Cleft sentences

grammar

1. CLEFT SENTENCES

2. Ex. I enjoy
learning English at
ISS
Giving Emphasis: Cleft Sentences

3. 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.

4. 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.

5. 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)

6. •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.

7. 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…

8. 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.