CLEFT SENTENCE
READ THE FOLLOWING SENTENCES CAREFULLY:
- It is my ice cream that you are enjoying.
- What I need right now to have a cup of coffee.
- It isn’t the color I was looking for.
These are the sentences that we often find in our day to day conversation. They are useful not only in Informal English but also in Formal English. But only a few know and understand the formation of the CLEFT SENTENCES.
So what is the exact formation of such kinds of sentences? I am going to explain you here.
MEANING OF the word CLEFT
The meaning of the word cleft is –TO DIVIDE
so before proceeding ahead let’s have an idea of cleft sentences.
- It is my watch that has been broken.
- What they like for breakfast to have bread and butter.
- That was Ankita who arrived first.
- All I need to do right now to have a cup.
DEFINITION OF A CLEFT SENTENCE
So as it is clear with the world CLEFT
the meaning of which is to -divide
the definition also goes like this –
“A sentence parted in two different clauses
connecting the old information with the
new one emphasizing or focusing the new
information is called a cleft sentence.”
BASIC FEATURES OF A CLEFT SENTENCE
- 1. A cleft sentence is a complex sentence itself.
- It is divided into two parts.
- Every part has its own separate verb.
- It connects the old information with a new one.
- It focuses basically on the new information.
EXAMPLES
Nisha was absent yesterday.
No, It was Disha who was absent yesterday.
Be Attentive!
New information- It was Disha
Old Information- It was Nisha…
This means, there was someone absent yesterday. but Who was that? There was some confusion in the name. Who was that? That was Disha. So the old information was corrected with the new information, on which we focused or emphasized.
KINDS OF CLEFT SENTENCES
kinds of cleft sentences
Now, there are two kinds of Cleft Sentences-
- It cleft
- Wh Cleft
IT CLEFT
In IT CLEFT, the focus is given on
the first Clause or the primary clause only.
Thus we can say , the clause that has IT
as a subject, is called It cleft because it focuses on the given clause that has IT
as a subject.
Example
- Was Kirtika’s dog lost?
- No, IT WAS MY DOG that was lost.
It was my dog- NEW INFORMATION
that was lost- OLD INFORMATION.
THE FORMATION OF IT CLEFT
IT+ BE+ OBJECT(emphasized word/phrase)+that/who clause
Example:
- Divyam has secured the highest percentage in his class.
No, It’s Shivam who has secured the highest percentage in the class.
So because we have given stress on the main noun who is the real achiever, we added him in the first clause that is the It-clause.
(It was Shivam) ( New information)
- Anjani reads Shruti’s diary.
No,It was Rishali’s diary that
was read by Anjani.
(Rishali’s diary )(new information)
REPLACEMENT OF IT
Sometimes we use other Demonstrative Pronouns also to replace IT.
Example
- Those are the trees that have been cut down by someone yesterday.
- That was the ice cream flavour that I wanted to taste.
- These are the notes I was searching for.
WH CLEFT/ PSEUDO CLEFT
WH cleft is called pseudo cleft also. In WH-cleft the focus is given on the second part or the secondary clause.
Example-
- What can I do for you?
What you can do for me is
to help me in completing my project.
The formation of a WH cleft sentence
WH-ClAUSE + BE+ emphasized word or phrase
Example –
- What do you need right now?
What I need is just to have an ice cream
right now.
‘just to have ice cream’- New Information
‘What I need’ – Old information
REPLACEMENT OF WH-CLEFT
sometimes we can replace WH with –
#All
#The first thing
#The one thing
Examples-
- The first thing I noticed in the morning
was a beautiful flower blooming in my garden. - The one thing I want right now to be alone.
- All you need is to have a rest for some time.
REVERSING WH CLEFT
We can use WH cleft clause
in reverse order also
Example
- The new mobile is what I really need now.
- Venice is the place where I really wish to
visit once in my lifetime.
CLEFT WITH MODAL AUXILIARY
we can use modal auxiliary verbs also in
cleft sentences.
Example
- It may be my fault that the rose plant in my garden died soon.
- What I need now might be some snacks.
- What you can do for me is just accompany me by the crossing.
- IT could my illusion that you visited at the nearest mall yesterday.
THANK YOU!
HAPPY LEARNING!
EXERCISES
1______ would do is clear my point first.
a.That I said
b.What I s
c.It is what
d.What said
Ans: What I
2______ liked about him was his generous
behaviour.
a.What I
b.That I
c.What
d.It’s what I
Ans: What I
3______ everything started to fall apart.
a.It was 2020 when
b.2020 it was
c.2020 was where
d.Was 2020 when
Ans: It was 2020 when
4.Akshat was ______ came up with the original idea.
a.the person who
b.that
c.who
d.the person
Ans: the person who
5______ is to keep themselves safe from any upcoming danger.
a.The reason why they did it
b.How they did it
c.Because they did it
d.It’s why they did it
Ans: The reason why they did it
Tell the new and old information in the following Cleft sentences.
1 It was John who stole your watch.
No, It was Niyus who stole my watch.
Old information: ________
New Information: _________
2 What do you desire from your life?
All that I desire from my life is to enjoy a peaceful life.
3 That one thing you need right now is to meet your best friend.
No, It is y family that I need to meet right now.
Old information: ________
New Information: _________
4 It may be my fault that I met him.
No, It is the fault of start that you met him.
Old information: ________
New Information: _________
5 Those are the books that I was searching for.
No, These are the books that I was searching for.
Old information: ________
New Information: _________
6 What would you like to have for dinner.
Rice and Curry is the one thing I would like to have FOR dinner.
Old information: ________
New Information: _________
KEEP ON PRACTICING!