Usage question: "point being" vs "the point is" and "point being is"?

Question

I hear a lot lines like below.

I think there is no solid rule for this. Point being, (is?) there are many exceptions in English Grammar that keeps one from claiming a universal rule for articles and determiners.

That's a self-made sentence, but I have heard many times similar sentences.

• Q1: Is that grammatically correct?

• Q2: If so what is the difference between "point being" and "the point is"?

• Q3: What about "point being is"?

Answer 1

The more formal version is the following:

1. The point is . . .

But at some point, this got shortened:

2. The Point is being . . .
→ Point being . . .

The short form now has informal and idiomatic usage.

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Most likely, the confusion over adding is back in again occurs when people get stuck in an intermediate state between the original version and the shortened form.

So, we end up with this kind of situation:

3. The Point is being is . . .
→ Point being is . . .

It may be used by some people, but it's not really well formed. At best it's redundant, and at worst it could be considered asyntactic. (I would say ungrammatical, but that becomes a grey area when it's actually in use and understood; prescriptivists would call it ungrammatical.)

So, while 3. might be considered idiomatic in certain contexts, it's probably better to use either 1. or 2. And it's certainly better to stick to 1. in strictly formal writing.

Answer 2

I think this is a case where Englsh is in flux.

Historically, this is an absolute clause, with being as the (non-finite) head of the clause: a finite verb ('is') is not needed, and in fact not grammatical. This construction is still used in rather formal writing.

But many English speakers are not familiar with this construction, and (I think) reanalyse being as a kind of post-positive adjective (as in the fixed phrase for the time being). Since they are not aware of the verbal force of being, or the special construction, they feel the need for a finite verb: is.