Look at these examples to see how we use these structures.
What he loves about hiking is that it doesn't feel like exercise.
Not only did she sing at the talent show, she also danced!
I know it may surprise you, but I really do know quite a bit about this.
Try this exercise to test your grammar.
- Grammar test 1
Read the explanation to learn more.
Grammar explanation
We can use different grammatical structures to add emphasis, either to a whole sentence or to highlight one particular part of it.
Cleft sentences
Cleft sentences allow us to emphasise different parts of the sentence, depending on which part is the most important. Cleft sentences are usually introduced by it or by a clause beginning with what.
Cleft sentences beginning with it
Here is a simple sentence with no particular emphasis.
You invited me to the party yesterday.
We can emphasise different elements of this sentence by 'fronting' them, that is, moving them to the front of the sentence after it + be.
It was you who invited me to the party yesterday.
Emphasis: you (not another person)It was yesterday that you invited me to the party.
Emphasis: yesterday (not another time)It was the party that you invited me to yesterday.
Emphasis: the party (not another event)
Cleft sentences beginning with what
What clauses + be are common in spoken English. They emphasise the part of the sentence that is outside the what clause.
What I like best about going to the cinema is talking about the film afterwards.
What drives me up the wall is people talking during the film.
What I found was that the films my friends liked were very different from the ones I liked.
This kind of cleft sentence can also begin with where, why, who, how, etc.
How the kids did this is still unclear to me.
We can also put the what clause at the end of the sentence.
The game we played was what I liked the most.
Inversion with negative adverbials
We can also use inversion to add emphasis. It has a more formal, persuasive and impressive effect.
To invert a sentence, we put the adverbial (e.g. never, rarely, not only, etc.) at the beginning and change the normal position of the subject and the auxiliary verb.
Rarely have I read such an original story.
(I have rarely read such an original story.)
If there is no auxiliary verb, we need to add one.
Not only do they have live reptiles but you can also touch them.
(They not only have live reptiles but you can also touch them.)
Little, no sooner and not
Some other negative words and expressions used like this are little, no sooner, never and not.
Little did I realise that the restaurant was about to close.
(I didn't realise that the restaurant was about to close.)No sooner had we got inside than the concert ended!
Not a single positive comment did I hear from Will.
Emphatic auxiliaries
In spoken English, we often stress the auxiliary verb to add emphasis.
A: Why aren't you coming to my birthday party?
B: I am coming! Who told you I'm not?!
If there is no auxiliary verb, we can use do, does or did to add emphasis. This works in both spoken and written English.
A: I know you weren't keen on the exhibition.
B: I did like some of it. (You thought I didn't like it.)A: Maybe that's why she was so happy.
B: That does make sense, actually. (I hadn't understood why before.)
In British English, do can also be used this way to make a command more emphatic. This sounds quite formal.
Do sit down, please.
Do be quiet!
Do this exercise to test your grammar again.
- Grammar test 2
Hello AboodKh9,
You could use 'when' here and it would not change the meaning. This is an example of what are sometimes called cleft sentences. These are grammatical constructions which serve to add rhetorical emphasis to certain parts of the sentence. For example:
You can read more about these constructions here:
https://dictionary.cambridge.org/grammar/british-grammar/cleft-sentences-it-was-in-june-we-got-married
Peter
The LearnEnglish Team
Dear team,
Would you mind explaining the structure of the 7th sentence in Test 2? Why is the correct answer 'is' and not 'is to' or 'is (calling)'?
If there are any mistakes in my question, please help me correct them. Thank you for your time.
Best Regards,
Isabella
Hello Isabella,
The full sentence is:
The reason we use 'call' here is because we have the verb 'do'. If you change this verb, you'll change the form which follows. For example, compare these sentences:
Peter
The LearnEnglish Team
Hi. I still was a little confused. I still think the right answer is "calling" or "to call", no matter there is a "do" or not in the sentence, as "what you should do first" is the subject of the complex sentence, "is" is the link verb， so there should be infinitive verb or gerund followed "is". Or it is the fixed expression in English. Hope to receive your explanation. Thank you so much.
Hi lucky1358,
It's not a fixed expression but a particular type of construction (a cleft sentence), specifically a wh-cleft, and it has its own formation rules. You can read more and see more examples on this page:
https://dictionary.cambridge.org/grammar/british-grammar/cleft-sentences-it-was-in-june-we-got-married
Peter
The LearnEnglish Team
Thank you. Can I understand in this way? "What you should do is call your mother." - This form suggests a straightforward and immediate action. It's a direct and clear instruction.
"What you should do is calling your mother." - This form, with "is calling," is less common and can imply a continuous or ongoing action. It might suggest that calling your mother is something you should do regularly or as part of a routine.
"What you should do is to call your mother." - This form, with "is to call," can be seen as slightly more formal. It emphasizes the idea of an obligation or duty to call your mother.
One more question. "What you should do is call your mother?" This expression is formal or informal?
Thank you so much.
Hello again lucky1358,
I think you're looking for patterns which are not there. We don't use the -ing form in this construction. The verb form (here: call) mirrors the verb form in the introductory phrase (here: do). You can only use the -ing form if you have an -ing form earlier:
I wouldn't say the expression/construction has any particular style or register. It is quite neutral and can be used in a wide range of contexts.
I hope that clarifies it for you.
Peter
The LearnEnglish Team
Hello,
For sure, it is an interesting grammar lesson.
However, they are high-level expressions, and since they are not used quite often, it is hard to memorize their structure.
I suppose they are mostly related to the written exam, but after that, they are not easily used.
Apart from the emphatic auxiliaries, simple to remember, what are the most common expressions not to be forgotten?
Thanks for help.
Hi User_1,
Of all the structures mentioned on this page, I'd say the two kinds of cleft sentences are perhaps the most common. They are used not only in formal language, but are also quite common in everyday situations.
It can indeed be hard to remember such structures. I always encourage my students to keep such structures in mind as they read in and listen to English. Once you start, I expect you'll notice them fairly often. What's more, you'll be reading or hearing them in a rich context, which will really help you understand them much better. Often an example or two from your reading and listening will stick out in your mind, and from there it's much more likely that you can use them.
It's not a quick process, but it is natural and usually quite effective.
Hope this helps.
Best wishes,
Kirk
LearnEnglish team
Hi Kirk,
Thanks for your reply.
I will focus on the two kinds of cleft sentences while I am listening to English.
For me, reading keeps on being harder than listening, despite my efforts.