- Use: A cleft sentence is split (“cleft”) into two clauses to emphasize a particular piece of information (subject, object, time expression).
- Types of cleft sentences:
1. IT-CLEFT
SENTENCES:
It is/was … that …
It is Mike
that goes to the library every day.
It was yesterday
that I saw your sister.
2. WH-CLEFT
SENTENCES (pseudo-cleft sentences):
Wh-word … is/was …
What I liked
best about travelling was meeting new people.
How the children
broke the window is still unknown.
3. REVERSED
WH-CLEFT SENTENCES (reversed pseudo-cleft sentences):
… is/was what …
Rest is
what I need after a long day.
Your support
was what she longed for.
4. ALL-CLEFT
SENTENCES:
All … is/was …
All I want
for Christmas is you.
All I had
to do was send the invitations for the party.
5. “THE
THING THAT” CLEFT SENTENCES:
The
(one/first/last/only) thing (that) … is/was …
The only
thing that I like about your brother is his honesty.
The last
thing (that) she did was lock the door.
