Grammar: Cleft sentences
- A cleft sentence is a complex sentence (one with a main clause and a dependent clause).
We can usually express the meaning of a cleft sentence with a simple sentence. It is called a cleft sentence because there are two parts to the sentence.
- We use cleft sentences in order to emphasise certain pieces of information.
- We join the most important piece of information to a relative clause, often with who, where or that.
- We can start cleft sentences with the following phrases, among others:
The thing that …...
The person who …...
The time when …...
The place where …...
The way in which ......
It + is/was ......
- When we begin a cleft sentence with It, the relative clause usually begins with that.
Huda won the prize for Art last year.
The person who won the prize for Art last year was Huda.
Huda won the prize for Art last year.
The prize that Huda won last year was for Art.
Huda won the prize for Art last year.
It was last year that/when Huda won the prize for Art.
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The Olympic Games were held in London in 2012 CE.
It was in 2012 CE that the Olympic Games were held in London.
The Olympic Games were held in London in 2012 CE.
The event that took place in London in 2012 CE was the Olympic Games
The Olympic Games were held in London in 2012 CE.
London was the place where the Olympic Games were held in 2012 CE.
Remember when we emphasize a place or a time with a preposition we use which.
The country in which Jabir ibn Hayyan did his research in a laboratory was Iraq.
Consider the following examples:
- Samia graduated in 2010.
The person who graduated in 2010 was Samia.
- Queen Rania opened the museum.
The person who opened the museum was queen Rania.
- My father has influenced me greatly.
The person who has influenced me greatly is my father.
- I like Geography most of all.
The subject which I like most of all is Geography.
- The hot weather made the journey unpleasant.
The thing that made the journey unpleasant was the hot weather.
- Our neighbour's generosity impressed me.
The thing that impressed me was our neighbour's generosity.
- The great war happened in 830 CE.
The year when the great war happened was 830.
- The engineer designed that project last year.
It was the engineer who designed that project last year.
Test yourself :
Jabir ibn Hayyan did his research in a laboratory in Iraq
The thing ...................................................................................................
The person..................................................................................................
The place.......................................................................................................
The country in................................................................................................
It .....................................................................................................................
Jabir ibn Hayyan ..............................................................................................
Answers:
The thing that Jabir ibn Hayyan did in a laboratory in Iraq was his research.
The person who did his research in a laboratory in Iraq was Jabir ibn Hayyan.
The place where Jabir ibn Hayyan did his research was a laboratory in Iraq.
The country in which Jabir ibn Hayyan did his research was Iraq.
It was Jabir ibn Hayyan who did his research in a laboratory in Iraq.
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