Because there are
two parts to the sentence it is called cleft (from the verb cleave)
which means divided into two.
Cleft
structures include the
reason why, the thing that, the person/people who, the
place where, the day when andwhat-clauses which
are usually linked to the clause that we want to focus on with is or was.
Compare the
following sets of sentences and notice how the cleft structure in
each case enables us to select the information we want to focus on:
- I've come to discuss my future with
you.
- The reason why I've come is to
discuss my future with you.
- Your generosity impresses more than
anything else.
- The thing that impresses me more than anything else isyour
generosity.
- The jewels are hidden under the floor
at 23 Robin Hood Road, Epping.
- The place where the jewels are hidden is under
the floor at 23 Robin Hood Road, Epping.
- Under the floor at 23 Robin Hood Road is
the place wherethe jewels are hidden.
- Mary works harder than anybody else
in this organisation.
- The person who works harder than anybody else in
this organisation is Mary.
- Mary is the person in
this organisation who works harder than anybody else.
- The Second World War ended on 7 May
1945 in Europe.
- The day (when) the Second World War ended in Europewas 7
May 1945
- 7 May 1945 was the day (when) the
Second World War ended in Europe.
- We now need actions rather than
words.
- What we now need are actions
rather than words.
- Actions rather than words are
what we now need.
- I enjoyed the brilliant music most of
all in the Ballet Frankfurt performance.
- What I enjoyed most in the Ballet
Frankfurt performancewas the brilliant music.
- The brilliant music was what I enjoyed most in the Ballet Frankfurt performance.
Note
from the last two examples that cleft structures with what-clauses are
often used with verbs expressing an emotive response to something like adore, dislike, enjoy, hate, like,loathe, love, need, prefer, want,
etc.
Cleft structures
with what-clauses are also often used withdoes/do/did and with the
verb happen when we want to give emphasis to the whole
sentence, rather than a particular clause.
Compare the
following:
- The police interviewed all the
witnesses to the accident first.
- What the police did first was (to)
interview all the witnesses to the accident.
- You should invest all your money in
telecoms companies.
- What you should do is (to)
invest all your money in telecoms companies.
- What you should invest all your money in is telecoms
companies.
- She writes all her novels on a
typewriter.
- What she does is (to) write
all her novels on a type writer.
- Their car broke down on the motorway
so they didn't get to Jo's wedding on time.
- What happened was that their car broke down on the motorway so they didn't get to Jo's wedding on time.
It is sometimes
very effective to use all instead of what in
a cleft structure if you want to focus on one particular thing and nothing
else:
- I want a new coat for Christmas.
- All I want for Christmas is a
new coat.
- A new coat is all I
want for Christmas.
- I touched the bedside light and it
broke.
- All I did was (to) touch
the bedside light and it broke.
Finally, we can
also use preparatory it in cleft sentences and join the words
that we want to focus on to the relative clause with that, who or when.
In the example
which follows, note how this construction enables us to focus on different
aspects of the information, which may be important at the time:
- My brother bought his new car from
our next-door neighbour last Saturday.
- It was my brother who bought his new car from our neighbour last Saturday.
- It was last Saturday when my brother bought his new car
from our neighbour.
- It was a new car that my brother bought from our
neighbour last Saturday.
- It was our next-door neighbour that my brother bought his new car from last Saturday.
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