![Emphasis: cleft sentences, inversion and auxiliaries](/sites/podcasts/files/styles/max_325x325/public/RS5870_179500929-hig.jpg?itok=5vc_180N)
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 teacher,
I have three questions to ask
Hello noman,
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https://ielts.org/take-a-test/preparation-resources
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https://www.cambridge.org/pl/cambridgeenglish/campaigns/ielts
https://ielts.com.au/australia/about/ielts-for-teachers
https://ielts.com.au/australia/prepare/ielts-test-preparation-material
https://takeielts.britishcouncil.org/take-ielts
Peter
The LearnEnglish Team
LearnEnglish team,
I have some questions about cleft sentences. Consider the following sentence: I don't think Spanish is important. What is important is (to) learn(ing) English.
Which sentence is correct:
1. What is important is to learn English.
2. What is important is learn English.
3. What is important is learning English.
Now consider this:
I didn't do anything wrong. What I did was ask a question.
Can the second sentence be changed to "All I did was ask a question"?
Can I say "All that I did was ask a question", with "that" following "all", like in the sentence "All that glitters is not gold"? In what situation should I add "that" and when not?
Waiting for your insightful response.
Thank you.
Hi ShetuYogme,
Sentences 1 and 3 are correct and they mean the same thing, though 3 gives a slightly stronger sense of the action (learning English) as a process, i.e., something that takes place over time.
In the second question, yes - you can use "All (that) I did".
The "that" is optional. "That" can be omitted in a defining relative clause when it is the object of the verb (here, it is the object of "did". Another example is He's the man that I spoke to yesterday - "that" is the object of "spoke to", and can be omitted). It's more common to say "All I did", without "that".
"Glitters" is connected to the subject "All", and it's also intransitive, so "that" cannot be omitted in "All that glitters".
Hope that helps.
Jonathan
LearnEnglish team
Question: Ex. 1, "No sooner HAD the tickets gone on sale than they sold out".
Would also WERE in this case be possible?
Hi davide.bellelli,
We can use "were" if we also delete "gone": No sooner were the tickets on sale ...
Jonathan
LearnEnglish team
Hi, I would appreciate your help on this matter. Which one is correct?
Is there any grammar rule behind this or it's just commonly used so?
Thank you!
Hello Uyen123,
In more formal language, we generally use the verb form that agrees with the pronoun and we use 'I' over 'me': 'It is I who do the cleaning' and 'It is you who are the new secretary'.
In informal language, we generally use the third-person form: 'It's me who does the cleaning' and 'It's you who's the new secretary'.
Those forms are all correct, but, for what it's worth, I would feel a little strange saying these and would prefer 'I'm the one who does the cleaning' or 'You're the one who's the new secretary'.
All the best,
Kirk
LearnEnglish team
Hello. Could you please explain why future continuous is used in example 4 (test 1)? Is it used because the person that the speaker is talking to hasn't taken the job yet? Would "Not only will you do what you love..." imply a higher degree of certainty of the future? Or does it mean that the job is going to be temporary?
4. You should take that job. Not only will you be doing what you love, you'll also make more money.
Thanks for your attention.
Hello Pritrushenko,
Yes, the sentence 'You should take that job' shows that the person spoken to hasn't yet taken the job. In general I understand the continuous aspect ('will be doing') is used to emphasise the new and different nature of the new job -- it implies that the person's current job isn't one they enjoy and the new one will be.
Another way of thinking about it is that the point of the new job is that it will mean the person will be involved in doing things that they love. So there is a focus on the activities involved in doing the job. We use the continuous aspect to add this layer of meaning.
Does that make sense? By the way, would you mind using the Roman alphabet for your username? Just so everyone can read your name.
Best wishes,
Kirk
LearnEnglish team