Emphatic do, it-clefts and wh-clefts put one part of a sentence in focus. A cleft puts the focus after be and the rest of the sentence in a clause: It was Tom who broke the window. What I need is a holiday.
No information at the current level. This view starts at B2: choose B2 or a higher level.
No information at the current level. This view starts at B2: choose B2 or a higher level.
CheatsheetB2–C2
| Point | Rule | Example | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Emphatic do | do / does / did + base verb carries the stress | She did tell me. | B2 |
| It-cleft | It + be + focus + who / that + clause | It was Tom who broke it. | B2 |
| Wh-cleft | What + clause + be + focus; or reversed: focus + be + what + clause | What I need is a holiday. | B2 |
| Noun frames | all, the thing, the reason and the place open the clause | All I want is peace and quiet. | B2 |
| Clause as focus | the focus can be a clause: only when, not until, because | It was only when she left that I realised. | C1 |
| Explanatory cleft | rejects one reason and gives the real one | It isn't that I don't like her; it's that I'm busy. | C1 |
| Answers | a cleft answers a wh-question; the main stress falls on the focus | Who broke it? — It was Tom. | C1 |
| Infinitive focus | after a form of do, the focus is a bare or to-infinitive | All you have to do is (to) press the button. | C2 |
| Stance frames | the fact is, the thing is and similar frames open a statement | The trouble is that the shop closes at five. | C2 |
| Formal writing | formal clefts point back to a reason or a context | It is for this reason that the committee refused. | C2 |
| Topic first | the topic comes first, then a clause with its own subject | As for Tom, he has gone home. | C2 |
| Trap | who or that replaces the focus: no second subject or object | It was Ana that I met. | B2 |
OverviewB2
- A cleft sentence puts one part of a clause in focus, after a form of be. It was the bus that I missed.
- The focus carries the new, corrected or contrasting information; the rest of the clause is known.
- Emphatic do stresses the verb; an it-cleft focuses one element; a wh-cleft leads up to the focus.
- The plain order of the sentence is in Word Order.
Form: emphatic doB2
| Form | Pattern | Example | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Present | do / does + base verb | I do like it. / She does know the answer. | B2 |
| Past | did + base verb | She did tell me. | B2 |
| Imperative | do + base verb | Do sit down. / Do be careful. | B2 |
- In statements, be, auxiliary have and modals take the stress themselves, not do. She is late. / I have finished. / He can swim.
- A negative or a question has do already; the stress on do gives the emphasis. I didn't take it.
Use: emphatic doB2
| Use | Example | |
|---|---|---|
| Contradicts a doubt or a denial | You never help me. — I do help you! | B2 |
| Insists that something is true or did happen | I did tell you about the party. | B2 |
| Agrees with a point, then adds a but | She did apologise, but it was too late. | B2 |
| Adds warmth to an invitation, a hope or a compliment | Do have some cake. / We do hope you can come. / I do like your garden. | B2 |
Form: it-cleftB2
| Focus | Joiner | Example | |
|---|---|---|---|
| A person as subject | who or that | It was Ana who found the keys. | B2 |
| A thing as subject | that | It was the wind that opened the door. | B2 |
| An object | that, or no joiner | It was the blue bag that I bought. | B2 |
| A time word | that | It was yesterday that I saw her. | B2 |
| A prepositional phrase | that | It was in Paris that we met. | B2 |
| Sentence | Pattern | Example | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Statement | It + be + focus + that + clause | It was Tom that broke it. | B2 |
| Negative | It + isn't / wasn't + focus + that + clause | It wasn't me that broke it. | B2 |
| Question | Is / Was + it + focus + that + clause | Was it Tom that broke it? | B2 |
- Be shows the time: is for now and general truths, was for the past, will be for the future. It is the manager who decides. / It will be Ana who tells him.
- The joiner stands for the focus inside the clause, so the clause repeats neither subject nor object. It was Tom who broke it.
- A preposition stays with its noun in careful style, or goes to the end in speech. It was to Ana that I gave the key. = It was Ana that I gave the key to.
- The clause after who or that works as a relative clause: see Relative Clauses.
Form: wh-cleftB2
| Focus | Pattern | Example | |
|---|---|---|---|
| A noun | What + clause + be + noun | What I need is a holiday. | B2 |
| An action | What + subject + do / does / did + be + infinitive | What he did was (to) leave early. | B2 |
| A that-clause | What + verb + be + that + clause | What happened was that the bus broke down. | B2 |
| Reversed order | noun + be + what + clause | A holiday is what I need. | B2 |
- The wh-clause is the subject, so be is usually singular, even before a plural focus. What I need is two weeks off.
- Without do in the clause, the infinitive keeps to. What I want is to sleep.
Frames: all, the thing, the reasonB2
| Frame | Example | |
|---|---|---|
| All + clause + be + focus | All I want is peace and quiet. | B2 |
| The thing + (that) + clause + be + focus | The thing that annoys me is the noise. | B2 |
| The reason + (why) + clause + be + focus | The reason I left was that the pay was low. | B2 |
| The place + (where) + clause + be + focus | The place where we met was a small café. | B2 |
| The first thing + clause + be + focus | The first thing I do is make coffee. | B2 |
Use: focus, correction and summing upB2
| Use | Example | |
|---|---|---|
| It-cleft: names the person or thing responsible | It was the neighbours who complained. | B2 |
| It-cleft: corrects a detail, often with a negative first | It wasn't the red one I wanted; it was the blue one. | B2 |
| Wh-cleft: says what you need, want or like, then names it | What I like most is the quiet. | B2 |
| Wh-cleft: builds up to the point of a story | What happened next was that the lights went out. | B2 |
| Reversed wh-cleft: sums up or agrees | Yes, that's what I mean. | B2 |
Compare: it-cleft and wh-cleftB2
| Point | It-cleft | Wh-cleft | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Focus | one element: a subject, an object or an adverbial | a noun, an action or a whole clause | B2 |
| Order | the focus comes first, then the clause | the clause comes first, then the focus | B2 |
| Example | It was the red scarf that I lost. | What I lost was the red scarf. | B2 |
| A person as focus | It was Tom who broke it. | The person who broke it was Tom. | B2 |
Clefts with clauses as focusC1
| Focus | Example | |
|---|---|---|
| only when and a clause | It was only when she left that I realised. | C1 |
| only after and a time phrase | It was only after dinner that he called. | C1 |
| not until and a time or a clause | It was not until midnight that the rain stopped. | C1 |
| because and a clause | It was because he was ill that we cancelled. | C1 |
| A phrase of manner, with a passive clause after that | It was by chance that the letter was found. | C1 |
- After not until, the verb is positive; not already makes the sentence negative. It was not until May that the shop opened.
- Passive clauses are in Passive Voice.
Explanatory cleftsC1
| Pattern | Use | Example | |
|---|---|---|---|
| It isn't that…, it's that… | rejects one reason and gives the real one | It isn't that I don't like her; it's that I'm busy. | C1 |
| What…was… | names a strong feeling or effect | What annoyed me most was the delay. | C1 |
| What…is… with a question as focus | puts a question at the end | What I'd like to know is why nobody told me. | C1 |
Clefts in questions and answersC1
| Use | Example | |
|---|---|---|
| A cleft answers a question about the doer | Who broke the vase? — It was Tom. | C1 |
| A cleft answers a question about time or place | Where did you meet? — It was in Paris. | C1 |
| A wh-cleft answers a question about wants | What do you want for your birthday? — What I'd really like is a quiet evening. | C1 |
| A question can itself be a cleft | Who was it that called? / What was it that you said? | C1 |
- The tonic syllable, the strongest stress, falls on the focus; the clause after it stays low. It was Tom who broke it. ↘
Infinitive and perfect cleftsC2
| Frame | Example | |
|---|---|---|
| All + clause + be + infinitive | All you have to do is (to) press the button. | C2 |
| The best thing to do + be + infinitive | The best thing to do is (to) wait. | C2 |
| What + clause + be + to have + past participle | What I'd hoped was to have finished by now. | C2 |
- When the clause or the frame holds do, the focus infinitive is bare or has to. All I did was ask. / All I did was to ask.
- A perfect infinitive in the focus looks back to a hope or plan that may not have been met.
Stance framesC2
| Frame | Use | Example | |
|---|---|---|---|
| The fact is + (that) + clause | states a plain truth against a belief or a hope | The fact is that nobody came. | C2 |
| The trouble is + (that) + clause | names the difficulty | The trouble is that the shop closes at five. | C2 |
| The point is + (that) + clause | returns to what matters | The point is that we have no time. | C2 |
| The thing is + (that) + clause | opens an excuse or a doubt in speech | The thing is, I have no money with me. | C2 |
- In speech that drops out and a short pause follows the frame. The thing is, I'm late.
Formal clefts in writingC2
| Frame | Use | Example | |
|---|---|---|---|
| It is for this reason that… | gives a reason already stated | It is for this reason that the committee refused. | C2 |
| It is in this context that… | places a point in the setting just described | It is in this context that the new law should be read. | C2 |
| What is striking is… | draws the reader to a notable fact | What is striking is how little has changed. | C2 |
| What emerges is… | announces a result or a finding | What emerges is a clear pattern. | C2 |
- A word such as this or these in the focus links the cleft to the sentence before. It is in these cases that care matters most.
Topic firstC2
| Frame | Use | Example | |
|---|---|---|---|
| As for… | turns to a new topic or sets one against another | As for Tom, he has gone home. | C2 |
| Speaking of… | links a new topic to something just said | Speaking of money, we should check the budget. | C2 |
| The thing about…is… | names the main feature of a person or thing | The thing about him is that he never listens. | C2 |
| a noun phrase, then a pronoun | puts the topic first in speech and repeats it as a pronoun | My sister, she lives in Leeds. | C2 |
- The comment after the topic keeps its own subject. As for Tom, he has gone home.
Typical errorsB2–C2
| Wrong | Right | Rule | |
|---|---|---|---|
| It was Tom that he broke it. | It was Tom that broke it. | the joiner stands for the subject, so no second subject follows | B2 |
| It was the red one that I wanted it. | It was the red one that I wanted. | the joiner stands for the object, so no second object follows | B2 |
| It was in Paris where we met. | It was in Paris that we met. | that opens the clause after a time or place focus; where and when do not | B2 |
| What I need it is a holiday. | What I need is a holiday. | the wh-clause is the subject, so no it follows | B2 |
| She does likes it. | She does like it. | the verb after do, does or did stays in the base form | B2 |
| I do am tired. | I am tired. | be takes the stress itself; it does not take do | B2 |
| It was not until midnight that did she arrive. | It was not until midnight that she arrived. | the clause after that keeps statement order | C1 |
| Who it was that broke the vase? | Who was it that broke the vase? | a cleft question keeps question order: wh-word, be, it | C1 |
| All you have to do is pressing the button. | All you have to do is press the button. | the focus after this frame is an infinitive | C2 |
| As for Tom, has gone home. | As for Tom, he has gone home. | as for opens a topic; the clause after it has a subject | C2 |
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