Cleft sentences for emphasis
C1 49 / 50
In short
A cleft (‘split’) sentence takes one simple idea and breaks it into two clauses so you can spotlight a single piece of information. The two main types are it-clefts (It was Anna who called) and what-clefts (What I need is a holiday).
The rule
A neutral sentence like Anna called gives every word roughly equal weight. A cleft sentence promotes one element to centre stage and pushes the rest into the background. This is useful for contrast or correction (It wasn’t me, it was him) and for focusing on the new or important information.
1. It-clefts put the emphasised part right after it + be:
It + be + focus + that / who + (rest of the clause)
You can emphasise the subject, the object, a time, or a place — almost anything except the main verb.
| Neutral sentence | It-cleft | What is emphasised |
|---|---|---|
| Anna called yesterday. | It was Anna that/who called yesterday. | the person (subject) |
| Anna called Tom. | It was Tom that/who Anna called. | the person (object) |
| We met in 2010. | It was in 2010 that we met. | the time |
| The noise bothers me. | It’s the noise that bothers me. | the thing |
| We only found out on Monday. | It was not until Monday that we found out. | the time (= not before then) |
Use who (or that) for people, and that for things, times and places. The verb be usually matches the tense of the original idea (It is… / It was…). In the last row not belongs to the focus (not until Monday = “only then”), so nothing is being corrected and no second it was… clause follows — unlike It wasn’t Sam, it was Anna.
2. What-clefts (pseudo-clefts) put a what-clause first and the emphasised part after be:
What + (clause) + be + focus
| Neutral sentence | What-cleft |
|---|---|
| I need a holiday. | What I need is a holiday. |
| I like her honesty. | What I like about her is her honesty. |
| We missed the train. | What happened was (that) we missed the train. |
The verb after what is singular (What I need is…), because what = “the thing that”.
3. Related focusing patterns work the same way as what-clefts, swapping what for a more specific noun:
| Pattern | Example |
|---|---|
| The thing (that)… is… | The thing that worries me is the cost. |
| The reason (why)… is… | The reason I left was the noise. |
| The place (where)… is… | The place where we stayed was lovely. |
| The person who… is/was… | The person who fixed it was Mia. |
| All (that)… is… | All I want is some peace. |
Forms & patterns
| Type | Skeleton | Example |
|---|---|---|
| It-cleft (person) | It + be + person + who/that… | It was the manager who signed it. |
| It-cleft (thing) | It + be + thing + that… | It’s the heat that I can’t stand. |
| It-cleft (time/place) | It + be + time/place + that… | It was here that it happened. |
| It-cleft (negative) | It + be + not + X, it + be + Y | It wasn’t Sam, it was Anna. |
| It-cleft (question) | Be + it + focus + that/who…? | Was it the manager who signed it? |
| What-cleft (front) | What + clause + be + focus | What we need is more time. |
| What-cleft (event) | What + happened/matters + be + (that)… | What matters is (that) you tried. |
| The thing/reason/all-cleft | The N (that/why)… + be + focus | All you have to do is ask. |
To question an it-cleft, invert it and be: Was it the manager who signed it? Only the focus is being asked about — the who/that clause is still taken for granted (somebody signed it) — and with a wh-word the focus itself fronts: What is it that you need?
Note: after All you have to do is and What you should do is, the following verb is usually a bare infinitive: All you have to do is ask.
Examples
| English | Note |
|---|---|
| It was Daniel who broke the window, not his brother. | Corrects who is responsible (subject focus). |
| It’s your attitude that I find difficult. | Highlights the real problem (thing focus). |
| It was only last week that I heard the news. | Emphasises the time. |
| It wasn’t the food, it was the service. | Contrast: rejects one option, asserts another. |
| What surprised me was how calm she stayed. | What-cleft focusing on a whole idea. |
| What you need is a good night’s sleep. | Spotlights the advice / new information. |
| The reason I’m calling is (that) I need your address. | Reason-cleft introduces the key point. |
| All I did was mention the deadline. | Plays down the action (bare infinitive after was). |
Common mistakes
- It is Anna who call. -> It is Anna who calls. - the verb in the who/that clause still agrees with the focus (Anna = she).
- What I need are a holiday. -> What I need is a holiday. - what is singular, so use is/was.
- It was him who told me. (formal writing) -> It was he who told me. / informally It was him. - after be + relative clause, the subject form is preferred in careful style.
- The reason is because I was late. -> The reason is that I was late. - use that, not because, after the reason is.
- Is the noise that bothers me. -> It’s the noise that bothers me. - an it-cleft needs the dummy it; don’t drop it.
Tips
- Ask “What am I really trying to stress?” Put that word straight after It is/was (it-cleft) or straight after be (what-cleft).
- It-clefts are perfect for correcting someone: It wasn’t me, it was him. What-clefts are great for building up to your point: What I really wanted was…
- You can cleft a time or place with that, but not the main verb: say What I did was lose my keys, not It was lost that…
- Don’t overuse them — one cleft makes a point land; three in a row sound heavy. Save them for the information that truly matters.