cleft sentence (It was ... that ...)
cleft sentence (It was ... that ...) means “Cleft sentence: It is/was + X + that ... splits a sentence to emphasize one part: It was John that broke the window”. A cleft sentence uses It is/was . Formation: It + be + emphasized part + that/who + rest
Cleft sentence: It is/was + X + that ... splits a sentence to emphasize one part: It was John that broke the window
B2Formation
It + be + emphasized part + that/who + rest
Explanation
A cleft sentence uses It is/was ... that ... to highlight one piece of information. Start from John broke the window yesterday; to stress the person, say It was John that (or who) broke the window; to stress the time, It was yesterday that John broke the window. Use who or that for people and that or which for things; the verb be matches the tense you want (is for present, was for past).
Examples
Note
Do not emphasize the verb this way: not It was broke that John did. To focus on an action, use a what-cleft instead: What John did was break the window. The it-cleft highlights nouns, pronouns and time or place phrases.
FAQ
cleft sentence (It was ... that ...) — what does it mean and how is it used?
Cleft sentence: It is/was + X + that ... splits a sentence to emphasize one part: It was John that broke the window. A cleft sentence uses It is/was ... that ... to highlight one piece of information. Start from John broke the window yesterday; to stress the person, say It was John that (or who) broke the window; to stress the time, It was yesterday that John broke the window. Use who or that for people and that or which for things; the verb be matches the tense you want (is for present, was for past).
cleft sentence (It was ... that ...) — how do you form it?
It + be + emphasized part + that/who + rest
cleft sentence (It was ... that ...) — any usage notes?
Do not emphasize the verb this way: not It was broke that John did. To focus on an action, use a what-cleft instead: What John did was break the window. The it-cleft highlights nouns, pronouns and time or place phrases.