01 / 07
What are cleft sentences in English?
Cleft sentences divide a simple statement into a frame and the information you want to highlight. "The audit team caught the error" becomes "It was the audit team that caught the error" when the responsible group needs to be central. "We need a better process" becomes "What we need is a better process" when you want to frame the need first. The underlying event is not entirely new, but the reader is guided differently. In the neutral-to-formal register of reports and emails, this structure can clarify a contrast or priority. It is not needed in every sentence, however. In relaxed conversation or without a special contrast, the simple statement will often sound more direct. C1 control therefore means choosing the focus deliberately: who was responsible, what was the cause, or what do we need now? A cleft makes one such focus question visible in the structure of the sentence.
02 / 07
How do you form an it-cleft for people and things?
Form the taught it-cleft with it was + focus + who/that + the remaining clause. Use who for a person here: "It was Ms Weber who signed the contract." Use that for a thing: "It was the new software that caused the delay." There is no comma between the focus and the relative part in this pattern. Use the simple pattern it was X who did Y or it was X that caused Y. Replace X in turn with the audit team, Ms Weber, the new software, and the approval stage. The frame stays stable while the focus changes. The minimal pair "The audit team caught the error" and "It was the audit team that caught the error" shows the effect: the first reports neutrally; the second explicitly identifies the responsible group in a neutral-to-formal register.
03 / 07
How does a wh-cleft with what we need is work?
A wh-cleft with what builds a meaning frame first and names the focus afterwards. "What we need is a better process" opens the question of need and answers it with a noun phrase. When an action is in focus, an infinitive follows: "What we need is to hire more staff." In this pattern, do not place a comma after is or add a that-clause. The German frame Was wir brauchen, ist, dass… can produce "What we need is, that we hire more staff"; the English target is "What we need is to hire more staff." Another useful model is "What matters is the deadline." It guides the reader towards one priority. These forms often sound precise in a clearly structured email. If you repeat them in every paragraph, however, the text quickly feels constructed. Use the frame where the focus question genuinely carries the message.
04 / 07
What is the difference between an it-cleft and a wh-cleft?
The difference lies in the kind of focus. An it-cleft takes a complete statement and spotlights one element within it: "It was the audit team that caught the error." The reader is told especially clearly who found the error. A wh-cleft instead establishes a frame such as need, action, or priority: "What we need is a better process" or "What matters is the deadline." In a business report, the two patterns answer different questions rather than acting as interchangeable versions. Who found the error? leads to the it-cleft; what do we need now? leads to the wh-cleft. Both can appear in the neutral-to-formal register of an email, but they organise information differently. Before writing, ask whether you want to extract a person or thing from an event, or first frame a category such as need or priority. The answer selects the pattern.
05 / 07
Which cleft mistakes come from German sentence structure?
German sentence structure mainly causes three cleft problems: the wrong reference word, an extra comma, and a that-clause after is. German Es war Frau Weber, die… can become "It was Ms Weber which signed the contract"; the taught English person pattern requires "who signed the contract." The German comma also migrates into "It was the new software, that caused the delay." It disappears in the English it-cleft: "It was the new software that caused the delay." In a wh-cleft, "What we need is, that we hire more staff" is a direct transfer. Replace the comma and that-clause with the infinitive: "What we need is to hire more staff." Check three points: is the focus a person or a thing, is there an unnecessary comma, and does is lead directly to a noun or infinitive? Those questions expose the main transfer errors quickly.
06 / 07
How do you use clefts in reports and emails?
In reports and emails, use clefts where responsibility, cause, or the next step might otherwise be overlooked. An audit report can state, "It was the audit team that caught the error." A project email can then focus the response: "What we need now is a process that prevents the next one." The two sentences already perform two distinct jobs. The neutral-to-formal register suits a prepared summary, but a whole paragraph of clefts quickly becomes heavy. Follow the highlighted sentence with a direct statement: "The team will test the revised workflow on Friday." This creates a clear sequence of focus, neutral development, and the next focus. Clefts are precision tools here, not decoration. Give each sentence one spotlight and check whether the contrast genuinely matters to the reader. If it does not, the simple statement will often be the better register choice.
07 / 07
When does a cleft sound natural or over-planned?
A cleft sounds natural when the context already contains an open contrast question. After a question about who found the discrepancy, "It was the audit team that caught it" fits well. When a meeting has produced several proposals, "What we need is a simpler approval process" can consolidate the priority. Without such a contrast, the neutral sentence normally feels lighter: "The audit team caught the error" or "We need a simpler process." This matters especially in relaxed conversation, whereas a formal report can support more planned focus. Even in a formal register, do not force several people, causes, and actions into one cleft. One focus per sentence keeps the structure readable. Read the paragraph again without the cleft. If no important weighting disappears, you probably do not need the split. If responsibility or priority becomes blurred, a targeted cleft can restore exactly the required precision.