KHACHATUR ABOVIAN ARMENIAN STATE PEDAGOGICAL UNIVERSITY

Faculty of Foreign Languages

Chair of Foreign Language Teaching Methodology

TERM PAPER

Theme: Cleft Sentences as a Means of Emphasis in English

Student: Angelina Poghosyan

Scientific Supervisor: Ruzanna Asatryan (PhD, Assistant Professor)

Yerevan -2020
 Contents

INTRODUCTION……………………………………………………………………………...3
CHAPTER 1 EMPHATIC STRUCTURES IN ENGLISH

1.1 Types of Emphasis in English………………………………………………………………5

1.2 Structural and Semantic Peculiarities of Cleft Sentences in English……………………..11

CHAPTER 2 CLEFT SENTENCE AS A STYLISTIC FEATURE

2.1 Examples of Cleft Sentences in the Literary Tradition……………………………………14

2.2 Designing a Lesson Plan Devoted to Cleft Sentences……………………………………...17

CONCLUSION……………………………………………………………………………….....2
0
REFERENCES…………………………………………………………………………………...2
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 INTRODUCTION

This work is mainly concerned with cleft sentences as one of the English highlighting devices.

Cleft sentences are used to help us focus on a particular part of the sentence and to emphasis
what we want to say by introducing it or building up to it with a kind of relative clause. Because
there are two parts to the sentence it is called cleft (from the verb cleave) which means divided
into two. The term cleft is commonly used to describe a syntactic pattern which serves to
separate a discourse prominent constituent structurally from the rest of the clause.

This article addresses four questions: first, what sentence patterns may be considered cleft
sentences; second, how they are related to one another; third, what function they serve within the
larger structure of English; and fourth, where within the structure of English they may be
situated.

In this paper we will present an explanatory analysis of cleft sentences.

The aim of this research is to provide an explanatory account for the types of the cleft sentences
their structure and their role as a mean of emphasis in English.
The structure of the work: the paper consists of the contents, introduction, two chapters,
subchapters, conclusion and references.
The first chapter Emphatic Structures in English deals with the theoretical concepts. We’ve
tried to discuss the main types of emphasis in English and present the concept of cleft
constructions.
The second chapter Cleft Sentence as a Stylistic Feature presents some general conclusions,
the most important of which is that the use of cleft sentence may help the author to highlight the
purpose of the writer. i.e. Agatha Christie. Also the chapter consists of the lesson plan devoted to
cleft sentences.

The conclusion summarizes the research.

The reference contains the list of the authors and books, Internet sources used during the
research.

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 Chapter 1
Emphatic Structures in English

The framework of this research is Cleft sentences as means of emphasis in English. In this
chapter we will discuss the main types of emphasis in English and their function. The language
user should be aware of the elements that can be highlighted and how he can highlight the proper
element that serves to give the new information or the particular idea. This chapter presents the
concept of cleft constructions, structure, its types, the highlighted elements.

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1.1 Types of Emphasis in English
Emotive colouring and expressiveness of speech may be achieved by various emphatic means

both grammatical and lexical. Emphatic structures are such syntactic constructions that emphasis
this or that member in a sentence. It is important to be able to use emphasis to make a point to
convince someone of something, or it is helpful for us when we are talking to the audience.
There are different ways of changing the word order of a sentence in English to make it more
emphatic.

To understand the main function of the emphatic patterns let’s observe the most recurrent
structures of that emphatic character.

Inversion

Inversion provides emphasis on a specific element of the sentence while adding sophistication to
the sentence structure. This is a way of highlighting the piece of information. Inversion just
means putting the verb before the subject. Inversion happens when we reverse (invert) the
normal word order of a structure, most commonly the subject-verb word order. Inversion is
dependent on the relations, connections of the parts of the sentence. which are ruled by
communication intention.

Inversion is used under specific relations of the parts of sentence. When the whole predicate is
put before the subject, it is the full inversion.

Came Saturday and its hollow victory at three O'clock. (J.L.)

When only the part of the predicate is put before the subject, but the rest of the predicate follows
the subject, it is the partial inversion.

Starved and tired enough she was... (Ch.B.)

▪ The most common type of inversion is question word order. When we use inversion with

present or past simple, we have to use the do auxiliary.

He plays.
Does he play?

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▪ Inversion is mainly common with a number of negative adverbs, e.g. hardly, not only, no

sooner, never, at no time, little, scarcely.

1. Hardly had I arrived home when my phone rang.
2. Never have we witnessed such cruel behavior.
3. No sooner had the company launched its new product than it went bankrupt.
4. Not only is it beautiful, it costs a lot of money.

▪ Inversion is required in the construction "there is, there are" and in cases where a modal verb

or a main verb is used in such constructions.

There are several books on the table.
There is an interesting article in today's paper.

▪ Inversion takes place in sentences beginning with the adverb "here" or "there". Some phrases

beginning with "here" or "there" have idiomatic character.

Here comes the sun.
Here comes your friend.
There goes my money!
There is my brother!

▪ Inversion is required in responses like "So do I" and "Neither do I"

I like coffee. – So do I.
I don't like coffee. – Neither do I.

Fronting

The technique of adding emphasis to a word or a phrase by placing it at the beginning of the
sentence is called fronting. Fronting is generally understood as the initial placing of an element
such as an objector an adverbial (Quirk et al., 1985: 89). Fronting is a type of focus strategy
often used to enhance cohesion and provide emphasis. Some elements like adjuncts or
complements do not typically belong at the beginning of a clause. When we want to focus on
them, we bring them to the front or beginning of the clause.

For example: All of a sudden, it started to snow.

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When the fronting involves a prepositional phrase (on the corner, in front of me) we often
change the order of the subject and the verb.

1. In front of me was the President of Armenia.

2. On the corner stood a little shop.

Fronting is common with various grammatical elements:

Adverbials (place and movement)
Into the room rushed her husband.
On the table stood a vase.
There is / there are
Next to the window was a bookcase.
On the ground floor was a bookshop.
Adjectives
Beautiful it was.
Clauses with question words
Why she married him I really don't know.

Cleft Sentences

Cleft sentences are common in speech as well as writing, since they guide readers’ interpretation
by helping them assign the correct prosody to a sentence. They can focus attention on new, more
important or contradictory information.

The word “cleft” literally means “partially split or divided”. Cleft sentences divide a message
into two parts, using what or it clauses. It is formed by dividing a more elementary clause into
two parts.

One of the two parts is foregrounded, and the other, backgrounded. (Huddleston & Pullum 2008;
Hartmann & Veenstra 2013). Clefting is employed to highlight different parts of a sentence,
typically the subject, direct object, and adverbial expressions of time and place. In this way we
give extra emphasis to part of the sentence. The status of the pronoun it in cleft constructions has
caused some debate in the literature. While some argue that it has referential status (Bolinger
1970; Gundel 1977; Declerck 1988; Hedberg 2000), others contend that it is simply an empty
place-holder, devoid of any referring role (Postal and Pullum 1988). In cleft sentences the
information that comes after it is emphasized. Usually it is the new information, thus the rheme

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of the sentence. The construction it is or it was serves as a demonstrative gesture to put at one
particular part of the sentence to which the attention of the hearer is to be drawn especially.

For example:

1. It is her professionalism that I want to praise.

2. What a great article it was you wrote!
3. It was Tom who didn’t want to come.

When emphasis is put on a pronoun two options are available, one formal and the other

Informal:

1. It is he who has taken the initiative (formal)

2. It is him that has taken the initiative (informal)

Modal verb clefts

Modal verbs can also be used in cleft-sentences:

1. It could be your career you have to sacrifice

2. It must have been the manager that convinced him to withdraw his resignation

Noun phrase clefts

NP clefts are relatively unconstrained as to the internal structure and semantic function of the
focus. They may be a proper noun, a determiner, a relativized NP, or a nominalized sentence. It
may function as direct object of the clausal verb, or the object of a preposition.

1. It was him that I saw leave the scene of the crime.

2. It is the destruction of the city that must be avoided.

Prepositional phrase clefts

Prepositional phrases may range over the entire set of roles and functions assignable to the
category.

1. It was in the hallway that we waited.

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 2. It was with Fred that we went to the movies.

Adjectival phrase clefts

Adjectival phrases may occur as a focus element.

1. It was green that he painted his boat.

2. It was happy that he looked when I saw him last.

Adverbial clefts

1. It was only reluctantly that he agreed to swim the channel.

2. It is only imperfectly that such things can be completed.

Pseudo-cleft sentences

Another common way to give prominence to one part of a sentence is to use the structure

What ……is/was …, often called a pseudo-cleft sentence. Pseudo-cleft sentences (also

called wh-clefts) are similar in function to cleft sentences, but they are formed with the
pronoun what (= the thing(s) that/which).

The emphasis in a pseudo-cleft sentence is on the phrase after the what-clause + be. Like cleft
sentences, pseudo-clefts make explicit the separation between the new and the given part of the
message.

The emphasized element is usually found at the end of the sentence, though some emphasis is
also put on the initial clause. This structure is used to emphasize the subject or object of a
sentence. Thus both cleft and pseudo-cleft sentences imply the division of the original sentence
into two clauses for the purpose of emphasis. These constructions are closely connected with the
notion of information division within a sentence as these types of organization of the sentence
allow us to demonstrate what information is old and less important and what information is new
and thus more important. For Gundel (1985), we can predict that the pragmatic properties, of
wh-cleft (pseudo- cleft) and it-clefts are similar, these two constructions will not always be
equally appropriate in the same discourse context.

1. What I need now is a glass of wine.

2. What I like is her style.

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In order to make a verb stand out the construction what … do must be used; different verb

forms will be found, according to context. Infinitives with or without to are possible in pseudo-
cleft sentences.

1. What they do is dump their products.

2. What I did was (to) call the police.

It is generally assumed that a cleft sentence and its corresponding pseudocleft share a large
number of characteristics. For example, according to Akmajian (1970a), clefts and their
pseudoclefts counterparts are ‘synonymous, share the same presuppositions, answer the same
questions, and in general can be used interchangeably.’ Although Akmajian’s last assumption
has generally been abandoned, his first three assumptions are still generally accepted. Thus, each
of the pseudocleft sentences in is associated with the cleft paraphrase shown below

1. What John bought was a car.

2. It was a car that John bought.
3. When John left was at three o’clock.
4. It was at three o’clock that John left.

1.2 Structural and Semantic Peculiarities of Cleft Sentences in English

As a type of complex sentences, a cleft sentence includes a main clause and a dependent clause.
Clefts typically put a particular constituent into focus. This focusing is often accompanied by a

special intonation. The cleft construction is one of the grammatical devices used to highlight
certain elements of the sentence or to emphasize a particular idea. The term ‘cleft sentence’ was
coined by Otto Jespersen in 1937. A cleft construction comprises four main parts.

Cleft pronoun

Copula

Cleft(ed) constituent

Cleft clause

Some grammarians propose a determiner role for the cleft pronoun which diverges in term of the
function of that determiner. The cleft pronoun determiner operates on the clefted constituent.

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The position of the cleft pronoun in the sentence is clearly suitable to be exploited for different
pragmatic, discourse and possibly semantic purposes while it operates as a syntactic dummy
argument-participating in question formation and verb agreement with the copula.

The cleft constituent is an important element like the cleft clause and the cleft pronoun. Cleft
constituent, as the logical structure and the syntactic structure in figure shows to function
simultaneously as a semantic and referential argument.

There is no consensual view on the exact characterization of these parts and the nature of the
relations holding between them but Jespersen argued informally in favor of one analysis of
clefts, which he later labeled the ‘transposition analysis’ and rejected. On this analysis, cleft
sentences are viewed as a subclass of copular sentences: the clefted constituent is a predicate
complement and the cleft clause is a relative clause discontinuously modifying the cleft-pronoun.

e.g It(cleft pronoun) is(copula) a star (cleft(ed) constituent) that you can see in the sky(cleft
clause).

Jespersen 1937 rejected his earlier transposition analysis in favor of treating cleft sentences as
syntactically identical to their unclefted counterparts-except for the ‘intercalation’ of the cleft
pronoun, copula, and relative complementizer, now viewed as expletive elements which are
‘extraposed’ relative to the sentence proper.

e.g [it is] the wife [who] decides.

However, besides of Jespersen, other linguists also analyzed the structure of cleft sentences. The
first subpart of the cleft sentence, the cleft pronoun, is held to be either an expletive (Chomsky
1977; Heggie 1988; E. Kiss 1999) or a fully referential pronoun (Hedberg 2000). The copula,
too, is treated as an expletive element in some analyses (Chomsky 1977; Delahunty1984). In
other studies, however, it has some semantic function. The clefted constituent is assumed to be
an embedded topic in Chomsky (1977) but syntactic focus in E. Kiss (1999).

As for the relationship between the parts of the cleft construction, there are two opposing views.

The first one claims that the cleft clause is in a direct syntactic relationship with the cleft
pronoun, the cleft clause being extraposed (e.g. Akmajian 1970). Under the other analysis the
cleft clause bears a direct syntactic relationship to the clefted element itself.

Hedberg argues that the cleft clause forms a discontinuous definite description with the cleft
pronoun acting as a definite determiner, and this definite description being equated with the
referent of the clefted constituent via the copula.

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A cleft sentence can be constructed as follows:

it + conjugated form of to be + X + subordinate clause

Where it is a cleft pronoun and X is usually a noun phrase (although it can also be a
prepositional phrase, and in some cases an adjectival or adverbial phrase).

1. It is pasta that I like.

2. It is only imperfectly that such things can be completed.
3. It was red that we sprayed the sport car.
4. It was in the hallway that we waited.

Chapter 2
Cleft Sentence as a Stylistic Feature

2.1 Examples of Cleft Sentences in the Literary Tradition

Stylistic feature in fiction can be used apparently to highlight key plot and thematic moments
guiding readers at these points. Both literary texts and popular fiction can make use of stylistic
devices which appear to be used by writers with intention of capturing the attention of readers at
crucial points in stories. For this research I have chosen Agatha Christie’s work: “Murder in the
Mews”. The story first appeared in the U.K. in December 1936 under the title Mystery of the
Dressing Case published by the Amalgamated Press as a Woman's Journal short novel. The story
was subsequently gathered and published as part of Murder in the Mews in 1937 in the U.K. In
the U.S. the story was part of Dead Man's Mirror published by Dodd, Mead and Company in
1937. When a young woman is found in a locked room having been shot, the police assume it’s
suicide. However, when Poirot looks further he begins to suspect murder – would a right-handed

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 woman shoot herself from the left? It is a great example of detective literature. Agatha's style is
unique, like that of any other author. Agatha's writing and its style is as different from that of any

other detective British authors. She was famous for creating mysteries around some famous

nursery rhymes, too. She had always been named as such an avid reader of literature. She was
well-known for expressing her opinions on art of writing, so it was predictable that she will use
cleft sentences as a way to emphasis her ideas. I have come across many examples of cleft

sentences in this work which will be analyzed in this chapter.

It clefts allow writers another type of sentence that splits the basic clause pattern into two parts.
The theme in this sentence pattern is an "empty" function word, a pronoun, it, that really has no
meaning like an ordinary pronoun since it refers to nothing. Instead, the it cleft allows the writer
to focus on the character.

The wh-cleft is a sentence that splits the basic clause into two parts with, one of the sentence's
parts beginning with a word that starts a wh.

1. " Oh yes, sir, very nice ladies, both of them especially Mrs Allen. Always spoke a
nice word to the children, she did. Lost her own little girl, I believe, poor dear. Ah well, I've
buried three myself. And what I say is yes, yes, very sad.”
In this example the author splits the clause with emphasis on the speaker and the goal which is
the sad statement by using the repetition of the word yes that adds another emphasis on the goal.
2. "That's true. Well, we'll have to get hold of this military gentleman with the toothbrush
moustache. It's pretty clear that he was the last person to see her alive. I wonder who he
was."
This example shows that the author employs this type of it- cleft so as to focus on the goal,
namely, 'that he was the last person to see her alive'.
3. "Unfortunately," said Poirot, "the crime seems to have taken place the wrong way round.
It is the victim who should kill the blackmailer not the blackmailer his victim".

These example seems to be more like double focus clefts, where the presupposition is,
respectively, said that the victim who should kill the blackmailer not the blackmailer his victim.

4. "Charles wouldn't kill anybody. He's a very careful man."

"All the same, mademoiselle, it is the careful men who commit the cleverest murders."

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In this example the author uses it- cleft to focus on the speaker and to express the contrast.
Although the pronoun "it" has no meaning like an ordinary pronoun but it carries the theme of
the sentence.

5. "I haven't the faintest idea. I can't, believe, knowing Barbara, that it could have been
anything really serious. On the other hand - "she paused, then went on." What I mean is,
Barbara was a bit of simpleton in some ways.

In this example, the fact that the basic clause has been split into two clauses allows the author to
emphasize on "Barbara" the subordinate clause what I mean is the theme of the wh-cleft. In this

case Christie gives her readers a special hint to look for the clue of the story joyfully.

6. Mrs. Hogg drew herself up. A note of excitement disguised Beneath intense primness
came into her voice. "And if you ask me, sir, what you are thinking is all wrong.
The example splits the clause with emphasis on the speaker and what she is thinking (the action)
and the author puts the heavy stress on (all wrong) to give another emphasis on the goal.
7. I don't fancy that he was anything to write home about. He drank, I think. I gather he died
a year or two after the marriage. There was one child, a little girl, which died when it was
three years old. Barbara didn't talk much about her husband. I believe she married him in India
when she was about seventeen.
In this example the author uses the expletive there as a theme in the sentence and put the focus at
the end of the sentence (the goal) or on the speaker (subject).
8. "Quite so," said Japp, dexterously stopping the flow.
"Now that's very important what you've told me. Mrs. Allen and Miss Plenderleith
were well liked, then?"
In this example the author shows the emphasis on the goal and uses another type of focus by
moving (now) at the beginning of the sentence.
9. "That will do, Mrs. Pierce. These gentlemen are police officers, I think."
"Miss Plenderleith?" asked Japp, advancing. The girl nodded.
"That is my name. This is Mrs. Pierce who comes in to work for us every day."

It is seen that the author uses demonstrative pronoun "this" which carries the theme of the
sentence and she adds the emphasis on the actor "Mr. Pierce". Here, the author focuses on the
actor rather on the theme.

10. "The gentleman she's going to marry? Oh, yes. He's been here quite a bit off and on.
Member of parliament, they do say."
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 "It wasn't he who came last night?"

"No, sir, it wasn't."

The author expresses the negation and adds the focus on the pronoun he the actor by using
interrogative tone.

2.2 Designing a Lesson Plan Devoted to Cleft Sentences

A lesson plan is an extremely useful tool that serves as a combination guide, resource reflecting
our teaching philosophy, textbooks and most importantly, our goals for our students. Good
lesson planning is essential to the process of teaching and learning. All good teachers have some
type of plan when they walk into their classrooms. A lesson plan is the instructor’s road map of
what students need to learn and how it will be done effectively during the class time. It can be as
simple as a mental checklist or as a detailed two-page typed lesson plan that follows a prescribed
format. Lesson planning is important because it gives the teacher a concrete direction of what
she/he wants to take up for the day. An effective lesson plan includes several elements: learning
objectives, quality questions, supplies and activities. It is important to have the learning
objectives in mind because those should drive the development and implementation of all
activities in the classroom. So we can say that lesson planning is a complex yet essential part of
the teaching process that changes over time as teachers gain more hands-on experience.

Below, we have designed a lesson plan which is devoted to Cleft Sentences.

Lesson topic and staging

This lesson focuses on cleft sentences. In this lesson students will be introduced cleft sentences,
an emphatic structure. Students start by learning the structure of cleft sentences and their usage.
Students do quick speaking activity practice using cleft sentences.

Objectives

By the end of the lesson students will have

▪Focused on different types of cleft sentences

▪Discussed when to use the cleft sentences

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 ▪Practice speaking skills saying sentences with wh and it clefts

Warm up
Before starting the exercises ask the students to practice small dialogue in pairs using cleft
sentences (allowing them some time to think about what they might say).

Listening
Ask the students to listen to the 10 sentences and compare their meanings and answer the
question: Are the meanings the same or different?
Example: Ann ate the pizza.
It was Ann who ate the pizza.

Speaking

▪Students discuss their answers for the listening.

▪Explain them that it is possible to emphasize a particular part of a sentence using cleft

sentences.

▪Point out the changes between the usual ways and the cleft sentences.

▪Ask them to give feedbacks.

Reading

Get the students to read a text and find examples of clefting.

Homework Options

Students do exercise 3 and 4 on page 9.

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3. Complete the conversations using the words in brackets.
1 A You’re late. Did you run into band traffic?
B No, ( I / home / left / what / my / happened / wallet / was / at) and had to go back.
2 A Aren’t you hungry?
B Not really, no. ( What / late / lunch / a / I / had / was / happened) because I was in a meeting
most of the day.
3 A Did you first meet your boyfriend at work?
B No, ( happened / was / he / chat up / tried / to / friend / my / what) in a bar but she was
already seeing someone.
4 A Have you been in touch with Liz recently?
B Not really. (of / periods / through / go / we / happens / is / What / daily / chatting ) by email
and then life gets busy again.
5 A Why are you and Tom always breaking up?
B ( happens / weeks / get on / a / for / few / well / What / is / we ) and then we always fall out
about something silly.

4. Complete b) so it hast the same meaning as a)

1 a) I told him something. It was a secret.
b) What I……………………………….
2 a) I get on best with my aunt.
b) The person……………………………
3 a) I’d like you to do something. Call me as soon as you get home.
b) Something I’d……………………….
4 a) It annoyed me that she didn’t call.
b) The thing that………………………..
5 a) This is what I did: I got in touch with all his friends.
b) What I did…………………………….

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 CONCLUSION

The study of the types of emphatic structures, semantic and structural peculiarities of Cleft
sentences allow us to draw the following conclusions:

● Research carried out in the first chapter of the term paper arrived with the following

conclusion:
1. Emphatic structures emphasis the members in a sentence.
2. We examined examples of all types of clefts and analyzed the differences between them.
3. Studying different author’s ideas we discussed structural and semantic peculiarities of cleft
sentences.
4. Cleft sentences can focus attention on new, more important or contradictory information.

● The second chapter points out the following

1. Cleft sentence may help the writer to highlight the purpose of the writer.
2. We have found and analyzed 10 examples of cleft sentences in Agatha Christie’s work
“Murder in the Mews”.
3. It is seen through the analysis of cleft construction that the focused element is usually new
and contrastive whereas the clause tends to convey presupposed information.
4. It is concluded that it cleft construction is heavily used throughout the story than other
types of cleft-construction.
5. In the last part of our research we have designed a lesson plan which is devoted to cleft
sentences. The lesson plan consist of several activities which will help students to get
acquainted with cleft sentences.

REFERENCES

1. Akmajian, A. (1970). On deriving cleft sentences from pseudo-cleft sentences. Linguistic Inquiry
1, pp. 147–168.
2. Bolinger, Dwight. 1970. The lexical value of IT. Working Papers in Linguistics
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 (University of Hawaii) 2: 57–76.
3. Chomsky, N. (1977). On wh-movement. Culicover, P. W., A. Akmajian & T. Wasow (eds.),
Formal Syntax, Academic Press, New York.
4. Declerck, Renaat. 1988. Studies on copular sentences, clefts and pseudo-clefts.
Leuven: Foris.
5. Delahunty, G. P. (1984). The analysis of English cleft sentences. Linguistic Analysis 13:2, pp.
63–113.
6. É. Kiss, K. (1999). The English cleft construction as a focus phrase. Mereu, L. (ed.), Boundaries
of Syntax, Current issues in linguistic theory 180, Benjamins, Amsterdam, pp. 217–229.
7. Gundel, J. K. (1977). Where do cleft sentences come from? Language 53:3, pp. 543–559.
8. Gundel, J.K. (1985) "Shared Knowledge and Topicality" Journal of Pragmatics 9:83-107.
9. Hartmann, Katharina & Tonjes Veenstra (eds.). 2013. Cleft structures. Amsterdam: J.
Benjamins.
10. Hedberg, N. (2000). The referential status of clefts. Language 76:4, pp. 891–920.
11. Heggie, L. (1988). The syntax of copular sentences. Ph.D. thesis, University of
Southern California, Los Angeles.
12. Huddleston, Rodney & Geoffrey K. Pullum. 2008. The Cambridge Grammar of the English
Language. 2nd ed. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
13. Postal, Paul and Geoffrey Pullum. 1988. Expletive noun phrases in subcategorized
positions. Linguistic Inquiry 19: 635–667.
14. Quirk,R.,Greenbaum,S.,Leech, G. & Svartvik , J. (1985) A Comprehensive Grammar of the
English Language.London.

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