Cleft sentences

Rules

• Rule 1: It is / It was + focus + who / that

  Put the part you want to stress between It is / It was and who / that. Use It is for the present and It was for the past. Even if the focus is plural, the pattern still starts with It is / was.

  Pattern: It is / It was + focus + who / that + rest of the sentence

  Example: It was the twins who painted the mural.

  Example: It is geography that I find most interesting.

• Rule 2: who or that?

  If the focus is a person, use who (or that). For a thing, place, time or reason, use that. Even for places and times we usually use that, not where / when, and always when the focus starts with a preposition (in Trabzon, on Friday) or contains only / not until.

  Pattern: person → who / that · thing / place / time → that

  Example: It was in Trabzon that we saw the old monastery.

  Example: It was only after the match that I felt tired.

• Rule 3: What … is / was …

  A What clause means “the thing that…”. Then comes is / was and the focused information. The What part counts as one thing, so the verb is usually singular: is / was. (Before a plural noun are is also heard: *What we need are new chairs.*)

  Pattern: What + subject + verb + is / was + focus

  Example: What I love about winter is the snow.

  Example: What surprised us was how quiet the forest was.

• Rule 4: Focusing on an action, and other patterns

  To stress an action, use What … did was + (to) + verb. All I want is …, The thing I like is …, The reason (why) … is that … and It was not until … that … also create focus.

  Pattern: What + subject + did was + verb · All + subject + verb + is …

  Example: What we did was build a raft from old boxes.

  Example: All I want is five more minutes.

Common mistakes

• It was in the kitchen where we found the kitten. → It was in the kitchen that we found the kitten.

  With a prepositional place focus, use that.

• What I need are more time. → What I need is more time.

  The What part is singular → is.

• It were the boys who shouted. → It was the boys who shouted.

  The pattern is always It is / It was; never It were.