Scribd
Upload
94 views3 pages

Cleft Sentences

Uploaded by

charityfaustobangi
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
94 views3 pages

Cleft Sentences

Uploaded by

charityfaustobangi
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
You are on page 1/ 3

CLEFT SENTENCES:

-is a sentence construction in which element in a sentence is


moved from its normal position into a separate clause to give it
greater emphasis.
-is a complex sentence ( one having a main clause and a
dependent clause) that has a meaning that could be expressed by
a simple sentence. Clefts typically put a particular constituent into
focus. This focusing is often accompanied by a special
intonation.
Clause structure:

It + conjugated form of to be + subordinate clause


… where IT is a cleft pronoun and X is usually a noun phrase
(although it can also be prepositional phrase, and in some cases,
adjectival or adverbial phrase). The focus is on X, or on the
subordinate clause or some element of it.
Examples:
 It’s Annie (whom) we are looking for ( We are looking for
Annie)
 It’s pizza (that) I like most. (I like pizza most).
 It was from my Mother (that) she heard the news. (she heard
the news from my mother.)
 It was meeting him (that) started me off on this line of work.
(Meeting him started me off on this line of work).
Types of cleft
English is very rich in cleft constructions.
 It-cleft : It is Annie whom we are looking for.
 Wh-cleft/Pseudo-cleft : What he wanted to eat was pizza.
 Reversed wh-cleft/ Inverted pseudo-cleft : A pizza was
what we wanted to eat.
 All-cleft: All we wanted to eat was pizza.
 Inferential cleft: It is not that he hates her. It’s just that he
wants her to see the reality. (reason / because)
 There-cleft: There is a new house we want to buy.
 If-because cleft: If he wants to be an actor, it is because he
wants to be famous.
Exercises
Transform the following into several cleft sentences:
1. We decided to return because he was ill.
2. He first found the secret in September.
3. Maria accepted the invitation with great reluctance.
Finally, the last element of a cleft is the cleft constituent,
which typically corresponds to the focus. As mentioned above,
the focused part of a cleft is typically a noun phrase, adverbial,
adjectival, prepositional phrase, etc.
 Prepositional phrase:
It was on foot that we went there.
 Adverbial phrase:
It was greedily and speedily that Pete drank his beer.
 Non-finite clause:
It is to go home early this year that Annie wants to do.
 Gerund:
It could be going home early or slacking off work that
the boss reacted to.
 Adverbial clause:
It was because she was so lonely all the time that she
decided to move out.

You might also like