Cleft Sentences & Emphasis Quiz
12 multiple-choice questions on it-clefts, wh-clefts, fronting, inversion and emphatic 'do'. B2–C1 level. Perfect for advanced grammar practice before Cambridge or IELTS exams.
Cleft Sentences & Emphasis — FAQ
A cleft sentence splits a simple sentence into two clauses to emphasise one particular element. The most common type begins with 'It is/was...' followed by a relative clause: 'It was Maria who called.' This highlights 'Maria' as the key piece of information. Cleft sentences are widely used in formal writing and academic English to direct the reader's attention.
There are three main types. (1) It-cleft: 'It was the noise that woke me.' (2) Wh-cleft (pseudo-cleft): 'What I need is a long holiday.' (3) All-cleft: 'All I want is a cup of tea.' Each type emphasises a different part of the original sentence and is used in slightly different contexts.
An it-cleft starts with 'It is/was' and places the focused element immediately after the verb: 'It was coffee that kept me awake.' A wh-cleft (pseudo-cleft) starts with a wh-clause and ends with the emphasised element after 'be': 'What kept me awake was coffee.' Wh-clefts often feel slightly more formal or written in style.
Regular emphasis can be achieved through stress (spoken), word order (fronting), or intensifiers. Cleft sentences are a structural device: they literally break the sentence into two parts to isolate one element. For example, 'I saw John yesterday' becomes 'It was John that I saw yesterday' (it-cleft) or 'What I saw yesterday was John' (wh-cleft).
Fronting moves an element — usually an adverbial, object, or adjective — to the beginning of the sentence for emphasis: 'That film I will never forget.' (normally: 'I will never forget that film.') Fronting is common in spoken and informal English to contrast or highlight information. It often requires no change to the rest of the sentence, unlike inversion.
Inversion reverses the normal subject–verb order, triggered by a negative or restrictive adverbial at the start: 'Never had I seen such a crowd.', 'Not only did she win, but she broke the record.', 'Rarely do we encounter such talent.' Inversion is a C1 feature common in formal written English, academic prose, and literary texts.
Common errors: using the wrong relative pronoun (use 'who' for people, 'that/which' for things); wrong tense in the it-cleft; omitting the relative pronoun ('It was the train caused the delay' — missing 'that'); and confusing wh-clefts with question forms ('What I need is rest' is a statement, not a question).
Yes. It-clefts can form questions: 'Was it Maria who called?' or 'Is it the deadline that worries you?' Wh-clefts are typically statements, but in spoken English rising intonation can turn one into a question: 'What you're saying is that you disagree?'
The auxiliary 'do/does/did' can be added to an affirmative sentence to emphasise the verb: 'I do understand your concern.', 'She does work hard.', 'He did finish the project.' This is called emphatic 'do'. It is used to contradict a negative assumption or add strong affirmation. The main verb always stays in its base form after emphatic 'do'.
Cleft sentences are introduced at B2 (Upper-Intermediate) and refined at C1 (Advanced). Simple it-clefts are accessible at B2; inversion and complex wh-clefts are C1 features. They appear frequently in Cambridge B2 First, C1 Advanced and IELTS Writing Task 2 model answers — making them a high-value structure to master.