Commas, commas everywhere.

[Kyung]

So would you put a comma between the is's in the following sentences.

What I believe this is is this is another portion of our estimate that relates to XXX's scope of work and the items that they quoted.

When this was set up, the intent is is to try to capture the quotes we got for the paving and base in this particular section.

What XXX said is is if it was within a couple of feet, that would probably work.

It's driving me bonkers.

[Marge Teilhaber (TILE hobber)]

no commas in any of the sentences. can't even say it would be an introductory clause because an introductory clause has to be followed by a complete sentence.

less is more.

[Kyung]

I have a tendency to not put the commas too. But once again, it is a case of the scopist/proofer doing it so I start to question myself.

Thanks for the validation.

[Marge Teilhaber (TILE hobber)]

There is nothing worse than a comma-happy proofreader. It is so time-consuming looking at each suggested correction and then to reject so many of them. I finally found a proofreader who doesn't burden me with tons of silly suggestions!!

[Brenda Rogers]

I finally told my proofreader that if she thinks a comma belongs in a place I don't have one, she's probably wrong and to only alert me to something that is glaring.

Of course, my mother proofs for me, so diplomacy is somewhat less crucial. ;)

[Marge Teilhaber (TILE hobber)]

haha that's funny, Brenda! do you plant errors in your transcript to see if mom is on the ball?? !!!

[Brenda Rogers]

LOL Marge! Never thought of it.

But years ago, before Internet (yeah, yeah, older than grit), I couldn't for the LIFE of me remember how to spell ptomaine, so I left it in with (*SP) next to it, figuring she'd write it in for me. The dingdong returned it wit (*SP) CIRCLED! sheeesh!

[Marge Teilhaber (TILE hobber)]

oh my !! [ ggg ]

[Shannon Wise]

No commas. Reads clean without them. You're thinking too much. Just breathe. I would put a smiley face, but I don't know how.

[Art Cochran]

Hi, Kyung. I'm an English teacher at Brown College in Atlanta and ran across your question this morning. The answer is a little complicated, but here goes.

First of all, I'm going to assume that you're familiar with noun clauses, such as What she told you is wrong. The noun clause is What she told you. When a noun clause ends with the word "is" and the next word in the sentence is "is," you don't use a comma. That would be equivalent to writing That, is wrong.

By contrast, there's a tendency these days to double the word "is" in a sentence when there's no noun clause involved. For example, lots of people say things like The problem is is that . . . . That's incorrect, so I would treat it as an interruption and put a dash.

So in the sentences you posted, I would punctuate them this way:

What I believe [that] this is is [that] this is another portion of our estimate . . . .

When this was set up, the intent is -- is to try to capture the quotes . . . .

What XXX said is -- is [that] if it was within a couple of feet . . . .

Hope this helps. Let me know if you need further help.

Art Cochran

[Kyung]

Thanks, Art. I appreciate your breakdown.

So in that case this means that the following sentence would not have a comma; correct?

And my question is have you ever seen this photograph before?

I always think is is as an equal sign. It would be like 2+2=4 or 4=2+2 so you wouldn't put a comma there.

[Art Cochran]

Actually, this is a different kind of sentence. Whenever you can insert the word "this" and it's followed by an independent clause, you use a colon. And my question is [this]: Have you ever seen this photograph before? If that seems too formal to you, you can just put a comma and lower-case the next word. And my question is, have you ever seen this photograph before? Don't you just love English?

We're cruising on the Splendour of the Seas, which is the Royal Caribbean line. Join us.! It's going to be a blast!

[Michael D. Chaney]

Yes, you DO put commas in-between the two is's for this reason: for ease of reading. We are so expert on the English Grammar and Usage, that we can also punctuate the spoken word. Master the correct English Grammar, Punctuation, etc. so that you may punctuate the "Spoken Word" which is what we do, because people don't speak correctly out there, especially when they never come to a stop, i.e. inserting conjunctions between every statement and we're trying not to start a sentence with a conjunction. So, yes, do put a comma between the two is's, for ease of reading and so that it will be read exactly as it was said. We must use our expertise in mastering the comma, dash, hyphen, colon, period, exclamation points, etc. so that it will be read as said...and always know that when you do, you are correct because YOU ARE THE EXPERT IN THIS .....and THAT we are! Signed, [e-mail]