English Grammar Lab

← C1

Cleft sentences for emphasis

You will be able to Focus attention on a particular person, thing, reason or part of an event.

Explanation

It-clefts and wh-clefts reorganise information so that one element receives particular emphasis. The choice depends on which part of the message is being highlighted. It-clefts focus a particular constituent, while wh-clefts package the unfocused information in a wh-clause and place the focused element after be. Reason-clefts use the reason why ... is/was ... pattern.

Examples

Detailed course

Understand the grammar point

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Detailed explanation

This lesson focuses on cleft sentences for emphasis. The structure helps learners shape emphasis and evidential stance, and it should always be interpreted as part of a complete message rather than as an isolated formula. Before selecting a form, identify the subject, time reference, clause relationship, and the information that receives emphasis.

Formation is central. It-clefts use It is or was plus the focused element plus a relative clause. Wh-clefts use What plus a clause plus be and the focused information; reversed and all-clefts create related emphasis patterns. Build the sentence in stages: identify the grammatical subject, choose the auxiliary or main verb form, and complete the clause in normal English word order. In negatives and questions, check whether the structure supplies its own auxiliary or requires another one.

The pattern can help users organise complex argument, control information density, and avoid ambiguity in formal writing. These purposes may overlap, so context decides which interpretation is natural. Time expressions, determiners, linking words, and punctuation often provide evidence for the correct choice.

A useful contrast prevents overgeneralisation. A cleft changes information structure rather than basic factual meaning and should be used only when a real focus contrast exists. Ask how the nearest alternative would change time, certainty, focus, politeness, or register. A grammatically possible sentence may still communicate the wrong relationship if that contrast is ignored.

The guided examples are complete messages. Notice how the target structure agrees with its subject and how the surrounding vocabulary makes the intended meaning clear. When producing a new example, preserve the relationship between form and meaning while changing the people, place, and lexical details.

A reliable self-check is to paraphrase the sentence in simpler language. If the paraphrase changes the time relationship, degree of certainty, or focus, review the original form. Compare the sentence with the common mistakes and explain why the corrected version is preferable.

In connected speech and writing, the structure also contributes to cohesion. It guides the reader through background information, main events, causes, qualifications, and results. Clause order and connector choice can therefore affect interpretation even when every individual word is correct.

Register matters as well. A complex construction may be appropriate in a report but unnecessarily heavy in conversation, while an informal alternative may be too vague for academic writing. Choose the form because it serves the communicative purpose, not because it merely sounds advanced.

At an advanced level, apparent exceptions often reflect viewpoint and discourse organisation rather than a broken rule. Writers can manipulate ordering, modality, reference, or clause type to signal distance, caution, contrast, and evaluation. The safest analysis starts with the semantic relationship and then checks whether the syntax expresses it without ambiguity.

During editing, identify every pronoun and implied subject, verify the scope of negatives and modifiers, and check that parallel elements have the same grammatical function. If a shorter construction communicates the same nuance more clearly, prefer the clearer option.

How to form it

It-clefts use It is or was plus the focused element plus a relative clause. Wh-clefts use What plus a clause plus be and the focused information; reversed and all-clefts create related emphasis patterns.

Use the structure to shape emphasis and evidential stance.

Use the structure to organise complex argument.

Use the structure to control information density.

Use the structure to avoid ambiguity in formal writing.

A cleft changes information structure rather than basic factual meaning and should be used only when a real focus contrast exists.

Guided examples

It was the lack of reliable data that delayed the decision.

This it-cleft focuses on the lack of reliable data as the cause, using It was ... that.

What the committee needed was a clearer estimate of the cost.

This wh-cleft places the known information in the what-clause and the focused information, a clearer estimate, after was.

It was during the public consultation that the main objection emerged.

This it-cleft focuses on the time, during the public consultation, using It was ... that.

The person who changed the discussion was a local engineer.

This is a reversed cleft, placing the focused information, a local engineer, at the end after was.

All the residents wanted was an honest explanation.

This all-cleft focuses on an honest explanation as the single thing residents wanted.

What surprised the researchers most was the consistency of the responses.

This wh-cleft places the surprising fact, the consistency of the responses, after was.

Common mistakes

Not: It was the lack of reliable data who delayed the decision.

Use: It was the lack of reliable data that delayed the decision.

An it-cleft focusing on a thing, not a person, uses that, not who.

Not: What did the committee needed was a clearer estimate of the cost.

Use: What the committee needed was a clearer estimate of the cost.

The what-clause in a wh-cleft uses statement word order, needed, not question word order.

Not: It was during the public consultation when the main objection emerged.

Use: It was during the public consultation that the main objection emerged.

It-clefts are normally completed with that, not when, even when the focus is a time expression.

Not: The person who changed the discussion were a local engineer.

Use: The person who changed the discussion was a local engineer.

Person is singular, so the cleft needs was, not were.

Before you practise

  • Identify the communicative purpose.
  • Check the subject and required verb or auxiliary.
  • Confirm the time reference and clause order.
  • Compare the sentence with the nearest alternative.
  • Read the complete sentence and verify the meaning.

Reading text

What Changed the Committee's Mind

About 532 words

The arts committee, the director, and the treasurer met at a funding board meeting to decide whether to support a travelling performance. The issue could not be reduced to a single mistake, because members disagree about cost and timing. On the table lay an audience plan, a travel budget, and schedule notes, each item carrying a slightly different version of events. It was the audience plan that changed the committee's mind. That opening point unsettled the earlier account and made the discussion more careful. What impressed the chair was the director's calm answer. The group then separated confirmed facts from interpretations, a distinction that became important as the evidence widened. The thing the treasurer questioned was the travel budget. Nobody wanted a dramatic conclusion; they wanted a conclusion that could survive another reading of the documents. It was not the cost but the timing that solved the problem. The discussion moved through practical details, public consequences, and the language of the final record. Several people resisted the easiest explanation, since it ignored how decisions made earlier still shaped the present problem. When the meeting ended, the result was clear: a calm answer and a revised plan secure approval. The arts committee, the director, and the treasurer return to an audience plan, a travel budget, and schedule notes because each item helps with the task. The notes show why members disagree about cost and timing. The group checks the time, the place, and the next decision before moving on. No one rushes, because a small error would change the outcome. The work stays connected to a funding board meeting, where the problem first became visible. By the end, the result is clear: a calm answer and a revised plan secure approval. Later, the written record helps the group explain the decision without adding new claims. The strongest clue comes from the materials, not from anyone's memory alone. Several details point in different directions, so the group keeps the conclusion careful. The final record can be checked again if the question returns. The arts committee, the director, and the treasurer return to an audience plan, a travel budget, and schedule notes because each item helps with the task. The notes show why members disagree about cost and timing. The group checks the time, the place, and the next decision before moving on. No one rushes, because a small error would change the outcome. The work stays connected to a funding board meeting, where the problem first became visible. By the end, the result is clear: a calm answer and a revised plan secure approval. Later, the written record helps the group explain the decision without adding new claims. The strongest clue comes from the materials, not from anyone's memory alone. Several details point in different directions, so the group keeps the conclusion careful. The final record can be checked again if the question returns. The arts committee, the director, and the treasurer return to an audience plan, a travel budget, and schedule notes because each item helps with the task. The notes show why members disagree about cost and timing. The group checks the time, the place, and the next decision before moving on.

Reading comprehension

  1. Who is involved in the reading?

    Show answer

    the arts committee, the director, and the treasurer

  2. Where does the reading take place?

    Show answer

    a funding board meeting

  3. What task are the people trying to complete?

    Show answer

    decide whether to support a travelling performance

  4. What problem makes the task less simple?

    Show answer

    members disagree about cost and timing

  5. How does the reading end?

    Show answer

    a calm answer and a revised plan secure approval

Grammar in the text

  1. It was the audience plan that changed the committee's mind.

    This it-cleft focuses on the audience plan, using It was ... that.

  2. What impressed the chair was the director's calm answer.

    This wh-cleft places the surprising information, the calm answer, after was.

  3. The thing the treasurer questioned was the travel budget.

    This reversed cleft places the focused information, the travel budget, at the end.

  4. It was not the cost but the timing that solved the problem.

    This it-cleft contrasts two possible focuses, cost and timing, using It was ... that.

Key point

Use this pattern when the meaning needs it in the reading: It was...that / What...was. In short, cleft sentences focus attention on one important part of a message. Example: "It was the audience plan that changed the committee's mind."

Practice

  1. Complete the sentence from the same situation: "It ____ the audience plan that changed the committee's mind."

    Show answer

    It was the audience plan that changed the committee's mind.

  2. Complete the sentence from the same situation: "What impressed the chair ____ the director's calm answer."

    Show answer

    What impressed the chair was the director's calm answer.

  3. Complete the sentence from the same situation: "The thing the treasurer questioned ____ the travel budget."

    Show answer

    The thing the treasurer questioned was the travel budget.

  4. Complete the sentence from the same situation: "It ____ not the cost but the timing that solved the problem."

    Show answer

    It was not the cost but the timing that solved the problem.

Listening practice

Watch a TEDx talk

“The power of introverts” — Susan Cain (TED). Listen for clear, natural English and pick up new vocabulary while you review this grammar point.

Check your understanding

What does Susan Cain say Western culture, especially in the United States, tends to favor?

Check your understanding

Which of these is one of Susan Cain's three calls to action at the end of her talk?

Practice

Choose the correct answer. What I need most ___ a clear deadline.

Practice

Choose the correct answer. It was the final paragraph ___ changed my interpretation.

Practice

Choose the correct answer. The reason why she objected ___ the lack of evidence.

Practice

Choose the best answer. ___ Maya who identified the inconsistency.

Practice

Choose the best answer. ___ the committee rejected was the revised timetable.

Practice

Choose the best answer. The reason why the launch was postponed ___ a security concern.

Written practice

Produce the answer yourself. Capitalisation and final punctuation do not affect validation, but the grammar and word order must be correct.

Grammar transformation

Written practice

Rewrite the sentence using an it-cleft to emphasize the deadline.

The deadline caused the team to change its plan.