Advanced Grammar — Cleft Sentences for Emphasis
Advanced Grammar — Cleft Sentences for Emphasis
⏱ 5 minutes
Grammar
A journalist once interviewed me for a community newsletter about multilingual families in La Réunion. She wrote up my words as: “He said English is the language he taught himself.” But what I actually said was: “It’s English that I taught myself — not French, not Hindi — English.” The “it’s… that” structure is a cleft sentence. It changes emphasis completely.
🎯 Language Focus
| It-cleft | It is/was + [focus] + that/who… → “It was in Sydney that I learned to work under pressure.” |
| Wh-cleft | What + clause + is/was + [focus] → “What I need is more time.” |
| Pseudo-cleft | The thing/person/reason + that… → “The reason I stayed is the people.” |
| Function | Clefts highlight information — more emphatic than a simple sentence |
✏️ Quick Practice — Try It!
💡 Your 5-Minute Takeaway
Clefts are a C1 marker — they show you can manipulate information structure, not just grammar. Use one in every formal essay or speech and it elevates your level immediately.
Independent educational resource. Not affiliated with, endorsed by, or accredited by Cambridge University Press & Assessment. Confers no qualification. Grammar reference: Swan, Practical English Usage. Frameworks: PPP, TBLT, ESA (standard ELT methodology).
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