Cleft Sentences
Emphasize and focus information in your speech and writing using these advanced sentence structures to guide your audience’s attention.
⏰ When do we use Cleft Sentences?
“Cleft” means “split” or “divided.” A cleft sentence splits a single clause into two parts to emphasize a specific piece of information.
- To Emphasize Information: This is their primary job. Clefts let you highlight the most important part of your message—the person, object, time, place, etc.
- Normal: Taha teaches English on Tuesdays.
- Emphatic: It’s on Tuesdays that Taha teaches English.
- To Create Contrast or Correct Others: They are highly effective for correcting misinformation or contrasting what is true with what someone else believes.
- A: “So, you started the project yesterday?”
- B: “No, it was last week that I started the project.”
- To Improve Cohesion and Flow: In writing, clefts are an excellent tool for linking new information to information that is already known, making your text more cohesive.
- We need a new strategy. What we need is a fresh perspective on the market.
📌 Structure
There are two main types of cleft sentences, each with a slightly different structure and feel.
- 1. It-Clefts: This structure is very common for emphasizing a noun phrase, time, or place.
It + is/was + [emphasized information] + that/who...
- 2. Wh-Clefts (Pseudo-Clefts): This structure uses a clause starting with what (or another wh-word) to present known information, followed by the new, emphasized information.
What-clause + is/was + [emphasized information]
- 3. Reversed Wh-Clefts: This structure flips the Wh-cleft, placing the emphasized information at the beginning. It feels very natural in conversation.
[Emphasized information] + is/was + what-clause
📝 Notes
The choice of cleft structure depends on what you assume your listener already knows.
In a Wh-cleft, the information in the what-clause is typically “given” or “old” information that has already been discussed. The information after the verb ‘be’ is the “new” and important part.
- Example: Everyone knows we need something. The question is what.
[What we need](Old information)is[a clear plan](New information).
All-Clefts: A special type of Wh-cleft using All is used for dramatic emphasis, often meaning “the only thing.”
- All I need is five more minutes.
- All she did was ask a simple question.
💬 Examples
✅ It-Cleft Examples
- Normal Sentence: My brother bought the car last year.
- Emphasis on the person: It was my brother who bought the car last year.
- Emphasis on the object: It was the car that my brother bought last year.
- Emphasis on the time: It was last year that my brother bought the car.
✅ Wh-Cleft Examples
- What I love about Itagüí is the friendly atmosphere.
- What happened next surprised everyone in the room.
- Where you need to sign is at the bottom of the page.
✅ Reversed & All-Cleft Examples
- A long vacation is what I really need right now.
- That expensive restaurant is where they got engaged.
- All I want for my birthday is to relax with my family.
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