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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?

RegDwigнt
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    The 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 Bron Aug 23 '14 at 11:55
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    @DanBron I think you're right ... missing that because after the first is, the rest is a complete sentence. that is necessary to join. – SrJoven Aug 23 '14 at 11:59
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    @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 Bron Aug 23 '14 at 12:02
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    Agreed 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 Jacquet Aug 23 '14 at 12:23
  • @Janus, depends on the register, IME. I have and do, in real life, say "The problem's...", but it would be a rare day that you caught me writing it (except perhaps in an IM or other really informal context). – Dan Bron Aug 23 '14 at 12:27
  • @DanBron If another element is added to the predicate stress group (so that it can take the stress), then I have no problem with it. “The problem’s just that …” or “The problem’s obviously not that …” are both perfectly natural to me. But just “The problem’s that X is the case” is impossible to me. If I say it, I even catch myself momentarily interpreting problems (plural) rather than problem’s (singular + verb). This could be a lectal thing; but I somehow don’t think it is. – Janus Bahs Jacquet Aug 23 '14 at 12:34
  • @Janus, I can't tell a lect from a lech, but I can tell you that I (and my friends/family/colleagues) do literally say "The problem's that..." with some frequency. – Dan Bron Aug 23 '14 at 12:36
  • @DanBron Well, then it probably is a lect thing. (A lect being any combination of dialect, sociolect, idiolect, etc.) – Janus Bahs Jacquet Aug 23 '14 at 12:36
  • it's a screenwriting problem, not a grammar problem – Fattie Aug 23 '14 at 13:33
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    "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? – nnnnnn Sep 11 '21 at 13:08
  • That "that" would make it more formal. Also more readable. – Mary Sep 11 '21 at 20:30
  • I think if speaking you would have a significant pause after the first "is", which breaks up the flow and makes the structure much clearer. In writing "that" has a similar function. – Stuart F Sep 11 '21 at 20:34

4 Answers4

2

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.

Poofle
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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. – Neeku Aug 23 '14 at 14:13
  • Your 'answer' is a valuable 'comment' (Neeku explains why it shouldn't be posted as an 'answer'). – Edwin Ashworth Aug 23 '14 at 22:25
  • 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]. – Edwin Ashworth Aug 23 '14 at 22:35
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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.}

Fattie
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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 .. – Fattie Aug 23 '14 at 18:12
  • 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. –  Sep 12 '21 at 17:23
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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.

DjinTonic
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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

Greybeard
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