<HTML><FONT FACE=arial,helvetica><FONT SIZE=2>In "The thing is, is it takes too much time," the second instance of "is" is
<BR>the "main verb. The original structure probably is "[What] the
<BR>[problem]/thing is, is [that] it takes too much time." Not only has "that"
<BR>been deleted in the surface structure, but so has"what". P-A-T</FONT></HTML>