Etymology 1
From Middle English is, from Old English is, from Proto-West Germanic *ist, from Proto-Germanic *isti (a form of Proto-Germanic *wesaną (“to be”)), from Proto-Indo-European *h₁ésti (“is”).
Cognate with West Frisian is (“is”), Dutch is (“is”), German ist (“is”), Yiddish איז (iz, “is”), Afrikaans is (“am, are, is”) Old Swedish är, er, Old Norse er, es.
Further cognates include, among others, Latin est, Ancient Greek ἐστί (estí), Sanskrit अस्ति (asti), Persian است (ast), Russian есть (jestʹ), all with the same meaning.
Verb
is
- third-person singular simple present indicative of be
He is a doctor.
2012, Robert Moore, Where the Gold is Buried, a legend of Old Fort Niagara, →ISBN, page 137:"It's not two weeks yet," I reminded her, hoping that might somehow cheer her. […] "Tomorrow is two weeks," Ruth said in a distant voice, staring into the flames.
- (now colloquial) Used in phrases with existential there (also here and where) when the semantic subject is plural.
There is three of them there.
c. 1595–1596 (date written), William Shakespeare, “Loues Labour’s Lost”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act V, scene ii], page 141, column 2:Ber. There is five in the firſt ſhew, / Ken. You are deceiued, tis not so.
- (dialectal) present indicative of be; am, are, is.
2001, “Witness (1 Hope)”, in Run Come save me, performed by Roots Manuva:Let the whole world know we's on some off-key tip
2012, Trae Macklin, Flippin' The Hustle:"Them niggas shot my girl, yo! And I ain't gonna sleep until all of them niggas is dead!" RJ hissed.
2013, Tu-Shonda Whitaker, The Ex Factor, page 270:"Y'all is some disorganized niggahs," Mama Byrd said.
2016, “Don't Hurt Yourself”, in Lemonade, performed by Beyoncé:Who the fuck do you think I is? / You ain't married to no average bitch, boy
2023, “Barbie World”, in Barbie: The Album, performed by Nicki Minaj and Ice Spice:Like Jazzie, Stacie, Nicki / All of the Barbies is pretty / All of the Barbies is bad
Etymology 2
Alternative pronunciation of us.
Pronoun
is
- (Geordie) Alternative spelling of us (“me”).
Etymology 3
From i + -s.
Noun
is
- (rare) Alternative form of i's.
- isch (South Bavarian, Tyrolean, South Tyrolean)
Adverb
is (not comparable) (clitic)
- also, too, as well
- Synonyms: szintén, ugyancsak, úgyszintén, éppúgy, (formal; the others are relatively literary in style) szintúgy
- Én is szeretem a csokit. ― I, too, like chocolate (aside from other people).
- (Én) a csokit is szeretem. ― I also like chocolate (aside from other things).
- even, up to, as much as, as long as
- Három óráig is tarthat a műtét ― The operation may even take three hours.
- (after an interrogative word) again (used in a question to ask something one has forgotten)
- Hogy is hívják? ― What's that called, again?
- sure enough, indeed
- Synonyms: tényleg, valóban, csakugyan
- Aznapra esőt mondtak, és el is kezdett esni. ― Rain had been predicted for that day and, sure enough, it was beginning to rain. (literally, “They had said rain for…”)
Usage notes
When it is used with a concessive adverb (“no matter what/who/when/how”, “however [good, bad]”, “long as it was”, “even if…” etc.), it is traditionally placed after the verb, though it is common in colloquial style to use it after the adverb instead:
(traditionally, chiefly in literary style) Bármilyen hosszúra nyúlt is az előadás,…
(more recently) Bármilyen hosszúra is nyúlt az előadás,…- No matter how long the lecture/performance stretched,…
It applies to verb-final set phrases as well, similarly to érzi magát in this clause: még ha ettől rosszul érezzük is magunkat / …rosszul is érezzük magunkat (“even if it makes us feel bad”).
Further reading
- is in Bárczi, Géza and László Országh. A magyar nyelv értelmező szótára (“The Explanatory Dictionary of the Hungarian Language”, abbr.: ÉrtSz.). Budapest: Akadémiai Kiadó, 1959–1962. Fifth ed., 1992: →ISBN
Etymology 1
Inherited from Old Irish os.
Conjunction
is
- reduced form of agus (“and; as”)
Dia is Muire duit.- Hello to you, too. (lit. God and Mary to you.)
1899, Franz Nikolaus Finck, Die araner mundart, volume II (overall work in German), Marburg: Elwert’sche Verlagsbuchhandlung, page 1:wil nə fatī xō mŭȧ, s dūŕc šē?- [An bhfuil na fataí chomh maith is dúirt sé?]
- Are the potatoes as good as he said?
1899, Franz Nikolaus Finck, Die araner mundart, volume II (overall work in German), Marburg: Elwert’sche Verlagsbuchhandlung, page 1:ə ʒēĺǵə, l̄aurīr ə gūǵə mūn, ńī h-ønn̥̄ ī s ə ʒēlgə š agń̥ə- [An Ghaeilge a labhraíthear i gCúige Mumhan, ní hionann í is an Ghaeilge seo againne.]
- The Irish used in Munster isn’t the same as our Irish.
Etymology 2
From Old Irish is (“is”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *h₁es- (“to be”).
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ɪsˠ/, /sˠ/ (before nouns and adjectives)
- IPA(key): /ʃ/ (before the pronouns é, í, ea, iad)
Particle
is
- Present/future realis copula form
- Is múinteoir é Dónall. ― Dónall is a teacher. (definition: predicate is indefinite)
- Is é Dónall an múinteoir. ― Dónall is the teacher. (identification: predicate is definite)
- Is féidir liom snámh. ― I can swim. (idiomatic noun predicate)
- Is maith liom tae. ― I like tea. (idiomatic adjective predicate)
- Is mise a chonaic é. ― I'm the one who saw him. (compare Hiberno-English "'Tis I who saw him"; cleft sentence)
- Is é Dónall atá ina mhúinteoir. ― It's Dónall who is a teacher. (cleft sentence)
- Used to introduce the comparative/superlative form of adjectives
- an buachaill is mó ― the bigger boy; the biggest boy
Is mó an buachaill ná Séamas.- The boy is bigger than James.
Is é Séamas an buachaill is mó in Éirinn!- James is the biggest boy in Ireland! (lit. "It is James (who is) the boy (who) is biggest in Ireland")
Usage notes
- Used in the present and future for identification or definition of a subject as the person/object identified in the predicate of the sentence. Sometimes used with noun or adjective predicates, especially in certain fixed idiomatic phrases. Used to introduce cleft sentences, which are extremely common in Irish. It is not a verb.
- The copula does not exist in the imperative and does not have a nominal form analogous to the verbal noun. The phrase bí i do (literally “be in your”) is used as the imperative instead (e.g. Bí i d’fhear! – “Be a man!” (lit. “Be in your man!”)), and equivalent non-copular nominal constructions must be used in place of their hypothetical copular equivalents: bheith ábalta (“to be able”, in place of the non-existent nominal form of is féidir), bheith ag iarraidh (“to want”, in place of the non-existent nominal form of is mian), bheith ina (“to be”, as with the imperative), etc.
- In comparative/superlative formations, is is strictly speaking the relative of the copula, hence an buachaill is mó literally means "the boy who is biggest", i.e. "the biggest boy". The thing compared is introduced by ná (“than”).
More information Present/future, Affirmative ...
Simple copular forms
Present/future |
| Affirmative | Negative | Interrogative | Neg. inter. |
Main clauses |
is | ní | an | nach |
Direct relative clauses |
nach |
|
Indirect relative clauses | ar, arbv |
Other subordinate clauses | gur, gurbv | an | nach |
Past/conditional |
| Affirmative | Negative | Interrogative | Neg. inter. |
Main clauses | ba, b’v | níor, níorbhv | ar, arbhv | nár, nárbhv |
Direct relative clauses | ba, abv |
nár, nárbhv |
|
Indirect relative clauses | ar, arbhv |
Other subordinate clauses | gur, gurbhv | ar, arbhv | nár, nárbhv |
Present subjunctive |
|
| Affirmative | Negative |
gura, gurabv | nára, nárabv |
|
|
Compound copular forms
Base word | Present/future | Past/conditional |
cá | cár, cárbv | cár, cárbhv |
cé | cér, cérbv | cér, cérbhv |
dá |
|
dá mba, dá mb’v |
de/do | dar, darbv | dar, darbhv |
faoi | faoinar, faoinarbv | faoinar, faoinarbhv |
i | inar, inarbv | inar, inarbhv |
le | lenar, lenarbv | lenar, lenarbhv |
má | más | má ba, má b’v |
mura | mura, murabv | murar, murarbhv |
ó (prep.) | ónar, ónarbv | ónar, ónarbhv |
ó (conj.) | ós | ó ba, ó b’v |
trí | trínar, trínarbv | trínar, trínarbhv |
|
v Used before vowel sounds |
Close
Etymology 1
From Proto-Italic *is, from Proto-Indo-European *éy. Cognate with Oscan 𐌉𐌆𐌉𐌊 (izik), Umbrian 𐌄𐌓𐌄 (ere), and further with Lithuanian jis, Proto-Slavic *jь.
Pronoun
is (feminine ea, neuter id); demonstrative pronoun
- (pronoun) this or that man, woman or thing; he, she, it, they (previously introduced)
- Picks up the subject or object after an intervening clause, to avoid repeating the relative pronoun quī, or substitutes syntactically fronted expressions
- (correlative) that...which; he, she...who, it...that
- (anaphoric) of such a nature, degree, kind (previously mentioned or implied)
- (cataphoric) the following; of the following nature, degree, kind
- (determiner) this or that [man, woman or thing] (as a noun phrase modifier)
- (with genus with nominative or modī with genitive) such a, that sort of
- eiusmodī sermōnēs ― talk of that kind
Marcus Valerius Probus,
Fragmenta 66.29:
- […] 'urbīs' an 'urbēs'. Nam cum id genus sīs, quod videō, ut sine iactūrā tuā peccēs, nihil perdēs utrum dīxeris.
- […] 'urbīs' or 'urbēs'. For as far as I can see, you're the kind of man who doesn't lose sleep over his mistakes; as such you'll lose nothing whichever one you use.
- Substituting a clause.
- quod eius fierī possit ― as far as [any of that is] possible
- As an internal accusative: for that reason, on that account
- idque gaudeō ― and I'm glad about that
- Used in various prepositional phrases.
Usage notes
Latin is is an endophoric pronoun and determiner, which may be employed either as an anaphora or as a cataphora, meaning it serves as a reference to something preceding or following, respectively, in the text. Unlike a demonstrative such as ille or English this, is does not have a deictic function, meaning it cannot point to a referent in the world, but only one named in the text; nor can it be used exophorically as a 3d-person pronoun such as English (s)he that refers to something not already defined in the context but presumed to be known or deduceable by the addressee. Thus we see it used with first, second and third person.
The exophoric demonstratives/determiners in Latin are hic (proximal, near the speaker), iste (medial, near the listener), and ille (distal, far from both). Note that Latin doesn't have any 3rd-person pronouns, using the aforementioned demonstratives in their place.
Oblique cases are rare in elevated poetry.
Declension
Demonstrative pronoun.
More information singular, plural ...
Close
1The nom./dat./abl. plural forms regularly developed into a monosyllable /iː(s)/, with later remodelling - compare the etymology of deus. This /iː/ was normally spelled as EI during and as II after the Republic; a disyllabic iī, spelled II, Iꟾ, appears in Silver Age poetry, while disyllabic eīs is only post-Classical. Other spellings include EEI(S), EIEI(S), IEI(S).
2The dat. singular is found spelled EIEI (here represented as ēī) and scanned as two longs in Plautus, but also as a monosyllable. The latter is its normal scansion in Classical. Other spellings include EEI, IEI.
See also
More information type, demonstrative ...
type | demonstrative | anaphoric | identity | interrogative/ relative | indefinite | negative | other |
proximal | medial | distal | relative | indefinite | free choice | universal | negative polarity |
basic |
hic | iste, istic | ille, illic | is | ipse, īdem | quis/quī | quisquis, quīcumque | quis, quī, quīdam, aliquis, aliquī, quispiam | quīvis, quīlibet | quisque | quisquam, ūllus, °aliquisquam | nēmō, nihil, nūllus | alius |
dual |
| | | | | uter | utercumque | alteruter | utervīs, uterlibet | uterque | | neuter | alter |
place |
hīc | istīc | illīc | ibī̆ | ibī̆dem | ubī̆ | ubiubi, ubī̆cumque | alicubī, uspiam | ubivīs, ubilibet | ubīque | usquam | nusquam, nūllibī | alibī, aliās |
source |
hinc | istinc | illinc | inde | indidem | unde | undecumque, undeunde | alicunde | °undelibet | undique | | | aliunde |
destination |
hūc, °hōrsum | istūc, °istōrsum | illūc, °illōrsum | eō | eōdem | quō, quōrsum | quōquō, quōcumque | aliquō, quōpiam, °aliquōvorsum | quōvīs, quōlibet | | quōquam | nusquam, nūllōrsum | aliō, aliōrsum |
method, means, path, place |
hāc | istāc | illāc | eā | eādem | quā | quāquā, quācumque | aliquā | quāvīs, quālibet | quāque | | nēquāquam, haudquāquam | aliā |
manner |
hōc modō | istō modō | illō modō | ita, sīc, eō modō | item, itidem | ut, quī, quō modō, quōmodo, quemadmodum | utut, utcumque, quōmodocumque | quī, quōdam modō, aliquō modō | quōmodolibet | utīque | ūllō modō | nūllō modō | aliter, aliōquī, alterō/aliō modō |
time |
num, nunc | | ōlim | tum, tunc | simul | quandō, ‡cum | cumque, quandōcumque, quandōque | quondam, aliquandō | quandōlibet | quandōque | umquam | numquam | aliās |
quantity |
| | | tam | †tamen, †tandem | quam | †quamquam | aliquam | quamvīs, quamlibet | | | | |
size |
| | | tantus | tantusdem | quantus | quantuscumque | aliquantus | quantusvīs, quantuslibet | | | | |
quality |
| | | tālis | | quālis | quālis, quāliscumque | aliquālis | quālislibet | | | | |
number |
| | | tot | totidem | quot | quotquot, quotcumque | aliquot | quotlibet | | | | |
order |
| | | totus | | quotus | quotuscumque | aliquotus | quotuslibet | | | | |
repetition |
| | | totiēns | | quotiēns | quotiēnscumque | aliquotiēns | quotiēnslibet | | | | |
multiplication |
| | | totuplex | | quotuplex | | | | | | | |
† Turned conjunction with original meaning somewhat dissimulated ° Rare ‡only used as a conjunction, not as an interrogative |
Close
More information Number, Person ...
Number |
Person |
Gender |
Nominative |
Genitive |
Dative |
Accusative |
Ablative |
Possessive |
Singular | First | — |
ego |
meī |
mihi |
mē |
meus, -a, -um |
Second | — |
tū |
tuī |
tibi |
tē |
tuus, -a, -um |
Reflexive third |
— |
— |
suī |
sibi |
sē, sēsē |
suus, -a, -um |
Third |
Masculine |
is |
ēius |
eī |
eum |
eō |
ēius |
Feminine |
ea |
eam |
eā |
Neuter |
id |
id |
eō |
Plural | First | — |
nōs |
nostrī, nostrum |
nōbīs |
nōs |
nōbīs |
noster, -tra, -trum |
Second | — |
vōs |
vestrī, vestrum |
vōbīs |
vōs |
vōbīs |
vester, -tra, -trum |
Reflexive third |
— |
— |
suī |
sibi |
sē, sēsē |
suus, -a, -um |
Third |
Masculine |
eī, iī |
eōrum |
eīs |
eōs |
eīs |
eōrum |
Feminine |
eae |
eārum |
eās |
eārum |
Neuter |
ea |
eōrum |
ea |
eōrum |
Close
Latin personal pronouns together with the possessive and reflexive pronouns
Etymology 2
Inflected form of eō (“go”).
Etymology 1
From Old English īs, from Proto-West Germanic *īs.
- ise, yes, yce, yys, ys, ijs, yse, ysz, hyse, hyys, ice, isse, ysse, yis
Noun
is (uncountable)
- ice (frozen water):
- A layer of frozen water as a surface.
- (rare) An individual portion of ice.
- (rare, figurative) That which is short-lived like ice.
- (rare) icy conditions
Descendants
- English: ice (see there for further descendants)
- Scots: ice
Etymology 3
Determiner
is
- Alternative form of his (“his”)
Pronoun
is
- Alternative form of his (“his”)
Etymology 4
Pronoun
is
- Alternative form of his (“her”)
Etymology 5
Pronoun
is
- Alternative form of his (“them”)
Etymology 6
Noun
is (plural isnes)
- Alternative form of iren (“iron”)
References
- “is” in The Bokmål Dictionary.
References
- “is” in The Nynorsk Dictionary.
Noun
is
- water
References
- P. T. Abraham (2005) A Grammar of Nyishi Language, Delhi: Farsight Publishers and Distributors
Etymology 1
From Proto-Germanic *īsą. See there for more.
Noun
īs n
- ice
- the Legend of St Andrew
Ofer ēastrēamas īs bryċġode.- The ice formed a bridge over the streams.
- the runic character ᛁ (/i/ or /i:/)
Declension
More information Case, Singular ...
Close
Declension of īs (strong a-stem)
Descendants
- Middle English: is, ise, yes, yce, yys, ys, ijs, yse, ysz, hyse, hyys, ice, isse, ysse, yis
- English: ice (see there for further descendants)
- Scots: ice
Noun
īs
- ice
Descendants
- Middle High German: īs
- Alemannic German: Iis, Is, Isch
- Alsatian: Iis; Eis (northern)
- Italian Walser: isch, éisch
- Bavarian: ais
- Cimbrian: ais
- Mòcheno: ais
- Central Franconian: Eis, Ies
- Hunsrik: Eis
- Luxembourgish: Äis
- Transylvanian Saxon: Ais
- German: Eis
- Rhine Franconian:
- Frankfurt: [ais]
- Pennsylvania German: Eis
- Vilamovian: ajs
- Yiddish: אײַז (ayz)
Verb
is
- to be
For quotations using this term, see Citations:is.
Usage notes
This is the so-called "copula", which is distinct from the "substantive verb" at·tá. The copula is used with noun predicates and to introduce a cleft sentence.
Derived terms
- cesu (“although... is”)
- condid (“so that... is”)
- in (“is... ?”)
- masu (“if... is”)
- ní (“is not”)
Descendants
- Irish: is
- Manx: s’
- Scottish Gaelic: is
Further reading
- Gregory Toner, Sharon Arbuthnot, Máire Ní Mhaonaigh, Marie-Luise Theuerkauf, Dagmar Wodtko, editors (2019), “1 is”, in eDIL: Electronic Dictionary of the Irish Language
- Thurneysen, Rudolf (1940) D. A. Binchy and Osborn Bergin, transl., A Grammar of Old Irish, Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies, →ISBN, §§ 791–818, pages 483–94; reprinted 2017
- Pedersen, Holger (1913) Vergleichende Grammatik der keltischen Sprachen (in German), volume II, Göttingen: Vandenhoeck und Ruprecht, →ISBN, pages 419–431
Etymology 1
From Proto-Germanic *it.
Pronoun
is (is)
- his, its
Declension
Old Saxon personal pronouns
Personal pronouns |
Singular |
1. |
2. |
3. m |
3. f |
3. n |
Nominative |
ik |
thū |
hē |
siu |
it |
Accusative |
mī, me, mik |
thī, thik |
ina |
sia |
Dative |
mī |
thī |
imu |
iru |
it |
Genitive |
mīn |
thīn |
is |
ira |
is |
|
Dual |
1. |
2. |
- |
- |
- |
Nominative |
wit |
git |
- |
- |
- |
Accusative |
unk |
ink |
- |
- |
- |
Dative |
Genitive |
unkero, unka |
inker, inka |
- |
- |
- |
|
Plural |
1. |
2. |
3. m |
3. f |
3. n |
Nominative |
wī, we |
gī, ge |
sia |
sia |
siu |
Accusative |
ūs, unsik |
eu, iu, iuu |
Dative |
ūs |
im |
Genitive |
ūser |
euwar, iuwer, iuwar, iuwero, iuwera |
iro |