Cleft and pseudo-cleft sentences revisited

A cleft sentence is a sentence which has been divided into two parts, each with its own verb, to emphasize a particular piece of information. The first sentence begins with It plus the corresponding form of the verb to be, followed by the element which is being emphasized, and the second is generally a that-relative clause. For example, the sentence My brother married Alice in Oxford in 1999 can be turned into the following cleft sentences:

It was Alice that my brother married (in Oxford in 1999)
It was my brother that married Alice (in Oxford in 1999)
It was in Oxford that my brother married Alice (in 1999)
It was in 1999 that my brother married Alice (in Oxford)

If the antecedent is a person, who is sometimes used instead of that:

It was my brother who married Alice
It's my wife who drives the children to school

When there is a what-clause which emphasizes the action itself, we have a pseudo-cleft sentence:

You need love becomes what you need is love

If there is an infinitive, to is optional:

You've spoilt everything becomes What you've done is (to) spoil everything

All can be used instead of what when the meaning is 'the only thing that':

The only thing I did was (to) drink a couple of beers becomes All I did was (to) drink a couple of beers.

Pseudo-cleft sentences headed by where or when are sometimes found:

Where the boss has his office is on the second floor
When I am most tired is in the evening

but, in pseudo-cleft sentences with where or when, the wh-clause is more usually found as subject complement:

Here is where the accident took place
This is where I work
Spring is when the countryside is most beautiful

Although they are not very common, pseudo-cleft sentences with who or how are also found sometimes:

Who I mean is the chief inspector or, more commonly, The chief inspector is who I mean
How he talked is with a Scottish accent or, more commonly, With a Scottish accent is how he talked

Other expressions that can be used to head a pseudo-cleft sentence are: the thing (that), the only thing (that), the first thing (that), the reason why, the place where, the person (who/that), etc.:

The reason why I went to visit him was to discuss my future
The place where I would like to go to next summer is Norway
The person (who/that) you need to see about that is Sylvia

PRACTICE

* Build up cleft sentences emphasizing the element in italics:

a- I met my wife in Paris
b- We were married in September
c- Bruno reported us to the police
d - The manager himself wants to speak to you
e - Benidorm is a nice place for a holiday, but I'm going to Marbella this summer
f - My left leg hurts, not the right one
g.- Christmas was made special for us that year by the snow
h.- When I got home I realised I had left the TV on

** Turn the following sentences into pseudo-cleft sentences, headed by the word in brackets:

a - You need a good cup of tea (what)
b - I'll write a letter to The Times (what)
c - I liked best her performance (what)
d - I only drank a couple of pints with my colleagues (all)
e.- We now need action rather than words (what)
f.- I just need ten minutes to finish that task (all)

*** Transformation exercise

a.- I washed everything except the blouse
a.- The only thing.............................

b.- I came back because I realised that I had forgotten to lock the door
b.- The reason why..........................................................

c.- You need a corkscrew to open the bottle
c.- The thing.............................................

d.- The jewels are hidden under the bedroom floor
d.- The place......................................................

e.- You need to ask my sister about that
e.- The person......................................

f.- I would like to go to New York on my next holiday
f.- The place..........................................................

g.- He just wants to stay in and watch TV
g.- All...................................................

h.- The police interviewed all the witnesses to the accident first
h.- What..........................................................................

KEY
*
a - It was in Paris that I met my wife
b - Ii was in September that we were married
c - It was Bruno who/that reported us to the police
d - It's the manager himself who/that wants to speak to you
e - Benidorm is a nice place for a holiday, but it's Marbella that I'm going to this summer
f - It's my left leg that hurts, not the right one
g.- It's the snow that made Christmas special for us that year
h.- It's when I got gome that I realised (that) I had left the TV on

**
a - What you need is a good cup of tea
b - What I'll do is (to) write a letter to The Times
c - What I liked best was her performance
d - All I did was (to) drink a couple of pints with my colleagues.
e.- What we need now is action rather than words
f.- All I need is ten minutes to finish that task

***
a.- The only thing (that) I didn't wash is the blouse
b.- The reason why I came back is that I realised I hadn't locked the door
c.- The thing (that) you need to open the bottle is a corkscrew
d.- The place where the jewels are hidden is under the bedroom floor
e.- The person (that/who) you need to ask about that is my sister
f.- The place where I would like to go to on my next holiday is New York
g.- All (that) he wants is (to) stay in and watch TV
h.- What the police did first was (to) interview all the witnesses to the accident