10.4 cleft structures

Another way of varying the sequence of elements in the clause is to use a cleft structure. There are three different types.

One type allows you to focus on the person or thing you are talking about, as in 'It was Jason who told them'.

The second type allows you to focus on an action, as in 'What they did was break a window and get in that way' or 'All I could do was cry'.

The third type allows you to focus on the circumstances of an action, for example the time or the place, as in 'It was one o'clock when they left', or 'It was in Paris that they met for the first time'.

Cleft structures are dealt with in the section beginning at paragraph 10.25.