Cleft sentences (b)
A cleft sentence changes the emphasis in a sentence.
We’d like a new house.(What)
Example 1
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What we’d like is a new house.
This defines the wish, action or decision (among other options) which is singled out as the best or principal course of action.
or Example 2
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A new house is what we’d like.
There is a slight change of emphasis in each version, from the verb being emphasised (example 1) to the object of the verb (example 2).
They never knew who their niece married. (Who)
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Who they never knew was who their niece married.
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or Who their niece married was who they never knew.
I wanted to live in Venezuela. (Where)
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Where I wanted to live was Venezuela.
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Venezuela was where I wanted to live.
He should tell his boss what actually happened.(What)
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What he should tell his boss is what actually happened.
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What actually happened is what he should tell his boss.
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or What he should do is tell his boss what actually happened.
Using the word in brackets, can you re-write these sentences in one version or the other of a cleft sentence?
On these please just do the first version (example 1) as the second does not always sound right!
A He had never realised how happy his daughter was in Poland. (What)
B He’d hoped to move to Cornwall.(Where)
C She really misses living in the countryside. (What)
D We could have moved in with John and Alice. (Who)
E He ended up buying a property in the middle of Manchester. (Where)