grammaticality - "Are you sure sure" — is this repetition grammatically correct?


A typical conversation among members of my age demographic could go like this:



Person 1: Did you know that x > y?!?


Person 2: Are you sure?


Person 1: Yeah, I'm sure.


Person 2: Are you sure sure?



Is this grammatically correct?



Answer



I don't think "grammatically correct" is really a meaningful issue in respect of this relatively common spoken usage - but if I have to have an opinion, I'd say it's valid but informal.


In general, to be a [noun] noun], or be [adjective] [adjective] is simply an informal way of adding emphasis.


Often it's because the word being repeated has acquired multiple shades of meaning - arguably in OP's example the word sure can mean anything from "Okay, I guess so" to "I would stake my life on it". The repetition is intended to focus attention on the primary meaning (certainty).


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