Syntax_ 13.03.

2024 (Additional Information)

Cleft sentences: zdania rozszczepione

Cleft sentences, or split sentences, are a specific way of writing sentences that allows us to
highlight the chosen information contained in the sentence. A cleft sentence is divided into two
parts. In one part of the sentence, we include the information we want to emphasise, and in the
other we include known or less important information.

Interesting fact: where does the name cleft sentence come from?

Cleft is the past tense of the verb cleave. To cleave means to split, to cleave. Interestingly, the
verb cleave has as many as three past tense forms - cleft, clove and cleaved.

be in a cleft stick - to be between a hammer and an anvil

cleft palate – rozszczepione podniebienie

Types of cleft sentences

Cleft sentences can expose the most important information for the speaker in the first part of the
sentence or only at the end of the sentence. Cleft sentences can be created by using different
words. What does a cleft sentence look like?

Who ate the last piece of cake?

It was John who ate the last piece of cake. (cleft sentence)

(In this sentence we emphasise that it was John who ate the last piece of cake. That is, the most
important information we want to convey with this sentence is who did the action, not what the
action was.)

She likes to browse the Net.

What she likes is to browse the Net. (cleft sentence)

(In this case, we include the most important information for us at the end of the sentence, which
is what she likes to do).

Cleft sentences with “It”

Most often, a cleft sentence is created using a construction starting with "It...". After it we put the
verb to be in the correct tense and then include the information we want to expose. After that or
who we put the rest of the sentence.
It + to be + rzeczownik + who/that + reszta zdania
It is my grandma who deals with the laundry.
As with relative clauses, who appears in sentences where the noun is a person. In contrast, that
can be used for both people and things.

It was the heavy rain that caused the flooding.

It is my friend that mows the lawn.

When we want to highlight the time or place of an event, we can replace the pronoun that with
where or when. The sentence structure remains the same.

It was Rome where we had our engagement party.

It was summer when we met.

In informal situations, we can omit the pronoun when it is the complement (dopełnieie) of the
verb.

It was my brother (that) you met yesterday.

When the noun we are exposing is plural then the verb after who/that is also plural. However,
the verb to be remains in the singular.

It was the rats that destroyed the wall.

The negation in cleft sentences with it + to be is formed by adding the negative word not to the
verb to be.
It + to be + + not + rzeczownik + who/that + reszta zdania
It was not my fault that it happened.
It wasn’t the cat who broke the glasses.

The question for a split sentence with it + to be is formed by inverting the verb to be.

To be + it + rzeczownik + who/that + reszta zdania

Was it Iga who won the Cup?
Was it Adam’s car that broke down?

Demonstrative pronouns

Using split sentence construction with it, you can replace it with demonstrative pronouns
(demonstrative pronouns).

That was my milk that you drank.

These are the books that he borrowed from me.
Cleft sentences with interrogative pronouns
In cleft sentences with interrogative pronouns, the most important part of the sentence, i.e. the
information we want to expose, is at the end of the sentence. This type of cleft sentence is most
often formed with what, but we can also use other interrogative pronouns (why, where, how
etc.). The first part of such a split sentence starts with the relevant question pronoun and then the
known or less important information follows. The second part of the sentence contains the
information we want to highlight. The first and second parts of the sentence are linked by the
verb to be.
Zaimek pytający + pierwsza część zdania + to be + eksponowana część zdania
What I like is my cat.
How I make this soup is a secret.

Cleft sentences with what often occur in combination with verbs adore, dislike, enjoy, hate, like,
loathe, love, need, prefer, want etc.

What I hate in this story is the main character.

What he likes to eat is my chocolate cake.

In this type of split sentence, we can also insert all instead of the question pronoun. The use of all
in the sentence is to emphasise that only one thing is important.

All I want is to go on holidays.

All she did was make things worse.

As with all, using this type of split sentence construction we can insert other expressions instead
of the question pronoun. It is important to remember that the two parts of the sentence have to be
linked by the verb to be. Other expressions from which split sentences are formed are: the reason
why, the person who, one thing, something etc.

The reason why I live here is that it’s close to a hospital.

People who work hard are worth admiration.
The one thing that I hate is being broke.
Something I forgot when I went on my trip was my ID.

Cleft sentences with modal verbs

We can also use modal verbs (modal verbs) in cleft sentences to emphasise selected information.
Simply insert the appropriate modal verb before to be.
It must have been her who broke my expensive cup.
It might be my cat that is scratching.
What she wants should be least important.
The person who does not have the most experience must be the boss.