E.O.I. de Mieres

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28/11/2005

Ways of Adding Emphasis

I.

Cleft Sentences

If we want to give special importance to one part of a sentence, we can put it into a separate
clause. There are two common ways of doing this. One is to use the structure

It is/was ... that ...;

the other is to use What . . . is/was ....
Compare:

Harry told the police. It was Harry that told the police.
I need a beer. What I need is a beer.

The sentence with

It gives special importance to Harry; the sentence with What emphasises a

beer.
Sentences like these are called 'cleft sentences' by grammarians

(cleft means 'divided').

A Cleft sentences with It is/was ... that

...

This structure can be used to emphasise almost any part of the sentence.
Compare:

My mother threw an egg at the Minister of Education yesterday.
It was my mother that threw an egg at the Minister of Education yesterday.
It was an egg that my mother threw at the Minister of Education yesterday.
It was yesterday that my mother threw an egg at the Minister of Education.
It was the Minister of Education that my mother threw an egg at yesterday.

Notes
9

The verb cannot be emphasised in this way: you cannot say

*It was threw that ...

9

When the subject is emphasised,

who (referring to a person) is possible instead of that.

It was my mother who threw...

9

When the emphasised subject is a pronoun, there is a choice between subject forms I,

me, etc)

and object-forms

(me, him, etc).

It was I who ... It was me that ...

Object forms are more common in informal English.

B Cleft sentences with What ... is/was ...

This structure is used to emphasise the subject or object. Compare:

My left leg hurts. What hurts is my left leg.
I like her style. What I like is her style.

Who (m) cannot be used in this way for person subjects or objects. You cannot say, for instance,
*Who telephoned was my uncle.

E.O.I. de Mieres

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1. Restructure the following statements to make them more emphatic.

a. We doubt his sincerity.
____________________________________________________

b. I admire the efficiency of the Swiss.
____________________________________________________

c. She hates having to get up at 6 o'clock every morning.
____________________________________________________

d. His approval of the scheme is important.
____________________________________________________

e. Their self-righteousness is annoying.
____________________________________________________

f. You should go to Spain for your holidays.
____________________________________________________

g. I like London because it has beautiful parks.
____________________________________________________

h. h. Nobody likes losing.
____________________________________________________

2. Join each of the following sentence-pairs using the way or the fact, and

beginning with

What

...

a.

He never makes a fuss. I admire this.

____________________________________________________

b.

She's always on time. I appreciate this.

____________________________________________________

c.

This government has treated the Health Service so badly. This irritates everybody.

____________________________________________________

E.O.I. de Mieres

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28/11/2005

d.

The Health Service wastes less money than it used to. This is of no consequence.

____________________________________________________

3. Work in pairs. Prepare to talk for one minute on one of the topics below, or

any other topic that you feel particularly strongly about. Try to use some of
these patterns for emphasis:

What really annoys me about ...
What is most surprising ...
It is the way some people ... that ...
What most people don't realize is the fact that ...

litter

badly-behaved children

smoking

the weather

bad drivers learning English
politics

people who wear fur coats

football

teachers who set too

exams

much homework

II.

The use of '-ever' for emphasis

Whatever. whoever, whichever, whenever, wherever. and however are used to

express

It doesn't matter what/who/which. etc.

Examples
Well, I like it whatever - you might think.
Whatever the weather, l get up at dawn and go for a walk.
Take whichever one -you want.

They, can also express the idea of ignorance, indifference, or something not
precisely specified.

Examples
Give this to Mary, or Marie, whatever her name is.
I'll ring you at 8. 00 or 8.30, whenever I get the time.

Practice
Fill each gap with one of the above words formed with -ever.

E.O.I. de Mieres

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1.

___________________ thinks that the earth is flat is a fool.

2. I don't want to be disturbed.

___________________ calls, and ___________________ they

want, tell them I'm out..

3. Hang the picture

___________________ you like, I don't mind.

4.

___________________ hard I try, I can never remember people's names.

5.

___________________ my wife cooks she gets distracted, so the meat or the
vegetables,

___________________ it is she's cooking, gets burnt.

6. She can't decide whether to study economics or politics, but I'm sure she'll do well

___________________ she chooses.

7. Pick up the children. Megan, Kate, Dave - maybe Beth will be there.

___________________ many there are, bring them back here for tea.

8. You've got to get the money somehow, but for goodness' sake don't pay too much

interest,

___________________ you get it.

9. Could

___________________ leaves the room last turn all the lights out?

10.

___________________ you go, and ___________________ long you are away, you
never forget your own home town.

III.

The use of '-ever' to express surprise

It is also possible to use

-ever with interrogative words to express surprise.

Examples
Whoever is that woman talking to your sister?
However did - you manage to save so much money so
Whatever did you do that for?
The same meaning can be expressed more informally using, on

earth.

Example
What on earth is that?

E.O.I. de Mieres

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key

Ways of Adding Emphasis

IV.

Cleft Sentences

4. Restructure the following statements to make them more

emphatic.

i. We doubt his sincerity.

It is his sincerity that we doubt

What we doubt is his sincerity

His sincerity is what we doubt

j. I admire the efficiency of the Swiss.

It is the efficiency of the Swiss that I admire

What I admire is the efficiency of the Swiss

The efficiency of the Swiss is what I admire

k. She hates having to get up at 6 o'clock every morning.

Having to get up at 6 o'clock every morning is what I hate

What I hate is get ting up at 6 o'clock every morning

It is getting up at 6 o'clock that I hate.

l. His approval of the scheme is important.

It is his approval of the scheme that is important

What is important is his approval.

His approval is what is important

m. Their self-righteousness is annoying.

What annoys me is their self-righteousness

It is their self-righteousness that annoys me

Their self-righteousness is what annoys me

n. You should go to Spain for your holidays.

It is Spain that you should go for your holidays

Spain is where you should go for your holidays

Where you should go for your holidays is Spain.

o. I like London because it has beautiful parks.

What I like about London is the beautiful parks.

It is the beautiful parks that I like about London

The beautiful parks is what I like about London

p. Nobody likes losing.

Losing is what nobody likes

It is losing that nobody likes

What nobody likes is losing

5. Join each of the following sentence-pairs using the way

or the fact, and beginning with What ...

e.

He never makes a fuss. I admire this.

What I admire about him is the way he never makes a fuss

f.

She's always on time. I appreciate this.

What I appreciate is the way she is always on time

g.

This government has treated the Health Service so badly. This

irritates everybody.

What irritates everybody is the way the government has treated the H.

S.

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h.

The Health Service wastes less money than it used to. This is of

no consequence.

What is of no consequence is the fact the H.S. wastes less money than

it used to.

V.

The use of '-ever' for emphasis

Practice
Fill each gap with one of the above words formed with -ever.

a.

Whoever

thinks that the earth is flat is a fool.

b.

I don't want to be disturbed

whoever

calls, and

whatever

they

want, tell them I'm out..

c.

Hang the picture

wherever

you like, I don't mind.

d.

However

hard I try, I can never remember people's names.

e.

Whenever

my wife cooks she gets distracted, so the meat or the

vegetables,

whatever

it is she's cooking, gets burnt.

f.

She can't decide whether to study economics or politics, but I'm

sure she'll do well

whatever

she chooses.

g.

Pick up the children. Megan, Kate, Dave - maybe Beth will be

there.

However

many there are, bring them back here for tea.

h.

You've got to get the money somehow, but for goodness' sake don't

pay too much interest,

wherever

you get it.

i.

Could

whoever

leaves the room last turn all the lights out?

j.

Wherever

you go, and

however

long you are away, you never forget

your own hometown.