C1 · Lesson 6 · 25 min
Cleft sentences and focus
In this lesson
- I can use it-clefts to highlight one part of a message.
- I can use what-clefts to foreground a need, thing or action.
Grammar in context
The committee argued about the cost, but cost was not the real problem. It was the missing permission that delayed the opening. What the organisers needed was a clear decision.
Which phrase is highlighted after It was? In the sentence beginning What, what do the organisers need?
It-clefts highlight a constituent
An it-cleft splits a message into two parts: it + a form of be + the highlighted information + a relative clause. Use it was Leila who called to emphasise the person, or it was the alarm that woke us to emphasise the cause. The highlighted phrase answers a particular question or corrects an assumption. Preserve the remaining facts, including tense and negation, when changing an ordinary sentence into a cleft.
- It was the electrician who found the fault.
- It was after lunch that the announcement arrived.
What-clefts identify a thing or need
A what-clause can function like a noun phrase and be followed by be and the information that identifies it. What we need is a quieter room focuses attention on the room. The clause after what uses statement order, not question order: what she wants, not what does she want. In this lesson, singular complements make agreement straightforward. The construction can help organise a contrast without adding a new claim.
- What the visitors wanted was a short break.
- What I find difficult is the final calculation.
Focus an action and keep meaning
With what and a form of do, the complement can identify an action: What she did was call the manager. A to-infinitive is also possible in this pattern. Choose the focal element because it matters in context, rather than using a cleft in every sentence. In an it-cleft, the verb in the following clause still agrees with its own subject. Notice how the meaning changes if you highlight a different person, object or time.
- What the technician did was restart the router.
- It was the two assistants who were waiting outside.
Common mistakes
Compare the incorrect and corrected forms.
Avoid
What does he need is a new keyboard.
Use
What he needs is a new keyboard.
The what-clause here has statement order, not question order.
Avoid
It was the volunteers who was responsible.
Use
It was the volunteers who were responsible.
Who refers to the plural volunteers, so use were.
Put it into practice
Try the exercises, write your own examples and check your understanding.