city and town 129

129 city and town

Most people simply use city to talk about large and important towns -
examples in the UK are Belfast, Cardiff, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Manchester,
Liverpool and London.
City can be used in a more exact way to talk about a town that has been given a
special status by the king or queen (in Britain) or by the state (in some other
English-speaking countries).

130 cleft sentences (1): What I need is a holiday

We can emphasise particular words and expressions by putting everything into
a kind of relative clause except the words we want to emphasise: this makes
them stand out These structures are called 'cleft sentences' by grammarians
(cleft means 'divided'). They are useful in writing (because we cannot use
intonation for emphasis in written language), but they are also common in
speech.
1 Mary is the person wh o . . What I need i s...
The words to be emphasised are joined to the relative clause by is/was and an
expression like the person whot or what (= the thing that).
We can put the words to be emphasised first or last in the sentence. Compare:
- m a r y kept a pig in the garden shed.
Mary was the person who kept a pig in the garden shed.
The person who kept a pig in the garden shed was Mary.
- Mary kept A PIG in the garden shed.
A pig was what Mary kept in the garden shed.
What Mary kept in the garden shed was a pig.
- Phil is THE SECRETARY.
The secretary is what Phil is.
What Phil is is the secretary.
Instead of the person or what, we can use less general expressions.
You’re the woman (that) HI always love best.
Casablanca is a film (that) I watch again and again.
A what-clause is normally considered to be singular; if it begins a cleft
sentence it is followed by is/was. But a plural verb is sometimes possible
before a plural noun in an informal style.
What we want is/are some o f those cakes.
For more information about uz/iat-clauses, see 497.

2 the place where ...; the day when . . the reason w h y...
We can use these expressions to emphasise a place, time or reason.
- Mary kept a pig IN THE GARDEN SHED.
The garden shed was the place where Mary kept a pig.
The place where Mary kept a pig was the garden shed

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 cleft sentences (1): What I need is a holiday 130

- Jake went to London ON TUESDAY to see Colin.

Tuesday was the day when/that Jake went to London to see Colin.
The day when Jake went to London to see Colin was Tuesday.
- Jake went to London on Tuesday TO SEE COUN.
To see Colin was the reason why Jake went to London on Tuesday.
The reason why Jake went to London on Tuesday was to see Colin.
The place, the day or the reason can be dropped in an informal style, especially
in the middle of a sentence.
Spain's where we're going this yean
Why I'm here is to talk about my plans. (More formal: The reason why I'm
here is ...)
3 emphasising verbs: What he did was ...
When we want to emphasise a verb (or an expression beginning with a verb),
we have to use a more complicated structure with what. . . do. Infinitives with
and without to are possible.
- He SCREAMED.
What he did was (to) scream.
- She w r it e s s c ie n c e f ic t io n .
What she does is (to) write science fiction.
Instead of an infinitive, we often use subject + verb in an informal style.
What she does is, she writes science fiction.
What I'll do is, I'll phone John and ask his advice.
4 emphasising a whole sentence
A whole sentence can be given extra emphasis by using a cleft structure with
what and the verb happen. Compare:
The car broke down.
What happened was (that) the car broke down.

5 other structures
All (that), and expressions with thing, can be used in cleft sentences.
All I want is a home somewhere. A ll you need is love.
All (that) I did was (to) touch the window, and it broke.
The only thing I remember is a terrible pain in my head.
The first thing was to make some coffee.
My first journey abroad is something I shall never forget.
Time expressions can be emphasised with It was not u n til... and It was only
when.
It was not until I met you that I knew real happiness.
It was only when I read her letter that I realised what was happening.
At the beginning of a cleft sentence, this and that often replace emphasised
here and there. Compare:
- You pay here. We live there.
This is where you pay. That's where we live.
( o r Here is where you pay.) ( o r There's where we live.)

For more about question-word clauses, see 465.

For more general information about sentence structure and the arrangement o f information in
sentences, see 512.

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 cleft sentences (2): it was my secretary who ... 131

131 cleft sentences (2): it was my secretary who ...

1 preparatory it
We can use preparatory it (see 446) in cleft sentences. The words to be
emphasised are usually joined to the relative clause by that.
Compare:
My secretary sent the bill to M r Harding yesterday.
It was my secretary that sent the bill to M r Harding yesterday.
(not somebody else)
It was the bill that my secretary sent to M r Harding yesterday.
(not something else)
It was M r Harding that my secretary sent the bill to yesterday.
(not to somebody else)
It was yesterday that my secretary sent the bill to M r Harding.
(not another day)
Negative structures are also possible.
It wasn't my husband that sent the b ill...
Who is possible instead of that when a personal subject is emphasised.
It was my secretary who sent...
When a plural subject is emphasised, the verb is plural.
It was the students that were angry... ( n o t . .. that was angry...)
The verb cannot be emphasised with this structure: we cannot say
It was sent that my secretary the b ill... .
2 It is I who ... \ It is me that...
When an emphasised subject is a pronoun, there are two possibilities.
Compare:
- It is I who am responsible, (formal)
It's me that's/who's responsible, (informal)
- It is you who are in the wrong. (formal)
It's you that's in the wrong, (informal)
To avoid being either too formal or too informal in this case, we could say,
for example,
Ym the person i the one who's responsible.

132 close and shut

1 use
Close /klduz/ and shut can often be used with the same meaning.
Open your mouth and close/shut your eyes.
I can't close/shut the window. Can you help me?
The shop closes/shuts at Jive o'clock.
You can shutt but not close, somebody/something in or out of a place.
I shut the letters in my desk drawer and locked it. ( n o t I closed the letters...)
She shut him out o f the house.

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