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Cleft sentences split an idea into two clauses to emphasize a specific element; they come in two forms: 'it-cleft' and 'wh-cleft'.
Side-by-side comparison
The "it-cleft" lets you place emphasis on a specific element of the sentence. Structure: "It was [emphasis] that/who...". Useful for highlighting who, what, or when.
It was Maria who called me last night, not her sister.
It is the spelling that most learners struggle with, not the grammar.
It was only when I got home that I realised I had left my keys at the office.
The "WH-cleft" emphasizes the new or most important information. Structure: "What I need is..." or "What happened was...". Very natural in spoken English.
What I love about summer is the long evenings and the warm nights.
What surprised me most was how quickly the kids learned the new rules.
What we need is more practice, not more explanations.
Common mistake
"It was the CEO approved the plan" is wrong: in it-clefts, "that" or "who" are obligatory. "It was the CEO who/that approved the plan". And "What is I need a plan" is also wrong: the wh-cleft structure is "What I need IS a plan" (subject + verb + IS + emphasized element).
Trick to remember it
- •IT-cleft = pointing the accusatory finger: IT WAS [who/what] WHO/THAT did it. The emphasis lands in the middle.
- •WH-cleft = revealing the answer at the end: WHAT I need IS [whatever]. Suspense until the focal point.
- •Both build emphasis: the listener waits to discover who or what matters.
Quick rule
- •It-cleft: "It was/is [element] that/who [clause]".
- •Wh-cleft: "What [subject+verb] is [element]".
- •The verb in the who/that clause agrees in number with the emphasized element.
Did you know?
Cleft sentences are a window into the information structure of discourse. Linguists distinguish between "given" information (already known) and "new" information (unknown). "John called" presents everything as balanced. "It was JOHN who called" places "someone called" as given information and "JOHN" as the new, emphasized element. This distinction is central to M.A.K. Halliday's systemic functional grammar.
Practise what you learned
Exercise 1 · Pick the right one
You want to emphasise that MARIA (not someone else) won the prize. Which sentence does this best?
Exercise 2 · Pick the right one
You want to emphasise WHAT she found (not where or when). Choose the correct cleft:
Exercise 3 · Form the word
Related word pairs
When negative expressions like 'never' or 'not only' open a formal clause, the auxiliary verb inverts before the subject.
'Not only... but also' adds emphasis to the second element; 'both... and' connects two elements with equal weight.
Question tags are mini-questions at the end of a sentence; a positive statement takes a negative tag and vice versa.
'A' is used before consonant sounds; 'an' is used before vowel sounds.
Bryan López
Founder of SpeakUP Academy