CLEFT SENTENCES

What are they?

 Definition:
A grammatical construction with
information broken into two clauses, to
provide extra focus to one piece of
information.
It-cleft: “It was his voice that I loved.”
Wh-cleft: “What I want is something to
eat.”
 IT-CLEFT SENTENCES
• Pattern: It + be + highlighted word/phrase + that/who clause.

SENTENCE John stole a book from the library last week

Subject as It was John who/that stole a book from the library

focus last week.
It was a book that John stole from the library last
Object as focus week.
It was last week that John stole a book from the
Time as focus
library.
It was from the library that John stole a book last week.
Place as focus or more informally,
It was the library that John stole a book from last week.
 MORE EXAMPLES

• I did everything, not him.

– It was me who/that did everything

• I can’t stand horror movies

– It’s horror movies that I can’t stand
 WHAT CLEFT SENTENCES
What-clause + be + highlighted word/phrase:
To focus on a
word/phrase “What I ignore about him is his rudeness”

What + subject + do + be + infinitive clause:

To focus on an action “What John did yesterday was steal a book from
the library”

What happens + be + clause:

To focus on a whole
“What happens is we always end up having a row”
sentence
 OTHER CLEFT SENTENCES
Person “The person who told me about it was Mike”

“The thing/all/something/one thing I want is a cup of

Thing tea”

Place “The place where he went for some business is Turkey”

“The year when I graduated from university was the

most difficult time of my life”
Time “It wasn´t until I met him that I knew how modest he
was”

“The reason why I fell out with her was her extreme
Reason rudeness”
Easy, isn’t it?
Now, let’s practise what
we’ve learnt and remember,
always try to use the new
structures you learn.
• I did everything.
→ It was me who/that did everything
• We need action, not words.
→ It is …
→ What we…
→ All we need …
• I want a cup of tea.
→ It is a ...
→ What I ...
→ All I ...
→ The thing …
• John went to Turkey for some business.
→ It was John ...
→ It is Turkey ...
→ It is some business …
→ What John did …
→ The reason why …
→ The place where …
• I left the office early because I felt terribly
ill.
→ It was because ...
→ The reason …
• After Dr. John Doe died, he was discovered to
be a woman.
→ It was only after he died that Dr. John
Doe was discovered to be a woman.
• When I entered the room, I noticed they
were about to celebrate my birthday.
→ It was only when I entered the room
that I noticed they were about to
celebrate my birthday.
• I didn’t know how modest he was until I met John Doe.
→ It wasn’t until I met John Doe that I
knew how modest he was.