# is

> English word · Verb · IPA /ɪz/ · frequency rank #8

## Definitions
1. third-person singular simple present indicative of be
2. Used in phrases with existential there (also here and where) when the semantic subject is plural.
3. present indicative of be; am, are, is.

## 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 अस्ति (asti), Persian است (ast), Russian есть (jestʹ), all with the same meaning.

## Easily confused with
- **it** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/is-vs-it)
- **IV** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/is-vs-iv)
- **iz** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/is-vs-iz)
- **its** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/is-vs-its)
- **ivy** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/is-vs-ivy)
- **iso** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/is-vs-iso)
- **ISA** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/is-vs-isa)
- **ISS** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/is-vs-iss)
- **ISP** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/is-vs-isp)
- **IVF** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/is-vs-ivf)
- **ISI** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/is-vs-isi)
- **itt** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/is-vs-itt)
- **ITC** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/is-vs-itc)
- **ISD** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/is-vs-isd)
- **isu** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/is-vs-isu)
- **Ivo** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/is-vs-ivo)
- **ISC** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/is-vs-isc)
- **IWC** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/is-vs-iwc)
- **ISR** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/is-vs-isr)
- **ith** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/is-vs-ith)

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/is