CLEFT SENTENCES

Giving Emphasis: Cleft Sentences

The usual word order for a sentence in English is:

Subject + (aux) verb + object + complement

Ex. I enjoy learning English.

However, if we want to emphasize that I particularly enjoy learning English (more

than anything else), we can use a cleft sentence.

It begins with a what clause and the verb be:

Ex. What I enjoy is learning English.

Ex. What I like most about you is your sense of humor.

WHAT / ALLWHAT (The thing): placed at the beginning.

Ex.: I need a holiday.What I need is a holiday.

ALL (The only thing): placed at the beginning.Ex.: I want to pass the exam.

All I want is to pass the exam.Ex.: I just copied a bit from the Internet!

All + auxiliary + TO BEAll I did was copy a bit from the Internet

Similarly, if we want to emphasize a noun, we use a cleft structure with

it + be + noun + that/who:

Ex. Jenny spends all her money on shoes.

It is Jenny who spends all her money on shoes.

or: It is shoes that Jenny spends all her money on.

We can also use an it- cleft sentence to focus on other parts of the sentence:

Ex. It was in London that he met his first wife. (place)

Ex. It was only when he phoned that I realized what had happened. (time)

Ex. It is learning English that I find most enjoyable nowadays. (gerund action)

What happens

Present: What happens is: placed at the beginning.

Ex.: You do a placement test and then you register in the appropriate course.

What happens is that you do a placement test and then you register in the

appropriate course.

Past: What happened was: placed at the beginning.

Ex.: I fell asleep in class and the teacher got angry.

What happened was that I fell asleep in class and the teacher was angry.

The person, place….

The person (who):

Ex: I spoke to the American President!

The person (who, that) I spoke to was the American President

The place where:

Ex.: We stayed in the White House.

The place where we stayed was the White House.

The first / last time:Ex.: I last saw him at the party on

Saturday.The last time I saw him was at the

party on Saturday.The reason why/that:

Ex.: I’m studying English because I want a better job.

The reason (why/that) I’m studying English is because/that I want a better job.

Rewrite the sentences with the bold word.

1. We stopped in an absolutely beautiful place for lunchPLACE

______________was absolutely beautiful.

The place where we stopped for lunch was absolutely

beautiful.

2. We got stuck in an enormous traffic jam.

HAPPENED_____________we got stuck in an enormous

traffic jam.

What happened was that we got stuck in an enormous traffic jam.

3. They didn’t apologize for arriving late, which really annoyed me.

WHAT

_______________ they didn’t apologize for arriving late

What really annoyed me is that they didn’t apologize for arriving late

4. A girl from my town won the silver medal.

IT

___________________won the silver medal

It was a girl from my town who won the silver medal.

5. I only said that I didn’t like her dress

ALL

_________________that I didn’t like her dress

All I said is that I didn’t like her dress

6. I like my Aunt Emily best of all my relatives

PERSON

_________________is my aunt Emily.

Of all my relatives, the person that / who I like the best is my aunt Emily.

7. You pick up your tickets at the box office.

HAPPENS

__________________you pick up your tickets at the box office.

What happens is that you pick up your tickets at the box office.

8. Right now you need to sit down and put your feet up.

WHAT

_________________to sit down and put your feet up.

What you need right now is to sit down and put your feet up.

9. I first met Serena at a conference in Berlin.

TIME

________________at a conference in Berlin.

The first time I saw Serena was at a conference in Berlin.