CLEFT SENTENCES

One of the main reasons why we use cleft sentences is to give emphasis to a particular part of
the sentence.

Cleft sentences with IT:

It was Jeff who spoke to you, not Andrew.

(who) you met,

It wasn’t Adam that spoke to you. It was George

(that) you met.

Generally speaking, we use this grammatical structure as a way of CORRECTING information.

Examples:

1. When Little Red Riding Hood went into the cottage, she saw her grandmother sitting
in the bed.

It wasn’t her grandmother (that) she saw. It was the big bad wolf.

It was the big bad wolf (that) she saw, not her grandmother.

2. Buddhism originated in China in the 6th century B.C.

It wasn’t in China where Buddhism originated. It was in India.

It was In India where Buddhism originated, not in China.

In the examples above, we can see that this structure:

It wasn’t X (that) ________. It was Y.

It was Y (that)_________ , not X.

Using the information from the following USC webpage, correct the sentences below.

http://www.rofcodina.org/index.php/en/rof-codina-foundation/juan-rof-codina

1. Juan Rof Codina was born in 1967.

2. Rof Codina’s father had a bakery.

3. He went to Barcelona to study at the Superior School of Veterinary Medicine.

4. His presence in the city of Lugo made him familiar with common illnesses.

Possible answers:

1.

It wasn’t in 1967. It was in 1874.

It was in 1874, not in 1967.

2.

It wasn’t a bakery. It was a workshop.

It was a workshop, not a bakery.

3.

It wasn’t Barcelona. It was Madrid.

It was Madrid, not Barcelona.

4.

It wasn’t his presence in Lugo. It was his presence in rural Galicia.

It was his presence in rural Galicia, not in the city of Lugo.

Cleft sentences with WHAT or THE THING (that):

What I really enjoy is eating outside on a sunny day.

The thing
What I hate about Monday is the alarm going off so
The thing early.

I admire Peter’s honesty.

The thing I admire about Peter is his honesty.

I like the way Mark laughs.

The thing I like about Mark is the way he laughs.

We can also add many other possibilities to this list:

I enjoy
I admire
What I can’t stand
I find difficult
about…. is….

The thing (that) surprises me

The person
The place (really) fascinates me

annoys me

Write sentences about your life as a Vet student. Maybe the following phrases will give you
some ideas to start with.

 --being a Vet
 --best professor this year
 --Lugo
 --learning /practicing English