Question about ということ

[Yukino]

Hi all,
I've been slowly working my way through Tae Kim's lessons and found this sentence:
Ｂ：ということは、みきちゃんは、今彼氏がいないということ？
B: Does that mean Miki-chan doesn't have a boyfriend now?

According to Tae Kim, the phrase "ということ" is used to summarize something without rephrasing. What I don't understand is why "ということ" is repeated twice in this sentence, once at the beginning and once at the end. Can anyone explain what purpose this serves?

Thank you in advance!

 

[mdchachi]

It's redundant.
It's like saying
"The thing is, that <something something> is the thing?"

 

[Toritoribe]

Hi all,
I've been slowly working my way through Tae Kim's lessons and found this sentence:
Ｂ：ということは、みきちゃんは、今彼氏がいないということ？
B: Does that mean Miki-chan doesn't have a boyfriend now?

According to Tae Kim, the phrase "ということ" is used to summarize something without rephrasing. What I don't understand is why "ということ" is repeated twice in this sentence, once at the beginning and once at the end. Can anyone explain what purpose this serves?

Thank you in advance! :

The first ということは works as a conjunction, meaning "so"; So, does that mean ~?

 

[Yukino]

Ahh I understand, thanks for the answers!