CLEFT SENTENCES

Ex. I enjoy learning English at ISS

Giving Emphasis: Cleft Sentences

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 most is learning English.

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

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

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 Istanbul 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)

• John gave Mary a handbag at Christmas.

• It was at Christmas that John gave Mary a handbag.

• It might have been at Christmas that John gave Mary a handbag.

Pat released the President’s illness to the reporters at the party last night.

It was Pat who…

It was the president’s illness that…

It was to the reporters that …

It was at the party that…

It was last night that…

Pseudo-cleft sentences

A pseudo-cleft sentence is essentially an SVC construction with a what-clause as subject.

What John did was (to) give Mary a handbag.

What John gave Mary was a handbag.

A handbag was what John gave Mary.