Focusing with It was X who/that... and What I need is..., plus all/the thing/the reason variants
I can redirect focus in writing with it-clefts, what-clefts and their variants.
Look at these examples. Can you spot the grammar pattern?
It was the goalkeeper, not the striker, who won us the cup.
It was the goalkeeper, not the striker, who won us the cup.
What this city lacks isn't money — it's patience.
What this city lacks isn't money — it's patience.
Pay attention to the highlighted parts. What do they have in common?
Split one message into frame + focus:
| Cleft | Example |
|---|---|
| it-cleft | It was the keeper who saved the match. It wasn't until midnight that they left. |
| what-cleft | What I need is a long holiday. What annoyed us was the silence afterwards. |
| variants | All I want is quiet. The reason I called is simple. The thing that matters is timing. |
After What I need / What I want is, use a noun or to-infinitive (What I need is a break / is to sleep). Other what-clefts take a that-clause freely (What happened was that the bus broke down; What I mean is that...), and do takes a bare infinitive (What I did was call the police).
Clefts replace the missing intonation channel in writing — they tell the reader where the stress goes.
Apply this grammar in C1 course exercises
Practice Exerciseswhen/which in it-clefts
it-cleft links with that/who
not until without cleft frame
It wasn't until X that Y
It was the goalkeeper, not the striker, who won us the cup.
It was the goalkeeper, not the striker, who won us the cup.
it-cleft with contrastive correction.
What this city lacks isn't money — it's patience.
What this city lacks isn't money — it's patience.
what-cleft with a negated focus.
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Practice in course
Apply this grammar in C1 course exercises