...is it was...

[Odessa Dawn]

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"The official line is it was an accident but it's really not very clear at the moment what happened," a western diplomat said.

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Source: Mauritania President Shot By Own Army

Because "is it was" make no sense right here, shouldn't "The official line is it was…" go in this way; the official line says (that) it was…?


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[HanibalII]

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"The official line is it was an accident but it's really not very clear at the moment what happened," a western diplomat said.

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Source: Mauritania President Shot By Own Army

Because "is it was" make no sense right here, shouldn't "The official line is it was…" go in this way; the official line says (that) it was…?


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But it does make sense.

Honestly, I'd put a coma after 'is'. But no, the sentence is not grammatically incorrect.

 

[Raymott]

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"The official line is it was an accident but it's really not very clear at the moment what happened," a western diplomat said.

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Source: Mauritania President Shot By Own Army

Because "is it was" make no sense right here, shouldn't "The official line is it was…" go in this way; the official line says (that) it was…?


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It will make more sense if you change it to "The official line is that it was an accident". You can then take the 'that' out again.

 

[emsr2d2]

We omit "that" in this kind of construction quite frequently.

The most annoying thing about her dog is it barks all the time.
The main reason I don't want any dinner is I'm not hungry. ("That" has been omitted twice in this sentence.)
The most interesting thing about my sister is she used to be my brother.

 

[TheParser]

***** NOT A TEACHER *****


Hello,


As the other posters have commented, the full sentence is:

The official line is that it was an accident.

"It was an accident" is a noun clause introduced by "that." It is the complement of "official line." In other words,
"The official line = It was an accident."

For example: His excuse was (that) his car had a flat tire.

*****

It may be of interest to you to note that one can even say (rather formally):

That it was an accident is the official line.

(In that case, "that" is mandatory.)


James

 

[billmcd]

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"The official line is it was an accident but it's really not very clear at the moment what happened," a western diplomat said.

​

Source: Mauritania President Shot By Own Army

Because "is it was" make no sense right here, shouldn't "The official line is it was…" go in this way; the official line says (that) it was…?


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I concur with all previous responses, but I think a comma after "is" would help a reader, or if it was an actual qoute by the "official line", quotation marks would also be helpful to the reader.