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Cleft Sentences

Cleft Sentences

Cleft sentences are used to emphasize particular information by dividing a simple sentence into two clauses. The word "cleft" means "split" or "divided." These structures help focus attention on specific elements of a sentence.

Types of Cleft Sentences

1. It-Cleft Sentences

Structure: It + be + emphasized element + relative clause

This is the most common type of cleft sentence.

Basic Examples

  • Normal: John bought the car yesterday.
  • It-cleft: It was John who bought the car yesterday. (emphasizes John)
  • It-cleft: It was the car that John bought yesterday. (emphasizes the car)
  • It-cleft: It was yesterday that John bought the car. (emphasizes yesterday)

Emphasizing the Subject

  • Normal: The teacher explained the problem.
  • It-cleft: It was the teacher who explained the problem.

Emphasizing the Object

  • Normal: I need your help.
  • It-cleft: It's your help that I need.

Emphasizing Adverbials

  • Normal: We met at the conference.
  • It-cleft: It was at the conference that we met.

2. Wh-Cleft Sentences (Pseudo-Cleft)

Structure: Wh-clause + be + emphasized element

Using "What"

  • Normal: I like your honesty.

  • Wh-cleft: What I like is your honesty.

  • Normal: He needs a vacation.

  • Wh-cleft: What he needs is a vacation.

Using "Where," "When," "How," "Why"

  • Normal: We met in Paris.

  • Wh-cleft: Where we met was in Paris.

  • Normal: She left because she was angry.

  • Wh-cleft: Why she left was because she was angry.

  • Normal: He solved it by thinking carefully.

  • Wh-cleft: How he solved it was by thinking carefully.

3. Reverse Wh-Cleft

Structure: Emphasized element + be + wh-clause

  • Normal wh-cleft: What I want is peace.

  • Reverse wh-cleft: Peace is what I want.

  • Normal wh-cleft: What surprised me was his reaction.

  • Reverse wh-cleft: His reaction is what surprised me.

Advanced Cleft Structures

All-Cleft

Uses "all" for emphasis:

  • All I want is a quiet life.
  • All we need is more time.
  • All that matters is your happiness.

The Thing/Person + Relative Clause

  • The thing that bothers me is his attitude.
  • The person who helped me was my neighbor.
  • The reason why I'm late is traffic.

Nominalizations

  • The fact that he lied upset everyone.
  • The way that she speaks is very clear.
  • The place where we stayed was beautiful.

Tense Agreement in Cleft Sentences

The tense of "be" in cleft sentences usually matches the tense of the original sentence:

Present

  • Normal: I like coffee.
  • It-cleft: It is coffee that I like.

Past

  • Normal: She bought a dress.
  • It-cleft: It was a dress that she bought.

Present Perfect

  • Normal: We have finished the project.
  • It-cleft: It is the project that we have finished.

Negative Cleft Sentences

It-Cleft Negatives

  • It isn't money that makes people happy.
  • It wasn't John who broke the window.

Wh-Cleft Negatives

  • What I don't like is his arrogance.
  • What we haven't done is check the results.

Using Different Relative Pronouns

Who vs. That (for people)

  • It was Mary who/that called you.
  • It was the doctor who/that examined me.

Which vs. That (for things)

  • It was the book which/that I borrowed.
  • It was this restaurant which/that we chose.

Omitting Relative Pronouns

When the relative pronoun is the object, it can be omitted:

  • It was the movie (that) we watched.
  • It was this song (that) I heard on the radio.

Emphasis and Intonation

In spoken English, cleft sentences create natural stress patterns:

  • It was JOHN who called. (strong stress on John)
  • What I NEED is sleep. (strong stress on need)

Common Uses

1. Contrast and Correction

  • "Did Tom call?" → "No, it was John who called."
  • "You need a car." → "What I need is a bike."

2. Providing New Information

  • It was in 1969 that humans first landed on the moon.
  • What made the difference was their teamwork.

3. Expressing Strong Opinions

  • What I can't stand is people being late.
  • It's honesty that I value most.

Formal vs. Informal Usage

Formal Writing

  • It is precisely this approach that we recommend.
  • What requires immediate attention is the budget deficit.

Informal Speech

  • It's you I want to talk to.
  • What I'm saying is we need to leave now.

Common Mistakes

1. Wrong word order

  • Incorrect: It was who John called you.
  • Correct: It was John who called you.

2. Missing relative pronoun when required

  • Incorrect: It was the book I need.
  • Correct: It was the book that I need.

3. Wrong tense agreement

  • Incorrect: It is yesterday that he came.
  • Correct: It was yesterday that he came.

4. Overusing cleft sentences

Use cleft sentences for emphasis, not in every sentence.

Practice Exercises

Transform into it-cleft sentences (emphasize the underlined part):

  1. SARAH made the cake.
  2. I need YOUR ADVICE.
  3. We met AT THE LIBRARY.
  4. THE RAIN ruined our picnic.

Answers:

  1. It was Sarah who made the cake.
  2. It's your advice that I need.
  3. It was at the library that we met.
  4. It was the rain that ruined our picnic.

Transform into wh-cleft sentences:

  1. I want peace and quiet.
  2. She needs more confidence.
  3. They work in London.
  4. He succeeded through hard work.

Answers:

  1. What I want is peace and quiet.
  2. What she needs is more confidence.
  3. Where they work is in London.
  4. How he succeeded was through hard work.