Emphatic structures and

tnverslon
We often emphasise a particular part of a sentence, perhaps to contradict what
someone else has said or for dramatic effect. ln speech we can do this with stress and
intonation alone, but we can also do this by changing the position of elements in a
sentence in speech and in writing. ln this unit we look at the ways we can manipulate
grammar to emphasise something, by splitting one sentence into two parts (cleft
sentencesJ or by bringing the element we want to emphasise to the beginning (fronting)

rllffim cLEFT SENTENcES

A 'Cleft'means divided. ln a cleft sentence, information which could be given in one clause
34.1
Form and is divided into two parts, each with its own verb:
use Vanessa has made the greatest impact. (normal sentence: single clause, one verb)
who has made the greatest (cleft sentence: two clauses, two
ItETlnessnl
verbs)
This gives extra emphasis to part of the sentence. We often use this pattern to
emphasise some piece of new information, to give explanations or to make a contrast
with a previous statement (the emphasised information is in bold):
Alt of the Redgrave familg are gifted actors. But it is Vanessa who made the greatest
impact in the world of feature films.
'l remember gour uncle tohing us to the fair.' 'No, it was mA father that took us there

34.18 /f cleft sentences have this structure:

lf + a form of be (+ not andlor adverb) + emphasised word/phrase + thatlwhichlwho clause
if cleft
sentences I/
tt llsn-t]ust I his outlandish sense of humour
U
We can use this pattern to emphasise the subject or the object of a simple sentence, or
an adverbial phrase, or a prepositional phrase:

sentence Mike took Sallg to the poftA on Saturdog.

emphasising the subject lt wos Mike who took Sallg to the portg on Saturdog.
emphasising the object lt was Sallg (thot) Mike took to the partg on Saturdoy.
emphasising the adverbial lt was on Soturdag (that) Mike took Sollg to the partA.
emphasising the prepositional lt was to the pqrtg (that) Mike took Sallg on Saturdag.
phrase

ln informal English we can use when and where clauses, but we do not use how or whE
It was in Januarg when I got the test results.
It's in Green Street market where we'll find the best bargains'
X lt wasSreedwhg-he-dd it. y' It was because of greed that he did it
,( tt is using a caleulator-how he does it. r' lt is bg using a calculator that he does
(O We cannot use if clefts to highlight the action or a verb complement in a sentence.
We use r,vh- clefts (::: J4.1 C) to do this:
X tt was.tahing Sattg-tolhe"partg-thot Mihe di& r' What Mike did was taBe Sallg
,( ttis-totattg ansempulous+h8+-they4fe. r' What theg ore is unscrupulous
32(J
 34.1C We can use this pattern to highlight the action in a sentence. For example, if we want to
wh-cleft hlghlight Mike's action of taking Sally to the party:
sentences r,yh- clause + a form of be + emphasised word or phrase
I
I ----
^'/
WdafnnaaAwas@
ln these sentences what means the thing(s) that. The wh- clause must contain a verb. To
highlight the action we use a form of do in the wh- clause. The highlighted phrase
usually contains a bare infinitive (example above) or to + infinitive:
What Mike did wos to take Sallg to the partg.
lf the highlighted verb is in the continuous or perfect, the form of do matches it:
The bogs aren't leaving SandA at home. Theg are taking him to the match.
+ What the bogs are doing is taking Sandg to the match.
Old members are absent but the new members have token their seats in the assemblg.
+ What the new members have done is taken their seats in the assemblg.
We can also use r.,rzh- clefts to highlight a verb complement. For example, if we want to
highlight the complementstingg in the sentence Jean and Bob are stingA, we can say:
nzh-clause + rs.+ emphasised complement
\\
wnat Lea\ qnd Bob#,, n,r(s!
We use this pattern most often when we want to express our opinion of something or
somebody using an adjective:
'Do gou think Jean and Bob are a bit coutious with their moneg?'
'Cautious? What theg are is downright stingg!'

34.1D
We can use wh- clauses with when, where, whg and who lo highlight a person, a place, a
Other types
time and a reason, but we usually use an introductory noun phrase (underlined below).
of cleft
The wh- clause acts like an ordinary relative clause:
sentence X Wheweforgotto*invite-was-lan. y' The one (who) we forgot to invite was lan.
person The guy who told me about the new club was Zock.
place The house where I used to live is near here.
time The dag (when) we left wqs the sqddest dag of mg life.
reason The reqson (whu) theg never told me is theg don't trust me.

We can emphasise an item (described by a noun phrase or a verb phrase) with the
(onlg/last) thing or all:
The thing I most dislihed about the movie was the scene in the gravegard.
The onlA thing we wont is a chance to air our grievances.
The last thing we did was pack the kettle.
All we're asking for is to be given a chance.
We can also use the (onlg) thing wilh a negative verb:
The thing we won't do is repair goods bought in other shops.
The onlA thing we didn't find was the keg to the cellar.

34.1EWe can reverse the order of the parts in wh- cleft. sentences and put the emphasised
Reversed part at the beginning:
cleft Taking Sandg to the match is what the bogs are doing.
sentences Zack was the guA who told me about the new club.
There is a form in spoken English similar to a reversed cleft using this and that:
We have to get off here. t This is where we have to get off.
Theg told me the same thing. + That's what theg told me.
(D We only use reversed if clefts in a formal literary style. We put the emphasised part
before lf:
And thus Cezanne it was that took the first steps on the road to Impressionism.
t21