FOR those times when even the passive voice falls short of giving us the desired emphasis for a statement, the English language allows recourse to a construction known as the cleft sentence, which "cleaves" or splits a single-clause sentence into two clauses for semantic or stylistic emphasis. It is the written equivalent of speaking louder to draw attention to the most important points of what we are saying.
Cleft sentences take two common forms. The first is the "it" cleft, which exhibits the pattern "It + be + [subject of focus] + [action or defining clause]," as in "It was the accusers themselves who fudged the data." The other is the pseudo-cleft or "wh-" cleft, which normally takes the form "Wh- + [subject] + [verb] + [form of be] + [rest of the predicate]," as in "What she did was a wonderful thing." Both depart from the usual declarative form to achieve a stronger, defensive emphasis. (The straightforward form of the "it" cleft above is, of course, "The accusers themselves fudged the data"; that of the "wh-" cleft, "She did a wonderful thing.")
Continue reading with one of these options:
Ad-free access
P 80 per month
(billed annually at P 960)
- Unlimited ad-free access to website articles
- Limited offer: Subscribe today and get digital edition access for free (accessible with up to 3 devices)