Cleft Sentences in English

1. Dialogue:

Read the dialogue below. Notice the bold words—they are examples of cleft sentences.

Ava: What did you enjoy most about the party last night?
Leo: It was the music that I loved the most. It made the whole atmosphere lively!
Ava: Oh, I agree. What I didn’t expect was the live band - it was amazing!
Leo: Same here! And it was Sarah who planned the whole event, wasn’t it?
Ava: Yes! What surprised me was how she managed to keep it a secret.
Leo: It wasn’t just the decorations that impressed me - it was everything!

 It was the music that I loved the most.

2. What Are Cleft Sentences?

Cleft sentences are a way to emphasize a specific part of a sentence. We "split" one idea into two clauses to make one part stand out.

For example:

  • Regular sentence: I loved the music the most.
  • Cleft sentence: It was the music that I loved the most.

3. Why Use Cleft Sentences?

Cleft sentences are useful because they:

  • Focus attention on the most important part of a sentence.
  • Add variety and emphasis to your speech or writing.

4. Types of Cleft Sentences

  1. It-Cleft Sentences

    • Structure: It is/was + [focus] + that/who...
    • Example: It was the music that I loved the most.

  2. What-Cleft Sentences

    • Structure: What + clause + is/was...
    • Example: What I didn’t expect was the live band.

  3. Other Forms (less common but still useful):

    • All-Cleft Sentences: All I want is some rest.
    • Wh-Cleft Sentences: Where we went was incredible.

5. Practice

A. Match the Cleft Sentence to the Regular Sentence:

  1. It was Sarah who planned the event.
  2. What surprised me was how good the food was.
  3. It wasn’t just the music that made the party great.

    a. Sarah planned the event.
    b. The music wasn’t the only great thing about the party.
    c. How good the food was surprised me.

B. Rewrite the Regular Sentence as a Cleft Sentence:

  1. I loved the cake the most.
  2. She found the keys in the living room.
  3. John was the one who called me.

6. Answers:

A: 1-a, 2-c, 3-b
B:

  1. It was the cake that I loved the most.
  2. It was in the living room that she found the keys.
  3. It was John who called me.

Great job! Keep practicing cleft sentences to add emphasis and variety to your English. 🌟

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