Cleft Sentences: Emphasis and Focus
Cleft sentences divide a sentence into two clauses to emphasise a specific part.
It-cleft
Structure: It + be + emphasised element + that/who + rest
- “Ahmed won the prize.” → “It was Ahmed who won the prize.”
- “I met Ali yesterday.” → “It was Ali that I met yesterday.”
Wh-cleft
Structure: What + clause + be + emphasised element
- “I need a holiday.” → “What I need is a holiday.”
- “We want peace.” → “What we want is peace.”
Exercises
- Rewrite it-cleft: “Karim broke the window.”
- Rewrite wh-cleft: “I need more time.”
- Create 3 cleft sentences about different parts of: “My sister bought a car.”
مدونة التربية و التعليم في الجزائر – دروس، فروض، نتائج امتحانات مدونة التربية والتعليم في الجزائر | تحضير الدروس، فروض واختبارات، نتائج البكالوريا وBEM، مسابقات التوظيف، والتوجيه المدرسي للطلاب وأولياء الأمور.