Luckily nick has a mobile phone so he was able to phone his boss and warn her that he would be late. You can make a teacher copy with answers by clicking on show all, then printing. This work is licensed under a creative commons attribution noncommercial noderivatives 4. I ordered a chocolate malt a chocolate malt was what i ordered. Show all questions she always pretends she hasnt heard me when i ask her to help me. Unit 34 nick turned up late for work on monday because he got stuck in a traf. Therefore, real cleft sentences are usually done with itclauses. We will focus on these two types of cleft sentence patterns in this lesson. In a cleft sentence, information which could be given in one clause is divided into two parts, each with its own verb. This handout checks students ability on making cleft sentences. Transform the following, emphasizing the part of the sentence which has been underlined. If the police had found out, i would have been in trouble. Cleft sentences interactive and downloadable worksheet. Cleft sentences rules and exercises for advanced level.
The cleft sentence is introduced by it, which is followed by a verb phrase whose main verb is generally be. It could be rewritten as, it was john whom started the lunch line. Cleft sentences are complex sentences that are used to emphasise one particular part of a sentence. Pseudocleft sentences also called whclefts are similar in function to cleft sentences, but they are formed with the pronoun what the things thatwhich. A cleft sentence is used to connect known information with new information. The basic pattern of a cleft sentence is the following. Cleft sentences look tricky, but youll grasp them quickly. She was furious but managed to reschedule an important meeting for the afternoon. In a cleft sentence we put everything into a kind of relative clause except the words we want to emphasize. It can ideally used when students have grasped making relative clauses. Welcome to esl printables, the website where english language teachers exchange resources. This is an advanced grammar exercise when mastered, it will impress english speakers. Whcleft sentences have an embedded question subordinate clause on one side of a form of auxiliary be that acts as a fulcrum was in the example above. Cleft sentences it is possible to give special prominence to one element of a sentence by dividing it into two clauses, each with its own verb.
You can do the exercises online or download the worksheet as pdf. The following esl efl resources are available for cleft sentences grammar. One way of giving emphasis is by changing the structure of a sentence and using something called a cleft sentence. Cambridge cpe, certificate of proficiency in english, paper 3, use of english, part 3, gapped sentences 1 think of one word only which can be used appropriately in all three sentences. One such way is to invert the word orders in a sentence to give more emphasis on a particular prose or clause. You can practise this topic with the following exercises. Whcleft sentences are most often introduced by what, but we can also use why. Clefts typically put a particular constituent into focus. What john did yesterday was steal a book from the library.
We could reform this sentence to put an emphasis on the person that started the line. Cleft sentences are used to help us focus on a particular part of the sentence and to emphasise what we want to say by introducing it or building up to it with a kind of relative clause. Doetjes and others published cleft sentences find, read and cite all the research you need on researchgate. This makes the sentences more formal and makes the events less likely. Instead of trying to tease these two respective accounts apart, we argue that the two syntactic strategies do exist and compete for cleft constructions, and hence for estce quequi questions. Meaning, pronunciation, picture, example sentences, grammar, usage notes, synonyms and more. I took a 2 hour lesson today, mostly using this site, on just it cleft sentences. Please contact me if you have any questions or ntact me if you have any questions or comments.
Wh cleft sentences are usually considered pseudo cleft because they very often occur in the pattern. They are particularly useful in writing where we cannot use intonation for emphasis, but they are also frequently used in speech. Because there are two parts to the sentence it is called cleft. A cleft sentence is a complex sentence one having a main clause and a dependent clause that has a meaning that could be expressed by a simple sentence. A cleft sentence is a sentence that is cleft split so as to put the focus on one part of it. A cleft with what groups information before or after the predicate so that emphasis can be.
We use cookies to enhance your experience on our website, including to provide targeted advertising and track usage. Cleft sentences are used to help us focus on a particular part. This way you give extra emphasis to part of the sentence it was tom who didnt want to come. Hes approaching the problem from an entirely new angle. Cleft sentences and inversion english language gives its users, the liberty to express their thoughts in different ways. A grammatical construction with information broken into two clauses, to provide extra focus to one piece of information. Cleft comes from the verb to cleave, meaning to divide into two. Predication and specification in the syntax of cleft sentences. The most common types are the it sentence patterns and the wh sentence patterns.
Watch this course live for free on youtube every thursday at 17 00 gmt 17 00 gmt. Cleft sentences multiplechoice exercise made by carmen luisa complete the sentences so that they have the same meaning as the sentences before them. They allow us to connect something that is follow understood to something that is new. A cleft sentence is a special structure used for emphasizing particular words or phrases. Make sure you clear all before printing student copies. Clefting a clause is a means of splitting the clause and moving the content before or after the predicate to produce a particular effect. If we were given the sentence, john started the lunch line. What i find amazing is that he cant even fry an egg. Many times when we write we try to highlight or emphasis a particular portion of a sentence. Rewrite the sentences using cleft structures with it or what. Sometimes, inverted sentences take time to comprehend as the auxiliary verb comes before the subject. Cleft sentences adding emphasis page 4 of 4 test english. A cleft sentence divides a proposition into two parts, which are interpreted as an exhaustive focus and a pragmatic presupposition. A collection of downloadable worksheets, exercises and activities to teach cleft sentences, shared by english language teachers.
Different parts of the sentence can be emphasised in this way. Multiple focus and cleft sentences nancy hedberg abstract the information structure of english cleft sentences is discussed. In spoken language, this focusing is often accompanied by a special intonation in english, a cleft sentence can be constructed as follows. In english, cleft sentences are one of the ways which help the speaker or writer to add emphasis to their sentences. The most common types of cleft sentences follow an it or wh pattern. The purpose is to focus on one part of the clause it was the conservative government that increased the taxes. There are 2 exercises fill in it or what and rewrite the sentences as cleft sentences. It was my brother that gave the book to ryan yesterday. Cleft and pseudocleft structures are used to highlight certain bits of information in the sentence. These structures are useful in writing because we cannot use intonation for emphasis in written language. If we want to give particular importance to a person, a thing or a clause in a sentence, we can use cleft sentences.
Since the fulcrum forms an equational sentence, whcleft sentences are reversible in most cases. English esl cleft sentences worksheets most downloaded. In a basic sentence, no particular emphasis is expressed. The information structure of english cleft sentences is discussed. Exercises usually appear on separate pages, or grouped together on a page. Make the sentences more emphatic by rewriting them, beginning with the word s in brackets. A cleft sentence consists of two parts, often starting with it or wh. You might want to change your margins and you certainly wont want to print.
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