Cleft Sentences 1: Put the Focus Where It Belongs

← Grammar Hub
C1Self-study or with a tutor

Cleft Sentences 1: Put the Focus Where It Belongs

By the end: I can use cleft sentences to highlight a correction, a priority or a contrast without changing the underlying message.

Created by , British English teacher.

I’m studying:

Try the activities, then check your answers.

Choose a short recording.

Before you start

Say We need more time. Now imagine someone wrongly thinks that money is the problem. What should receive the emphasis?

Useful background: Basic relative clauses, noun clauses and normal statement word order.

Focus a particular element

An it-cleft divides a message into a highlighted element and a clause connecting it to the rest of the situation. Use it when the context makes a correction or contrast worthwhile.

It was the date that confused me, not the address.

It is the evening session that we need to move.

Noor, the East Asian woman, moves a single plain appointment marker on a small desk calendar as her colleague watches with a surprised, questioning look. Noor is visibly the person performing the change. No readable dates.
It was Noor who changed the date.This answers or corrects the question of who.

Focus a need, action or evaluation

A what-clause can provide the starting point, followed by be and the information you want to highlight. Agreement and the shape of the complement depend on the expression; begin with transparent singular-clause examples.

What we need is a clear timetable.

What surprised me was the size of the room.

Use a do-cleft to focus the next action

Starting point: What I want to doLink: isFocused action: check the final version
Complete messageWhat I want to do is check the final version.

The action receives the focus. To check is also possible after is here.

The neutral version is I want to check the final version. Choose the cleft when the next action needs emphasis; it does not report that the check has already happened.

Make emphasis earn its place

A cleft changes the information focus, not automatically the truth of the underlying event. Choose a focus that answers the actual question. Do not pack every sentence with emphasis; a neutral sentence may fit a neutral question better.

It was Maya who sent the reminder.

What I want to do is check the final version.

The calendar is central as Noor points to the changed date marker while her colleague nods with new understanding. A separate location card and small clock remain unchanged beside it, clarifying that the date is the changed element. No readable labels.
It was the date that Noor changed.This answers or corrects the question of what.

Guided practice

Say or write your answer first. Compare the meaning and form; the model is one possible answer.

1. Correct the object of confusion with a cleft: I was confused by the date, not the address.

Compare a model and explanation

It was the date that confused me, not the address.

The highlighted element answers what caused the confusion.

2. Combine into a what-cleft: We need something. It is a reliable plan.

Compare a model and explanation

What we need is a reliable plan.

The what-clause introduces the need; the complement identifies the thing needed.

3. Correct the person: Ben did not send the invitation; Noor did.

Compare a model and explanation

It was Noor who sent the invitation, not Ben.

Who or that can introduce the following clause for a person.

4. Correct the time, not the sender: Noor sent it on Tuesday, not Monday.

Compare a model and explanation

It was on Tuesday that Noor sent it, not Monday.

Put the time phrase in the focus position.

5. Repair the missing verb: What matters most a clear explanation.

Compare a model and explanation

What matters most is a clear explanation.

The what-clause functions as one part of a larger clause with is.

6. Paraphrase neutrally: What annoyed me was the constant interruption.

Compare a model and explanation

The constant interruption annoyed me.

The underlying relationship is retained while the focus structure changes.

7. Read the workshop note. A colleague says We need more chairs. Correct the priority without claiming that chairs are broken.

Compare a model and explanation

What we need is a microphone, not more chairs.

The note says chairs are available; it does not describe their condition.

8. Explain why It was the microphone that Noor tested does not answer Who tested the microphone? as directly as a person-focused cleft.

Compare a model and explanation

It highlights the object. It was Noor who tested the microphone puts the person in focus.

Select the cleft according to the information being corrected or requested.

A short conversation

Listen first if you can, then open the transcript when useful.

Open the conversation transcript

A: Was it the room number that caused the confusion?

B: No. It was the start time that people misunderstood.

A: Then what we need is a clearer reminder, not a different room.

B: Exactly. What I want to do is send one short message with the time in the first line.

Listening checks

Listen to each extract or open its transcript. These three questions have their own score.

1. What is the speaker correcting?
Read the listening transcript

It was the date that confused me. The address was perfectly clear.

2. What is presented as the missing requirement?
Read the listening transcript

What we need is a quiet place to talk. We have enough time and all the documents.

3. Who performed the sending?
Read the listening transcript

It was Maya who sent the reminder. Ben checked it before she sent it.

Mastery quiz

Choose the best answer in each situation. Your score is out of eight.

1. A colleague names the wrong day. Which correction focuses on the day?
2. Choose a complete what-cleft.
3. Who or what is highlighted in It was the assistant who found the file?
4. A neutral account says Noor checked the figures. Which cleft corrects the action rather than the actor?
5. Which is the best reason to choose a cleft?
6. Which neutrally preserves What surprised me was the delay?
7. In the workshop note, which emphasis preserves the stated need?
8. Which answer fits Who changed the meeting time? most directly?

Use it in your own words

Speaking task 1

Use the workshop note to correct two mistaken assumptions and state the practical priority.

Reveal a possible response

It was the microphone that Noor tested, not the projector. What we need now is a working microphone, not more chairs.

Success check: Preserve the note’s facts and choose a different focus for each correction.

Speaking task 2

Give a neutral account of a scheduling mistake, then use two clefts in response to imagined misunderstandings.

Reveal a possible response

I sent the message on Tuesday. It was on Tuesday that I sent it, not Monday. And it was the time that I got wrong, not the room.

Success check: Make each cleft respond to an explicit misunderstanding.

Speaking task 3

Explain a priority and a next action in a short planning conversation.

Reveal a possible response

What matters most is a clear message. What I want to do is put the corrected time at the top and ask everyone to confirm it.

Success check: Use clefts selectively and keep the rest of the explanation natural.

Take it with you

I can use cleft sentences to highlight a correction, a priority or a contrast without changing the underlying message.

Cleft Sentences 2: Focus, Assumptions and CorrectionCleft Sentences: Rules, Examples and ExercisesExplore the Grammar Hub