is

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See also: Appendix:Variations of "is"

Contents

English[edit]

Wikipedia has an article on:
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Etymology 1[edit]

From Middle English is, from Old English is, 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”), Old Swedish is (“is”). The paradigm of "to be" has been since the time of Proto-Germanic a synthesis of four originally distinct verb stems. The infinitive form "to be" is from *bʰuH- (“to become”). The forms is and am are derived from *h₁es- (“to be”) whereas the form are comes from *iraną (“to rise, be quick, become active”). Lastly, the past forms starting with "w-" such as was and were are from *h₂wes- (“to dwell; reside”).

Alternative forms[edit]

Pronunciation[edit]

Verb[edit]

is

  1. Third-person singular simple present indicative form of be
    He is a doctor. He retired some time ago.
    Should he do the task, it is vital that you follow him.
  2. (colloquial, nonstandard) second-person present of be

Derived terms[edit]

Quotations[edit]

Synonyms[edit]

Translations[edit]
Translations

See also[edit]

See also

Etymology 2[edit]

i +‎ -s.

Pronunciation[edit]

Noun[edit]

is

  1. plural of i
    remember to dot your is
Usage notes[edit]
  • There is some difference of opinion regarding the use of apostrophes in the pluralization of references to letters as symbols. New Fowler's Modern English Usage, after noting that the usage has changed, states on page 602 that "after letters an apostrophe is obligatory." The 15th edition of The Chicago Manual of Style states in paragraph 7.16, "To avoid confusion, lowercase letters ... form the plural with an apostrophe and an s". The Oxford Style Manual on page 116 advocates the use of common sense.

Anagrams[edit]

Afrikaans[edit]

Pronunciation[edit]

Verb[edit]

is

  1. am, are, is (present tense, all persons, plural and singular of wees, to be)
  2. Forms the perfect passive voice when followed by a past participle

Bagusa[edit]

Noun[edit]

is

  1. woman

References[edit]

Catalan[edit]

Noun[edit]

is

  1. plural of i

Danish[edit]

Etymology[edit]

From Old Norse íss, from Proto-Germanic *īsą, from Proto-Indo-European *h₁eyH-.

Pronunciation[edit]

Noun[edit]

is c (singular definite isen, plural indefinite is)

  1. (uncountable) ice (water in frozen form)
  2. (uncountable) ice, ice cream (dessert, not necessarily containing cream)
  3. (countable) ice, ice cream (ice dessert on a stick or in a wafer cone)

Inflection[edit]

Declension of is
common
gender 		Singular Plural
indefinite definite indefinite definite
nominative is isen is isene
genitive is' isens is' isenes

Dutch[edit]

Pronunciation[edit]

Verb[edit]

is

  1. third-person singular present indicative of zijn; is, equals
    Twaalf min drie is negen — twelve minus three equals nine

Adverb[edit]

is

  1. (informal, dialect) Misspelling of 's.

Anagrams[edit]

Gothic[edit]

Romanization[edit]

is

  1. Romanization of 𐌹𐍃

Hungarian[edit]

Etymology[edit]

Doublet of és (“and”).

Pronunciation[edit]

Adverb[edit]

is (not comparable)

  1. also, too, as well
    Én is szeretem a csokit. - I also like chocolate. (Besides other people)
    A csokit is szeretem. - I also like chocolate. (Besides other things)
  2. even
    Három óráig is tarthat a műtét - The operation may even take three hours.
  3. (after an interrogative word) again (used in a question to ask something one has forgotten)
    Hogy is hívják? - What's that called, again?

Synonyms[edit]

Derived terms[edit]

(Compound words):

(Expressions):

Irish[edit]

Etymology 1[edit]

From agus.

Pronunciation[edit]

Conjunction[edit]

is

  1. reduced form of agus (“and; as”)
    Dia is Muire duit.
    Hello to you, too. (lit. God and Virgin Mary to you.)
    • 1899, Franz Nikolaus Finck, Die araner mundart, Marburg: Elwert’sche Verlagsbuchhandlung, vol. II, p. 1:
      wil nə fatī xō mŭȧ, s dūŕc šē?
      conventional orthography: An bhfuil na fataí chomh maith is dúirt sé?
      Are the potatoes as good as he said?
    • 1899, Franz Nikolaus Finck, Die araner mundart, Marburg: Elwert’sche Verlagsbuchhandlung, vol. II, p. 1:
      ə ʒēĺǵə, l̄aurīr ə gūǵə mūn, ńī h-ønn̥̄ ī s ə ʒēlgə š agń̥ə
      conventional orthography: 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[edit]

From Old Irish is (“is”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *h₁es- (“to be”).

Pronunciation[edit]

  • IPA(key): /ɪsˠ/, /sˠ/ (before nouns and adjectives)
  • IPA(key): /ʃ/ (before the pronouns é, í, ea, iad)

Particle[edit]

is

  1. 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)
  2. 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[edit]
  • 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”).
Related terms[edit]
Irish copular forms
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
má más má ba, má b’v
ó (“since”) ós ó ba, ó b’v
dá dá mba, dá mb’v
mura mura, murabv murar, murarbhv
cé cér, cérbv cér, cérbhv
cá cár, cárbv cár, cárbhv
de/do dar, darbv dar, darbhv
faoi faoinar, faoinarbv faoinar, faoinarbhv
i inar, inarbv inar, inarbhv
le lenar, lenarbv lenar, lenarbhv
ó (“from”) ónar, ónarbv ónar, ónarbhv
trí trínar, trínarbv trínar, trínarbhv
v Used before vowel sounds

Kwerba[edit]

Noun[edit]

is

  1. woman

References[edit]

Latin[edit]

Etymology 1[edit]

From Proto-Italic *is, from Proto-Indo-European *éy.

Pronunciation[edit]

Pronoun[edit]

is

  1. (Third-person singular pronoun) he, it (referring to masculine nouns); (demonstrative) this, that
    Is mihi rescripsit.
    He wrote back to me.
    Is amicus est vir bonus.
    This friend is a good man.
Declension[edit]

Irregular: similar to first and second declensions, except for genitive singular ending in -ius and dative singular ending in -ī.

Number Singular Plural
Case / Gender Masculine Feminine Neuter Masculine Feminine Neuter
nominative is ea id eī, iī eae ea
genitive eius, ejus eōrum eārum eōrum
dative eī eīs, iīs
accusative eum eam id eōs eās ea
ablative eō eā eō eīs, iīs

Related terms[edit]

See also[edit]

Latin personal pronouns
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 eius eī eum eō eius
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

Etymology 2[edit]

Inflected form of eō (“go”).

Pronunciation[edit]

Verb[edit]

īs

  1. second-person singular present active indicative of eo

References[edit]

  • is in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  • Carl Meissner; Henry William Auden (1894) Latin Phrase-Book‎[1], London: Macmillan and Co.
    • to sum up..: ut eorum, quae dixi, summam faciam
    • (ambiguous) those to whom we owe our being: ei, propter quos hanc lucem aspeximus
    • (ambiguous) from youth up: a puero (is), a parvo (is), a parvulo (is)
    • (ambiguous) he feels better: melius ei factum est
    • (ambiguous) Fortune's favourite: is, quem fortuna complexa est
    • (ambiguous) to sully one's fair fame: vitae splendori(em) maculas(is) aspergere
    • (ambiguous) no word escaped him: nullum verbum ex ore eius excidit (or simply ei)
    • (ambiguous) he is in a suspicious mood: suspicio ei penitus inhaeret
    • (ambiguous) the debtor: debitor, or is qui debet
    • (ambiguous) the creditor: creditor, or is cui debeo
  • is in The Perseus Project (1999) Perseus Encyclopedia‎[2]
  • is in Harry Thurston Peck, editor (1898) Harper's Dictionary of Classical Antiquities, New York: Harper & Brothers
  • is in William Smith, editor (1854, 1857) A Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography, volume 1 & 2, London: Walton and Maberly

Middle Dutch[edit]

Verb[edit]

is

  1. third-person singular present indicative of wēsen

Middle English[edit]

Etymology 1[edit]

Determiner[edit]

is

  1. Alternative form of his

Pronoun[edit]

is

  1. Alternative form of his

References[edit]

Etymology 2[edit]

Pronoun[edit]

is

  1. Alternative form of heo

References[edit]

Etymology 3[edit]

From Old English īs, from Proto-Germanic *īsą; from Proto-Indo-European *h₁éyHsom, derivative of *h₁eyH-.

Alternative forms[edit]

Pronunciation[edit]

Noun[edit]

is (uncountable)

  2. ice (frozen water):
    1. A layer of frozen water as a surface.
    2. (rare) A individual portion of ice.
  3. (rare, figuratively) That which is short-lived like ice.
  4. (rare) icy conditions
Derived terms[edit]
Descendants[edit]
References[edit]

Navajo[edit]

Interjection[edit]

is

  1. as if, as if it were true, it could be, is it really?, what do you mean by that?, so you say expressing surprise

Usage notes[edit]

Usually spelled with the final letter repeated: iss, isss, issss.

Alternative forms[edit]

Norwegian Bokmål[edit]

Etymology[edit]

From Old Norse íss, from Proto-Germanic *īsą, from Proto-Indo-European *h₁eyH-.

Noun[edit]

is m (definite singular isen, indefinite plural is or iser, definite plural isene)

  1. (uncountable) ice
  2. (countable) ice cream

Synonyms[edit]

Derived terms[edit]

Terms derived from is

References[edit]

Norwegian Nynorsk[edit]

Etymology[edit]

From Old Norse íss, from Proto-Germanic *īsą, from Proto-Indo-European *h₁eyH-. Akin to English ice.

Pronunciation[edit]

Noun[edit]

is m (definite singular isen, indefinite plural isar, definite plural isane)

  1. ice
  2. ice cream

Synonyms[edit]

Derived terms[edit]

Terms derived from is

References[edit]

Nyishi[edit]

Alternative forms[edit]

Etymology[edit]

From Proto-Tani *si, from Proto-Sino-Tibetan *si.

Noun[edit]

is

  1. water

References[edit]

  • P. T. Abraham (2005) A Grammar of Nyishi Language‎[3], Delhi: Farsight Publishers and Distributors

Old English[edit]

Etymology[edit]

From Proto-Germanic *īsą, from Proto-Indo-European *h₁eyH-, *ey-, *ī- (“ice, frost”). Cognate with Old Frisian īs (West Frisian iis), Old Saxon īs (Low German Ies), Dutch ijs, Old High German īs (German Eis), Old Norse íss (Danish and Swedish is), Gothic 𐌴𐌹𐍃 (eis). There are parallels in many Iranian languages, apparently from the same Indo-European root: Avestan 𐬀𐬉𐬑𐬀‎ (aēxa-, “frost, ice”), Persian یخ‎ (yakh), Pashto جح‎ (jaḥ), Ossetian их (ix).

Pronunciation[edit]

Noun[edit]

īs n

  1. ice
    • the Legend of St Andrew
      Ofer eastreamas is brycgade.
      The ice formed a bridge over the streams.
  2. The runic character ᛁ (/i/ or /i:/)

Derived terms[edit]

Descendants[edit]

  • Middle English: is

Old High German[edit]

Etymology[edit]

From Proto-Germanic *īsą, from Proto-Indo-European *h₁eyH-. Compare Old Saxon īs, Old English īs, Old Norse íss, Gothic 𐌴𐌹𐍃 (eis).

Noun[edit]

īs

  1. ice

Descendants[edit]

Old Irish[edit]

Etymology[edit]

The lemma is itself is from Proto-Celtic *esti, from Proto-Indo-European *h₁ésti; other forms are from either *h₁es- or *bʰuH-:

Verb[edit]

is

  1. to be
    • c. 800, Würzburg Glosses on the Pauline Epistles, published in Thesaurus Palaeohibernicus (reprinted 1987, Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies), edited and with translations by Whitley Stokes and John Strachan, vol. I, pp. 499–712, Wb. 14d26
      Is i persin Crist da·gníu-sa sin.
      It is in the person of Christ that I do that.

Usage notes[edit]

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.

Conjugation[edit]

Form 1st sg. 2nd sg. 3rd sg. 1st pl. 2nd pl. 3rd pl.
Present indicative am
(relative): nonda 		at, it
(relative): nonda 		is
(relative): as 		ammi, ammin, immi
(relative): nondan 		adib, idib, adi
(relative): nondad 		it
(relative): ata, at
Present subjunctive ba ba, be ba
(relative): bes, bas 		— bede —
(relative): bete, beta
Past subjunctive — — bid, bith
(relative): bed, bad 		bemmis — betis, bitis
Imperative ba bad, bed ban, baán bad, bed bat
Future be be bid, bith bemmi, bimmi — bit
Conditional — — robad
(relative): bed 		— — robtis
Preterite and
imperfect indicative 		basa basa ba
(relative): ba 		— — batir, batar
(relative): batar

Synonyms[edit]

Derived terms[edit]

  • cesu (“although... is”)
  • condid (“so that... is”)
  • in (“is... ?”)
  • masu (“if... is”)
  • ní (“is not”)

Descendants[edit]

Old Saxon[edit]

Etymology 1[edit]

From Proto-Germanic *it.

Pronoun[edit]

is (is)

  1. his, its
Declension[edit]
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 - - -
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

Etymology 2[edit]

Verb[edit]

is

  1. third-person singular present indicative of wesan

Etymology 3[edit]

From Proto-Germanic *īsą, from Proto-Indo-European *h₁eyH- (“ice, frost”). Cognate with Old Frisian īs (West Frisian iis), Old English īs (English ice), Dutch ijs, Old High German īs (German Eis), Old Norse íss (Danish and Swedish is), Gothic 𐌴𐌹𐍃 (eis).

Noun[edit]

īs n

  1. ice
  2. The runic character ᛁ (/i/ or /i:/)
Declension[edit]
Declension of īs (neuter a-stem)
singular plural
nominative īs īs
accusative īs īs
genitive īses īsō
dative īse īsun
instrumental — —


Descendants[edit]
  • Middle Low German: îs
    • Low German: Ies

Portuguese[edit]

Pronunciation[edit]

Noun[edit]

is

  1. plural of i
    • 2003, J. K. Rowling, Lya Wyler, Harry Potter e a Ordem da Fênix, Rocco, page 411:
      Se você pôs os pingos nos is e cortou os tês então pode fazer o que quiser!
      If you've dotted your I's and crossed your T's, then you can do whatever you want!

Scots[edit]

Adverb[edit]

is (not comparable)

  1. (South Scots) as

Synonyms[edit]

Conjunction[edit]

is

  1. (South Scots) as

Synonyms[edit]

Pronoun[edit]

is (personal, non-emphatic)

  1. (South Scots) me

See also[edit]

  • A
  • mei (emphatic variant)

Verb[edit]

is

  1. third-person singular simple present indicative form of be

See also[edit]

Scottish Gaelic[edit]

Alternative forms[edit]

Conjunction[edit]

is

  1. and

Synonyms[edit]

Verb[edit]

is

  1. am, are, is

Usage notes[edit]

  • This defective verb doesn't have the infinitive, future tense, subjunctive or conditional moods.
  • The dependent form, used after particles, is e.
  • Is is used when linking the subject of a sentence with an object ("somebody is somebody", "somebody is something", "something is something"), otherwise forms of the verb bi are used:
    Is mise Dòmhnall. ― I am Donald.
    Tha mise ann an taigh-seinnse. ― I am in a pub.

Derived terms[edit]

Swedish[edit]

Etymology[edit]

From Old Norse íss, from Proto-Germanic *īsą, from Proto-Indo-European *h₁eyH-.

Pronunciation[edit]

Noun[edit]

is c

  1. (uncountable) Ice; frozen water.
  2. (countable) Ice; a sheet of ice lying on a body of water.

Declension[edit]

Declension of is 
Singular Plural
Indefinite Definite Indefinite Definite
Nominative is isen isar isarna
Genitive is isens isars isarnas

Related terms[edit]

References[edit]

Tok Pisin[edit]

Etymology[edit]

From English East.

Noun[edit]

is

  1. East

Turkish[edit]

Noun[edit]

is (definite accusative isi, plural isler)

  1. fume

Declension[edit]

Inflection
Nominative is
Definite accusative isi
Singular Plural
Nominative is isler
Definite accusative isi isleri
Dative ise islere
Locative iste islerde
Ablative isten islerden
Genitive isin islerin
Possessive forms
Singular Plural
1st singular isim islerim
2nd singular isin islerin
3rd singular isi isleri
1st plural isimiz islerimiz
2nd plural isiniz isleriniz
3rd plural isleri isleri

Volapük[edit]

Adverb[edit]

is

  1. here
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