is

A1 Topic:Grammar & Function Words

US /ɪz/ UK /ɪz/ See IPA manual

Freq #10

Meanings

1

verb
Third-person singular present tense of be

She is a doctor.

Verb forms

Verb forms are not available for this word yet.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

beethbes

Word family

Derived forms as-isis-aisn'tisnessiswastiswas

Related forms am are art be been beest being was wast were wert

Appears in

Idioms (29)

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enough is enough
used to say that something unwelcome must stop because you will tolerate no more
it's a small world
Matching variant: It is a small world

used to express surprise at an unexpected connection or meeting
no free lunch
Matching variant: there's no such thing as a free lunch

everything has a cost; you cannot get something for nothing
tell it like it is
to describe a situation frankly, without softening or hiding the truth
that's another story
used to say a topic is separate and won't be discussed now
the rest is history
later events are already familiar or easily assumed, so they need no further telling

Tongue twisters (5)

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A Tutor Who Tooted
A tutor, who tooted a flute, tried to tutor two tooters to toot. Said the two to the tutor: “Is it harder to toot, or tutor two tooters to toot?”

Keep toot, tooted and tooters distinct while maintaining the long vowel. Tutor varies by accent, so it need not begin exactly like toot.
Betty Botter
Betty Botter bought some butter. “But,” she said, “this butter’s bitter; If I put it in my batter, It will make my batter bitter; But a bit of better butter Will but make my batter better.” So she bought a bit of butter Better than the bitter butter, And made her bitter batter better. So it was better Betty Botter Bought a bit of better butter.

Compare the vowels in bit, better, batter and butter while keeping /b/ steady. Use your normal accent for the middle consonant of Betty, ...
Billy Button
Billy Button bought a buttered biscuit. Did Billy Button buy a buttered biscuit? If Billy Button bought a buttered biscuit, Where's the buttered biscuit Billy Button bought?

Keep the repeated /b/ clear without adding a vowel before it. Bought and buy change between lines, so follow the wording as well as the r...
Peter Piper
Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers. Did Peter Piper pick a peck of pickled peppers? If Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers, Where's the peck of pickled peppers Peter Piper picked?

Close both lips for each /p/, and keep the end of picked distinct from pick. Start one line at a time before joining the four lines.
Walter Waddle
Walter Waddle won a walking wager. Did Walter Waddle win a walking wager? If Walter Waddle won a walking wager, Where's the walking wager Walter Waddle won?

Round the lips briefly for /w/, then move into each vowel. Notice the change from won to win in the question.

Etymology

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *h₁es- Proto-Indo-European *h₁ésti Proto-Germanic *isti Proto-West Germanic *ist Old English is Middle English is English is 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…

is Old English *ist Proto-West Germanic *isti Proto-Germanic *wesaną Proto-Germanic *h₁ésti Proto-Indo-European est Middle English

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Grammar & Function Words

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# is

**Type:** Word
**Level:** A1
**Part of speech:** verb
**IPA (US):** /ɪz/
**IPA (UK):** /ɪz/
**Frequency rank:** 10

## Meanings
1. Third-person singular present tense of be

## Examples
- She is a doctor.

## Synonyms
- beeth
- bes

## Derived Forms
- as-is
- is-a
- isn't
- isness
- iswas
- tiswas

## Related Forms
- am
- are
- art
- be
- been
- beest
- being
- was
- wast
- were
- wert

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: is
- Root: *ist
- Root: *isti
- Root: *wesaną
- Root: *h₁ésti
- Root: est

## Etymology
Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *h₁es- Proto-Indo-European *h₁ésti Proto-Germanic *isti Proto-West Germanic *ist Old English is Middle English is English is 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…

## Topics
- Grammar & Function Words

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is