Cleft sentences
It-clefts, what-clefts and their relatives split one statement into two parts so that the important piece carries the emphasis.
When you use it
A cleft sentence cuts one plain statement into two clauses so that one element stands out. Tom broke the cup becomes It was Tom who broke the cup (Tom, not Anna) or What Tom broke was the cup (the cup, not the plate). English needs this device because its word order is fixed. You cannot simply move the cup to the front as you can in Ukrainian or Russian; the cleft frame carries the emphasis instead. Clefts appear in speech and writing whenever you correct someone, contrast two things, or open a paragraph with the point you are about to develop.
How it is formed
| Type | Pattern | What it highlights |
|---|---|---|
| it-cleft | It + be + focus + that / who + rest of the clause | subject, object, time, place, reason: anything except the verb |
| what-cleft | What + clause + be + focus | object, action, or the whole idea |
| reversed what-cleft | focus + be + what + clause | the same, with the focus first |
| all-cleft | All (that) + clause + be + focus | "only this and nothing more" |
| noun-headed cleft | The reason (why) / The place (where) / The person (who) + clause + be + focus | reason, place, person, time |
In an it-cleft, be is usually is or was. Use who or that for people and that for everything else, including times and places: It was in May that we met, not when. Formal English keeps the verb in agreement with a pronoun focus (It is I who am responsible); ordinary English says It's me who is responsible.
When the focus is an action, the what-clause uses do and the focus is a bare or to-infinitive:
| Focus | Cleft |
|---|---|
| a past action | What Tom did was (to) call the bank. |
| a present habit | What Anna does is check every receipt. |
| an action in progress | What Tom is doing is looking for a flat. |
| a future plan | What we are going to do is leave early. |
Examples
- It was Anna who suggested the restaurant, not me.
- It's the traffic that makes the journey long, not the distance.
- What I need is a quiet weekend.
- What Tom did was sell the car and buy a bike.
- All she wanted was an apology.
- The reason I called was to check the time.
- A cheaper flat is what we are looking for.
- It wasn't until Sunday that the parcel arrived.
Common mistakes
- Fronting the object without the cleft frame.
✗ The cup Tom broke, not the plate.
✓ It was the cup that Tom broke, not the plate.
In Ukrainian and Russian emphasis comes from word order and intonation: Чашку розбив Том, Чашку разбил Том. English word order does not move, so the frame It was ... that has to do the work. - Using what for a person.
✗ What called this morning was Anna.
✓ It was Anna who called this morning.
A what-cleft only works when the focus is a thing, an action or an idea. For a person use an it-cleft or The person who .... The Slavic що / что also refers only to things, so the instinct is right; the mistake usually comes from over-using one pattern. - Repeating the past tense after did ... was.
✗ What Tom did was sold the car.
✓ What Tom did was sell the car.
After What ... did was, the focus is an infinitive, with or without to. Russian взял и продал has two finite past verbs, which pushes learners to mark the past twice. - Plural be after a singular what-clause.
✗ What I need are a holiday.
✓ What I need is a holiday.
The what-clause counts as singular. With a plural focus both is and are are heard (What I need is/are new shoes), but with a singular focus only is is possible. - When instead of that after a time focus.
✗ It wasn't until Sunday when the parcel arrived.
✓ It wasn't until Sunday that the parcel arrived.
It-clefts take that even when the focus is a time or place. Ukrainian коли and Russian когда would be natural there, which is why when slips in.
Try it
- ___ Tom who broke the cup, not Anna. (it-cleft, past)
- What I really want ___ a long holiday.
- It wasn't until the meeting ended ___ Anna checked her phone.
- What Tom did ___ (be / sell) the car.
- ___ she wanted was an apology. (nothing more than this)