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CLEFT SENTENCES
Ex. I enjoy learning English at ISS
Giving Emphasis: Cleft Sentences
However, if we want to emphasize that I particularly enjoy learning English (more than anything else), we can use a cleft sentence.
It begins with a what clause and the verb be:
Ex. What I enjoy most is learning English.
Ex. What I like most about you is your sense of humor.
Similarly, if we want to emphasize a noun, we use a cleft structure with
Ex. Jenny spends all her money on shoes.
It is Jenny who spends all her money on shoes.
or: It is shoes that Jenny spends all her money on.
We can also use an it- cleft sentence to focus on other parts of the sentence:
Ex. It was in Istanbul that he met his first wife. (place)
Ex. It was only when he phoned that I realized what had happened. (time)
Ex. It is learning English that I find most enjoyable nowadays. (gerund action)
• John gave Mary a handbag at Christmas.
• It was at Christmas that John gave Mary a handbag.
• It might have been at Christmas that John gave Mary a handbag.
Pat released the President’s illness to the reporters at the party last night.
It was Pat who…
It was the president’s illness that…
It was to the reporters that …
It was at the party that…
It was last night that…
Pseudo-cleft sentences
A pseudo-cleft sentence is essentially an SVC construction with a what-clause as subject.
What John did was (to) give Mary a handbag.
What John gave Mary was a handbag.
A handbag was what John gave Mary.