Cleft Sentences in English

Overview

Cleft sentences are special structures that split (or "cleave") a simple sentence into two parts in order to emphasize one particular piece of information. Instead of saying John broke the window, you can say It was John who broke the window to put the spotlight firmly on John. This technique is extremely useful for highlighting exactly what you want the listener to focus on.

Cleft sentences are a key feature at the B2 (Upper Intermediate) level. They appear frequently in both spoken and written English, especially in storytelling, argumentation, and answering questions where you want to correct or clarify information.

How It Works

It-Clefts

The most common type. The structure is: It + be + focused element + relative clause (who/that/which/where/when).

Normal sentence	It-cleft	Focus
John broke the window.	It was John who broke the window.	Person
I need a holiday.	It's a holiday that I need.	Thing
She left on Monday.	It was on Monday that she left.	Time
They met in Paris.	It was in Paris where they met.	Place

The tense of "be" matches the time reference of the original sentence.

Wh-Clefts (Pseudo-Clefts)

These use a what-clause as the subject. The structure is: What + subject + verb + be + focused element.

Normal sentence	Wh-cleft	Focus
I need a holiday.	What I need is a holiday.	Thing needed
He said something rude.	What he said was something rude.	Content
The noise annoys me.	What annoys me is the noise.	Cause

Reverse Wh-Clefts

The focused element comes first: A holiday is what I need.

All-Clefts and The-thing-Clefts

These are variations for extra emphasis:

Pattern	Example
All + subject + verb + be...	All I want is peace.
The thing that...	The thing that bothers me is the noise.
The reason...	The reason I'm here is to help.
The person who...	The person who called was my sister.

Examples in Context

English	Note
It was John who broke the window.	It-cleft emphasizing the person
What I need is a holiday.	Wh-cleft emphasizing the object
All I want is peace.	All-cleft for strong emphasis
The reason I'm here is to help.	The-reason cleft for purpose
It's the traffic that I can't stand.	It-cleft emphasizing a thing
What surprised me was her reaction.	Wh-cleft emphasizing an experience
It was in 1969 that humans first walked on the moon.	It-cleft emphasizing time
The thing I like most is the atmosphere.	The-thing cleft
It wasn't me who ate the cake!	Negative it-cleft for denial
What we should do is call the police.	Wh-cleft for suggestions
All she did was smile.	All-cleft for simplicity/understatement

Common Mistakes

Using the wrong relative pronoun

• Wrong: It was John which broke the window.
• Right: It was John who broke the window.
• Why: Use "who" for people and "that/which" for things. "Where" is used for places, and "when" for times.

Forgetting to match the tense of "be"

• Wrong: It is John who broke the window yesterday.
• Right: It was John who broke the window yesterday.
• Why: When the event is in the past, "be" should also be in the past tense.

Overcomplicating wh-clefts

• Wrong: What it is that I need is a holiday.
• Right: What I need is a holiday.
• Why: Keep the wh-cleft structure clean. Adding extra words like "it is that" creates a confusing, ungrammatical sentence.

Using clefts when no emphasis is needed

• Wrong: (in casual chat) It was at the supermarket where I bought milk.
• Right: I bought milk at the supermarket.
• Why: Cleft sentences are for emphasis. Using them for routine, unimportant information sounds unnatural and overly dramatic.

Usage Notes

Cleft sentences are used in all varieties of English, with no major differences between British and American usage. They are especially common in:

• Spoken English: for correcting misunderstandings (It wasn't me who said that -- it was Sarah.)
• Journalism and speeches: for dramatic effect (It is this policy that will change lives.)
• Academic writing: for focusing the reader's attention (What this study demonstrates is...)

In informal speech, wh-clefts and all-clefts are very common. It-clefts tend to appear more in slightly formal or narrative contexts. The tone is never stuffy -- cleft sentences are a natural part of fluent English at every level of formality.

Practice Tips

• Emphasis practice: Take five simple sentences and rewrite each one as both an it-cleft and a wh-cleft. Decide which version sounds better for different situations (correcting someone, making a point in an essay, telling a story).

• Listening exercise: Watch a TED talk or news broadcast and listen for cleft sentences. Note which type the speaker uses and what information they are trying to emphasize.

• Conversation drill: Practice correcting statements using it-clefts. Have a partner make a false statement, and you correct it: Partner: Mary broke it. You: No, it was Tom who broke it.

Related Concepts

• Prerequisite: Relative Clauses: where, when, whose -- cleft sentences rely heavily on relative clause structures
• Next steps: Explore emphasis through inversion and fronting for additional ways to highlight information in English