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All,

Why don't we repeat is or are in questions starting with is or are (verb to be)? for example:

Is it (is) your glass?

Are you (are) taller than me?

How does it sound grammatically? Also, Does it change the overall tone of speaking (e.g., add emphasis, ...)?

Thanks

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    Because the question simply inverts the subject-verb order. "It is your glass" is a statement, "Is it your glass?" is the corresponding question.
    – Barmar
    Jan 18 at 23:56
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    Seems like a dupe of: english.stackexchange.com/questions/532514/…
    – alphabet
    Jan 19 at 0:00
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    Have you seen these examples? Are you used to "Is it is" from another language?
    – Yosef Baskin
    Jan 19 at 0:10
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    None of these are grammatical. If you dropped the question word, e.g. "It is your glass?" or "You are taller than me?", people would probably know what you meant (as long as you raised the tone at the end of the spoken sentence to indicate that it is a question and not a statement), but it will still be ungrammatical. The truth is, you need that question word at the beginning in order to make a question, and it always goes <Question word> <Subject> <Condition>. There are many question words, such as What/When/Where/Why/How/Does/Is/Are.
    – max pleaner
    Jan 19 at 1:27
  • @YosefBaskin No, I haven't, but I see it sometime in Google research suggestions. Also, I often find myself using the "is it is" form.
    – Kernel
    Jan 19 at 14:00

1 Answer 1

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"Is it is ___?" or "Are you are ___?" is grammatically incorrect. It does not add emphasis or change the tone, it just sounds wrong and non-fluent.

When asking questions using the verb to be, you only use the verb once. The only exception is if you are asking about a passive construction and using a participle:
You are being served. / Are you being served?

I don't think there's a "why" answer beyond "Because English is like that."

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