provide an answer that you are sure and you can provide reliable resources for. Your answer doesn't seem to be that helpful to this question.– NeekuCommented Aug 23, 2014 at 14:13
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Your 'answer' is a valuable 'comment' (Neeku explains why it shouldn't be posted as an 'answer'). Commented Aug 23, 2014 at 22:25
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I'd include a comma (or colon). Martha Kolln advises the following: 4) When an introductory adverbial element seems to modify the entire sentence and not just the verb or some single element in the rest of the sentence [ie this is a pragmatic marker (in this case showing the speaker's attitude towards the matter) rather than a true adverbial function] put a comma after it.... thus 'Sadly, the old church was completely destroyed.' [cf 'The sad situation is, the old church was completely destroyed]. Commented Aug 23, 2014 at 22:35
If you aren't happy with your (correct) sentence, and still feel it needs "fixing," you could reword to:
The problem is his (great/considerable) stinginess with money.
answered Sep 11, 2021 at 19:55
What comes after "the problem is...."? (This post does not seem to be a duplicate of the linked post as it offers no answer to the question.)
A statement of the nature of the problem, which can take several forms:
The problem is difficult; The problem is solved; The problem is solved by John; The problem is the error; The problem is to correct the error; The problem is reducing; The problem is reducing the water flow; The problem is the reducing of the water flow; The problem is the reduction of the water flow; The problem is that we have no tools; The problem is not the dependence on his parents
answered Sep 11, 2021 at 11:59
