Cleft sentences

iSLCollective.com
 Cleft noun [ C ]
/kleft/
•

iSLCollective.com
 Cleft sentences
•A cleft sentence is a sentence that is
cleft (split) so as to put the focus on one
part of it.

iSLCollective.com
 1. It + be + relative clause + that/who clause
•

•
•
•

•
•

iSLCollective.com
 1. It + be + relative clause + that/who clause

•
•
•

•
•

iSLCollective.com
2. What + subject + do/does/did/ + is/was + (to) infinitive
•

•
•
•

iSLCollective.com
 3-What happens is (that) … / What happened was (that)
•

•
•
•

iSLCollective.com
 4. The reason why, the thing that, the person/people who,
the place where, the day when…
•

•
•

•
•

•
•

iSLCollective.com
 5. The thing/s that = What/All

•
•
•

•
•

iSLCollective.com
 Complete the gaps with a cleft
• 1. The pothole was what damaged the car.
• 2. A theft is why the bank is closed.
• 3. Time is what solidified our friendship.
• 4. What happened to the ball was that it got stuck in the net.
• 5. It was that shop where I got the dress from.
• 6. What Jane did was to pass the exam.

iSLCollective.com
 Complete the gaps with a cleft. (3 mistakes)
• The President of the United States has resigned in a shocking move.
President Green, who took office in February, said to reporters, “The
reason who
why I am quitting is simple.”
The First Lady is said to be disappointed with the result. What
It was she
who helped the President win the election.
It was yesterday who
that the President first gave a hint to his departure. A
gala dinner was the venue of his now-famous drunken speech about
how hard his job is.
“What I’m sick of is all of the paperwork,” slurred President Green at
the gathering. What we’re all wondering is what happened next.

iSLCollective.com