CLEFT SENTENCES GRAMMAR

Basic vs. Cleft Clause

BASIC CLAUSE

In a basic sentence, no particular emphasis is expressed. Clefting a clause is a means of splitting the clause and moving the
content before or after the predicate to produce a particular effect.                                                            

SUBJECT VERB OBJECT

Michael Jackson wanted success.

     

   

CLEFT (SPLIT) CLAUSE

A cleft with what  groups information before or after the predicate so that emphasis can be placed elsewhere in the clause.
This emphasized content is joined to the de-emphasized content with be.

GROUPED iNFORMATION BE EMPHASIS

What he wanted was     success. 

EMPHASIS   GROUPED iNFORMATION

Success was what he wanted.

   

 
what = that which— that (pronoun) + which (relative pronoun)  that which / the thing that / the part that / the
element that

"We can emphasize particular words and expressions by putting everything into a kind of relative clause except the
words we want to emphasize: this makes them stand out." The words to be emphasized are joined to the relative
clause by is or was.(Swan 130)

What Phrases
Relocate lengthy wording or isolate for emphasis
 Creating emphasis or weighting content

LENGTHY CONTENT

Speakers commonly use a what  phrase (1) to move lengthy wording to the end of the
clause (also called "weighting") or (2) to emphasize what is about to be said.

LENGTHY SUBJECT PREDICATE

His attention to detail and his ability to was brilliant¹. 

think outside-of-the-box and delight distinguished his work.² 
audiences

SUBJECT LENGTHY  PREDICATE

He exceeded our expectations and pushed

performance art to a new level. 

WHAT–PHRASE

Lengthy wording is moved to the end the clause by placing everything else in
a what phrase at the beginning of the clause.                                            

WHAT-PHRS PACKAGE BE EMPHASIS

What was brilliant was his attention to detail and his ability to think outside-
What distinguished his work   of-the-box and delight audiences.

WHAT-PHRS PACKAGE   VERB EMPHASIS

What he did was exceed our expectations and push performance

art to a new level. 

 
what (fused relative) – that (pron.) + which (rel. pron.)]  That which he did was…

distinguish (V) – mark off as different.

exceed (V) –   to go beyond, be better, be more

isolate (V) –   place as separate or alone

 ¹ ascriptive be – indicates a quality or characteristic of the predicate complement.   Michael Jackson was brilliant.
² specifying be – defines or identifies the predicate complement.  Michael Jackson was the King of Pop. / The King
of Pop was Michael Jackson. (reversible)

"It" Clefts
Emphasize identity

It Cleft

BASIC CLAUSE

In a basic sentence, no particular emphasis is expressed. However, if a question were

asked, for example, "Who popularized the moon-walk step?" one would use a cleft sentence
to answer.
SUBJECT PREDICATE

Michael Jackson popularized the moon-walk step.

His performances attracted fans. 

The video Thriller   broke all records.  

(statistical records)

IT–CLEFT CLAUSE

An it-cleft places the content that we wish to emphasize up front. The rest of the content is
"packaged" into that + a clause.  The be verb is singular.                                                        

EMPHASIS THAT–CLAUSE

It was  Michael Jackson who popularized the moon-walk step.

It was his performances that attracted fans.

 

It was the video Thriller   that broke all records.

 
It is a pronoun, here, and has no particular meaning other than being a placeholder for the displaced content.
~ awkward sounding
 complement:  elements required by the verb: object, indirect object, predicative complement
choreography (N) – the art of sequencing dance steps

"It" Extraposition
Relocate lengthy wording to end of clause

It Extraposition

BASIC CLASE

Speakers commonly reword a sentence that begins with that + clause. They prefer to move
a lengthy subject to the end of the clause and to use an it cleft.

THAT–CLAUSE PREDICATE

~ That he had so much energy impressed everyone.  (clause)

~ That he did his own choreography  was impressive.  (Adj)

~ That he is no longer with us is a pity.   (NP)

IT–EXTRAPOSITION

It displaces the subject to the end of the clause.  It, a "dummy pronoun", is a placeholder for
the content moved to the end of the clause.                                  

IT – CLEFT SENTENCE THAT–CLAUSE

It    impressed everyone that he had so much energy. 

 

It   was impressive that he did his own choreography.

It   is a pity that he is no longer with us.

 
It is a pronoun, here, and has no particular meaning other than being a placeholder for the displaced content.
 ~ awkward sounding

complement:  elements required by the verb: object, indirect object, predicative complement

choreography (N) – the art of sequencing dance steps

Wh- Clefts
Emphasize content with relative clauses

Who, where, when, why relative clauses

BASIC SENTENCE

Who, where, when  or why (relative pronouns) is also used to shift focus to a particular part
of a sentence. These are not true clefts because the wh-words do not repackage or isolate
content.                                  
PERSON

Michael Jackson thrilled his audiences.

PLACE

Michael Jackson lived on Neverland Ranch.

TIME

Michael Jackson performed "Thriller" in 1982.

REASON

Michael Jackson wrote songs because he was inspired.

RELATIVE CLAUSE EMPHASIS

Below, who, where, when, or why  functions as a relative pronoun joining a clause that

modifies the preceding noun — the man who, the place where, the time when, the reason
why, and so on.
 WHO – CLEFT

Michael Jackson was a person who thrilled his audiences.

A person who thrilled his audiences was Michael Jackson.
"reciprocal property"  (phrases may go on either side of "be")

WHERE – CLEFT

Neverland Ranch was the place where Michael Jackson lived.

The place where Michael Jackson lived was Neverland Ranch.

WHEN – CLEFT

Nineteen eighty two was the year  when Michael Jackson performed "Thriller".

The year when Michael Jackson made "Thriller" was 1982.

WHY – CLEFT

Because he was inspired was the reason why¹/that Michael Jackson wrote songs.

The reason why/that Michael Jackson wrote songs was because he was inspired.

 
awe (V) – to have an overwhelming feeling of admiration and respect.

"The reason why" is awkward due to its repetition in expressing "reason".  Instead, consider using "the reason that"

Common Mistakes
Errors and Solutions
ERROR

*It was the Prime Minister made that statement.

"What was that, a bomb?"   ~ "No. What it was was a meteor hitting the ground."
(What is was] turned out to be a meteor.

SOLUTION

It was the Prime Minister who made that statement.

No, what it was, was a meteor hitting the ground.  [comma]

Optionally add a comma to separate a repeated word so that its use looks intentional rather than
accidental (e.g., He let the cat  in, in the morning.) In speech this repetition of a word (with a different
sense of meaning) is expressed with a brief pause.

 
* incorrect / ~ awkward