Cleft sentences are used to help us focus on a particular part

of the sentence and to emphasise what we want to say by

introducing it or building up to it with a kind of relative clause.

Because there are two parts to the sentence it is

called cleft (from the verb cleave) which means divided into
two.

Cleft sentences are particularly useful in writing where we

cannot use intonation for purposes of focus or emphasis, but
they are also frequently used in speech.

Cleft structures include the reason why, the thing that, the
person/people who, the place where, the day when and what-
clauses which are usually linked to the clause that we want to focus on
with is or was.

Compare the following sets of sentences and notice how the cleft
structure in each case enables us to select the information we want to
focus on:

 I've come to discuss my future with you.

 The reason why I've come is to discuss my future with you.

 Your generosity impresses more than anything else.

 The thing that impresses me more than anything else is your
generosity.

 The jewels are hidden under the floor at 23 Robin Hood Road,
Epping.
 The place where the jewels are hidden is under the floor at 23
Robin Hood Road, Epping.
 Under the floor at 23 Robin Hood Road is the place where the
jewels are hidden.

 Mary works harder than anybody else in this organisation.

 The person who works harder than anybody else in this
organisation is Mary.
 Mary is the person in this organisation who works harder than
anybody else.

 The Second World War ended on 7 May 1945 in Europe.

 The day (when) the Second World War ended in Europe was 7
May 1945
 7 May 1945 was the day (when) the Second World War ended in
Europe.
  We now need actions rather than words.
 What we now need are actions rather than words.
 Actions rather than words are what we now need.

 I enjoyed the brilliant music most of all in the Ballet Frankfurt

performance.
 What I enjoyed most in the Ballet Frankfurt performance was the
brilliant music.
 The brilliant music was what I enjoyed most in the Ballet Frankfurt
performance.

Note from the last two examples that cleft structures with what-
clauses are often used with verbs expressing an emotive response to
something
like adore, dislike, enjoy, hate, like, loathe, love, need, prefer, want,
etc.

Cleft structures with what-clauses are also often used

with does/do/did and with the verb happen when we want to give
emphasis to the whole sentence, rather than a particular clause.

Compare the following:

 The police interviewed all the witnesses to the accident first.

 What the police did first was (to) interview all the witnesses to the
accident.

 You should invest all your money in telecoms companies.

 What you should do is (to) invest all your money in telecoms
companies.
 What you should invest all your money in is telecoms companies.

 She writes all her novels on a typewriter.

 What she does is (to) write all her novels on a type writer.

 Their car broke down on the motorway so they didn't get to Jo's
wedding on time.
 What happened was that their car broke down on the motorway so
they didn't get to Jo's wedding on time.

It is sometimes very effective to use all instead of what in a cleft structure

if you want to focus on one particular thing and nothing else:

 I want a new coat for Christmas.

 All I want for Christmas is a new coat.
  A new coat is all I want for Christmas.

 I touched the bedside light and it broke.

 All I did was (to) touch the bedside light and it broke.

Finally, we can also use preparatory it in cleft sentences and join the
words that we want to focus on to the relative clause
with that, who or when.

In the example which follows, note how this construction enables us to

focus on different aspects of the information, which may be important at
the time:

 My brother bought his new car from our next-door neighbour last
Saturday.
 It was my brother who bought his new car from our neighbour
last Saturday.
 It was last Saturday when my brother bought his new car from
our neighbour.
 It was a new car that my brother bought from our neighbour last
Saturday.
 It was our next-door neighbour that my brother bought his new
car from last Saturday.

Look out for cleft structures in your reading. They are a very common
feature of written English.

Cleft sentences
IT + BE + PHRASE + DEFINING RELATIVE CLAUSE

Cleft sentences (also called it-clefts) result from changing the normal
sentence pattern to emphasise a particular piece of information. The
emphasis in the resulting cleft sentence is on the phrase after it + be.

Look at the following example:

János Irinyi invented the non-explosive match in 1836.

We can transform this sentence in different ways depending on which part

of it we want to bring into focus:

It was János Irinyi who/that invented the non-explosive match in 1836.

It was the non-explosive match which/that/(-) János Irinyi invented in
1836.
It was 1836 when János Irinyi invented the non-explosive match.

In the clauses that follow it + be + phrase, we can use the same relative
pronouns (who, whom, whose, which, that) and relative adverbs (where,
when, why) that we normally use in defining relative clauses.

However, if we bring a whole adverbial phrase into focus, we use that:

It was in 1836 that János Irinyi invented the non-explosive match.

If we use a personal pronoun after it + be, it will be in the object form:

It was him who invented the non-explosive match in 1836.

It is also possible to expand the phrase in focus with a non-defining relative

clause:

It was János Irinyi, who was a Hungarian chemist, that invented the non-
explosive match in 1836.

Pseudo-cleft sentences
WHAT-CLAUSE + BE + PHRASE

Pseudo-cleft sentences (also called wh-clefts) are similar in function to cleft

sentences, but they are formed with the pronoun what (= the thing(s)
that/which). The emphasis in a pseudo-cleft sentence is on the phrase after
the what-clause + be:

What you need is a good sleep.

What I didn't like was the end of the movie.
What changed his mind was a book he'd read.

If we want to refer to a person, we say The person/people who/that:

The people who/that I met were members of the delegation.

If we want to emphasise an action, the verb after be usually takes the form
that corresponds to the form used in the what-clause:
What you should do is write a letter to the manager.
What I need to do is get some rest.
What they were doing was arguing about which train to take.
What I can do is call for a taxi.

In the following examples, the verb after be takes the form that the verb in
the what-clause is normally followed by:

What I want is to sleep.

What he can't stand is getting up early.

In the past simple and present perfect, we can use the following patterns:

What I did in the end was (to) go home.

What I have done is (to) write a letter to the editor.

Cleft sentences- Cambridge

We use cleft sentences, especially in speaking, to connect what is already
understood to what is new to the listener. In a cleft sentence, a single message is
divided (cleft) into two clauses. This allows us to focus on the new information.

It-cleft sentences

It-clauses are the most common type of cleft clause. The information that comes
after it is emphasised for the listener. The clause which follows the it-clause is
connected using that and it contains information that is already understood. We
often omit that in informal situations when it is the object of the verb:

A:
Sharon’s car got broken into yesterday, did it?

B:
No. It was Nina’s car that got broken into!

Focus (new information): it was Nina’s car

Understood already (old information): a car got broken into

A:
You’ve met my mother, haven’t you?

B:
No, it was your sister (that) I met!

Focus (new information): it was your sister

Understood already (old information): I met someone in your family

Is it August that you are going on holiday?

Focus (new information): the month August?

Understood already (old information): you are going on holiday

When a personal subject is the focus, we can use who instead of that. We often
omit who in informal situations when it is the object of the verb:

It was my husband who (or that) you spoke to on the phone. (or It was my
husband you spoke to on the phone.)

When a plural subject is the focus, we use a plural verb but It + be remains
singular:

It’s the parents who were protesting most.

We can use negative structures in the it-clause:

It wasn’t the Greek student who phoned.

Wh-cleft sentences (What I need is a holiday)

Wh-cleft sentences are most often introduced by what, but we can also use why,
where, how, etc. The information in the wh-clause is typically old or understood
information, while the information in the following clause is new and in focus:

A:
I don’t know what to cook for them? I don’t know what they like.

B:
What they like is smoked salmon.
Understood already (old information): we are talking about what they like to eat

Focus (new information): they like smoked salmon

A:
This remote control isn’t working.

B:
What we need to do is get new batteries for it.

Understood already (old information): there is something that we need to do to fix

the remote control.

Focus (new information): we need to buy new batteries