Cleft Sentences in English

In Brief

A cleft sentence divides one simple message into two clauses so that one part receives special focus. Instead of neutral John broke the window, you can say It was John who broke the window to stress John, or What John broke was the window to stress the window. Common patterns begin with it, what, all, or a phrase such as the reason.

Overview

A cleft sentence presents information in two grammatical parts even though the same basic idea could often be expressed in one clause. The word cleft means “split.” This split lets a speaker guide the listener toward the important, surprising, corrective, or contrasting information.

Compare the neutral statement Maya ordered the blue jacket with It was Maya who ordered the blue jacket. The second version suggests a contrast: Maya ordered it, not somebody else. In speech, the focused words usually carry the strongest stress. In writing, the structure itself signals that focus.

Cleft sentences are introduced around B2 because their grammar builds on relative clauses (clauses that identify or describe a person, thing, place, or time). They are common in conversation, presentations, journalism, and formal argument. They are especially useful when correcting an assumption, explaining a reason, or organizing a longer message.

How It Works

The basic idea: neutral message and focused message

A neutral clause normally places the subject first and then gives the verb and the rest of the information:

• Leila found the keys in the kitchen yesterday.

Different clefts can focus different parts of that message:

Focus	Cleft sentence	Implied contrast
Person	It was Leila who found the keys.	Not another person
Object	It was the keys that Leila found.	Not another object
Place	It was in the kitchen that Leila found them.	Not somewhere else
Time	It was yesterday that Leila found them.	Not another day

The focused element is often new or contrastive information. Contrastive means that it is selected in opposition to another possible answer.

It-clefts

The most flexible pattern is the it-cleft:

It + be + focused element + relative clause

• It is the timing that worries me.
• It was Nadia who called.
• It will be next week that the results are announced.

Here, it is a grammatical placeholder; it does not refer to a particular object. The form of be carries the tense. The relative clause gives the rest of the original message.

For people, who is natural, and that is also possible: It was Sam who/that helped us. For things, that is usual, although which can occur in more formal styles. When a person is the object inside the relative clause, informal English commonly uses who or that: It was Dana who I invited. Formal whom is possible but much less common in everyday speech: It was Dana whom I invited.

An it-cleft can focus several kinds of constituent (a word or group of words acting as one unit):

Focus type	Pattern	Example
Subject	It + be + person/thing + who/that clause	It was Ava who noticed the error.
Object	It + be + object + that/who clause	It was the red file that Ava needed.
Time	It + be + time phrase + that clause	It was on Monday that we met.
Place	It + be + place phrase + that clause	It was at reception that I left it.
Reason	It + be + reason phrase + that clause	It was because I trusted him that I agreed.
Manner/means	It + be + phrase + that clause	It was by working together that we succeeded.

Time and place clefts often use that, especially in careful standard English: It was in Paris that they met. In less formal usage, where and when may appear when the focused phrase naturally names a place or time: It was Paris where they met. The that version is the safer general model for a cleft.

Negative focus is possible too:

• It wasn't the price that bothered me; it was the service.
• It isn't what she said that matters, but what she did.

Wh-clefts or pseudo-clefts

A wh-cleft, also called a pseudo-cleft, usually begins with a clause containing what. Here, what means “the thing that”:

What + clause + be + focused information

• What I need is a holiday.
• What surprised us was his calm reaction.
• What they did was cancel the meeting.

The opening wh-clause functions like a noun phrase (a group of words acting as a person, thing, or idea). It creates an empty slot whose content is identified after be. This pattern is particularly natural for highlighting an object, action, need, or result.

When the focus is an action, English often uses a bare infinitive (the basic verb without to) after be if the opening clause contains do:

• What you should do is call the bank.
• What she did was leave without saying goodbye.

A to-infinitive is also possible, especially with phrases such as what I want/need to do: What I want to do is to start again. The version without the second to is often more concise: What I want to do is start again.

The verb be is usually singular when the opening clause is treated as one idea: What we need is more time. If the intended answer is clearly plural, plural agreement is also found: What we need are two additional chairs. In careful writing, recasting the sentence can avoid awkwardness: The things we need are two additional chairs.

Reversed wh-clefts

A wh-cleft can be reversed so that the focus comes first:

Focused information + be + wh-clause

• A quiet weekend is what I need.
• This is what I was trying to explain.
• The final chapter was what impressed me most.

This order often sounds more immediate. It is also useful for linking a new sentence to something already mentioned: The team needs a clear deadline. That is what the manager must provide.

All-clefts and related focusing phrases

All can replace what when the meaning is “the only thing” or “the complete amount”:

All + clause + be + focus

• All I want is peace.
• All we can do is wait.
• All she asked for was an explanation.

Because all often means “the only thing,” this structure can sound strong or emotionally definite. Do not use it merely as a decorative alternative to what if no limiting meaning is intended.

English also uses ordinary noun phrases followed by identifying clauses:

• The thing that worries me is the cost.
• The person you need to speak to is Amira.
• The place where we met was a small café.
• The day when everything changed was 4 May.

These are sometimes grouped with pseudo-clefts because they package information in a similar way, though their opening words are normal nouns rather than wh-words.

Reason clefts

To focus an explanation, use:

The reason (why) + clause + be + reason/explanation

• The reason I'm here is to help.
• The reason why the launch failed was that nobody tested the update.
• The reason she left early was because she felt ill.

After the reason is, that introduces a full explanatory clause in careful formal writing: The reason was that the road was closed. Because is extremely common in speech and informal writing: The reason was because the road was closed. Some style guides prefer that to avoid repeating the idea of “reason,” so that is a useful choice in formal contexts. Use why inside the clause (the reason why she left), but not as the complement after is: standard English says The reason is that..., not The reason is why... when directly giving the cause.

Examples in Context

English	Plain meaning	Focus or effect
It was John who broke the window.	John broke the window.	Corrects or identifies the person
It is the second paragraph that needs rewriting.	The second paragraph needs rewriting.	Focuses the object/subject matter
It was after midnight that the power came back on.	The power came back on after midnight.	Emphasizes the time
It was at a conference that we first met.	We first met at a conference.	Emphasizes the place
It wasn't Elena who complained; it was her manager.	Her manager, not Elena, complained.	Explicit correction
What I need is a holiday.	I need a holiday.	Highlights a need
What bothered me most was the lack of an apology.	The lack of an apology bothered me most.	Delays the important answer
What you need to do is save a copy first.	You need to save a copy first.	Highlights an action or instruction
What they did was move the deadline without warning us.	They moved the deadline without warning us.	Draws attention to an action
A little patience is what we need right now.	We need a little patience right now.	Reversed wh-cleft
All I want is peace.	Peace is the only thing I want.	Expresses a strong limit
All we can do is wait for the results.	Waiting is our only option.	Emphasizes limited options
The thing that impressed me was her honesty.	Her honesty impressed me.	Names the important quality
The reason I'm here is to help.	I am here in order to help.	Focuses purpose
The reason the event was cancelled was that the venue flooded.	The event was cancelled because the venue flooded.	Gives a cause in formal style

Common Mistakes

Using a question structure inside a wh-cleft

• Wrong: What do I need is a holiday.
• Right: What I need is a holiday.
• Why: The opening part is not a direct question. It uses statement word order: subject before verb.

Leaving out the relative clause in an it-cleft

• Wrong: It was John broke the window.
• Right: It was John who broke the window.
• Why: A standard it-cleft needs a linking relative word such as who or that before the second clause.

Choosing the wrong tense for be

• Wrong: It is Maria who called me yesterday.
• Right: It was Maria who called me yesterday.
• Why: When identifying the person responsible for a completed past event, past was normally matches that time frame. Present is can be possible if the identification is being framed as a present fact, but it should be a deliberate choice.

Repeating the focused item with a pronoun

• Wrong: It was the blue folder that I filed it yesterday.
• Right: It was the blue folder that I filed yesterday.
• Why: The focused noun already fills the object position in the relative clause, so another object pronoun is unnecessary.

Combining incompatible patterns

• Wrong: What I need it is more time.
• Right: What I need is more time.
• Also right: It is more time that I need.
• Why: A wh-cleft does not take the placeholder it used by an it-cleft.

Using all without the meaning “only” or “everything”

• Awkward: All I bought was a laptop and several accessories (if this was a large, ordinary purchase).
• Better: What I bought was a laptop and several accessories.
• Why: All I bought... usually presents the purchase as limited or smaller than expected.

Usage Notes

Clefts are marked structures: they add a communicative effect rather than simply reporting a fact. Use them when the listener needs help locating the contrast. If every sentence in a paragraph is a cleft, the writing can sound heavy or dramatic.

In conversation, intonation does much of the work. Compare It was Tuesday that she called with It was Tuesday that she called. The grammar formally places Tuesday in focus, but spoken stress can add a secondary contrast. In writing, a follow-up phrase often makes the intended correction explicit: It was Tuesday that she called, not Wednesday.

It-clefts are comfortable in both speech and formal writing. Wh-clefts often help speakers organize their thoughts and announce a topic before revealing the main point: What concerns me is... This makes them useful in meetings and presentations. However, repeated expressions such as What I want to say is... can become vague fillers; use a direct sentence when no special framing is needed.

The relative marker may sometimes be omitted in informal object clefts: It was the blue one I ordered. Keeping that gives learners a clear and widely accepted structure: It was the blue one that I ordered. The marker cannot normally be omitted when it is the subject of the relative clause: It was Lee who called, not It was Lee called.

Beyond the Basics / Advanced Use

Clefts and information flow

Writers use clefts to separate given information (what the reader already knows) from new information (the key addition). A wh-cleft often places the known issue first and the answer last:

• We already know the plan is expensive. What we do not know is whether it will work.

A reversed wh-cleft can do the opposite, putting the answer first and connecting it to an established issue afterward:

• Whether it will work is what we need to discover.

This makes clefts valuable for structuring arguments, not just emphasizing individual words.

Inferential clefts

A pattern such as It is not that..., but... rejects one possible explanation before giving another:

• It isn't that I dislike the proposal; I just think it is too expensive.
• It's not that she forgot, but that she misunderstood the date.

This is related to clefting because it frames one proposition as the point under discussion. It is especially useful for polite disagreement and careful qualification.

Pronoun case after be

Very formal grammar traditionally favors a subject-form pronoun: It was I who approved the request. In ordinary modern English, object forms sound much more natural: It was me who approved the request and It was her who called. Choose according to register; do not assume the conversational form is an error simply because a formal style guide prefers I, he, or she.

Agreement and number

Agreement can become uncertain when the two sides of a pseudo-cleft differ in number:

• What we need is two additional checks.
• What we need are two additional checks.

Real usage varies because speakers may treat the wh-clause as one abstract need or anticipate the plural answer. For edited prose, avoid forcing a disputed pattern. Write We need two additional checks or The two things we need are an audit and a backup. Clarity is more important than preserving the cleft at all costs.

Practice Tips

1. Transform one neutral sentence in several ways. Start with Noah sent the invoice on Friday. Then focus each element: It was Noah who..., It was the invoice that..., and It was on Friday that.... Say each version aloud with strong stress on the focused phrase.
2. Match the pattern to the purpose. Use an it-cleft to correct a detail, a wh-cleft to reveal the main point at the end, and an all-cleft only when you mean “the only thing” or “everything.”
3. Listen for contrast. In interviews, meetings, and podcasts, note phrases such as What matters is... and It wasn't X that..., it was Y. Rewrite each one as a neutral sentence and identify what the speaker chose to emphasize.

Related Concepts

• Prerequisite: Relative Clauses: where, when, whose — clefts use relative-style clauses to connect the focused element to the rest of the message.
• Useful review: Relative pronouns and statement word order — these help you choose who, that, and what without accidentally forming a question.
• Next step: Information structure and inversion — other advanced patterns also move or frame information to control emphasis in English.