Cleft Sentences
Build your vocabulary with practical examples
Level C1
It-cleft (emphasising one element)
It was John who
/ɪt wəz dʒɒn huː/
It was John who broke the vase, not Tim.
It is here that
/ɪt ɪz hɪər ðæt/
It is here that we first met.
It was in 1990
/ɪt wəz ɪn ˌnaɪnˈtiːn ˈnaɪnti/
It was in 1990 that the Berlin Wall came down.
It wasn't me
/ɪt ˈwɒzənt miː/
It wasn't me who told her — it was Anna.
What-cleft (focusing on the action/object)
What I need
/wɒt aɪ niːd/
What I need is a long holiday.
What he said
/wɒt hiː sed/
What he said upset everyone.
What we want
/wɒt wiː wɒnt/
What we want is justice.
All-cleft (only this matters)
All I want
/ɔːl aɪ wɒnt/
All I want is a quiet evening.
All she did
/ɔːl ʃiː dɪd/
All she did was apologise.
All you need
/ɔːl juː niːd/
All you need is patience.
Why Use Clefts
for emphasis
/fər ˈemfəsɪs/
It was the rain that ruined our picnic. (emphasis)
for contrast
/fər ˈkɒntrɑːst/
It wasn't the price — it was the quality.
for new info
/fər njuː ˌɪnfərˈmeɪʃən/
What surprised me was her honesty.