120 Rewrilc the sentcnces so as to emphasize tho words in italics, using U is or It was as in the examples above.
1 We nccd quality, not quanrity.
2 The Government now needs <i nem sense ofpurpose.
3 An inqucst revealed that poisonous mushrooms had caused lns Ueain.
4 1 didn’t realize the value of education until ajler 1 lejt school.
5 You learn a foreign language on ty by comtani prattice.
6 Tm persistentjoumalists uncovered the scandal.
7 He takes after Ais mother rather than his father. .
8 Cheup rented accommodalion is now desperately nceded in London
and other large cities. , . . , , .
9 Cheap rented accommodalion is now desperately needed in London
and other large cities.
10 The trouble started wlien the police arrwed.
11 He doesn’t pass his exams because hi donn V work hard cnnut-h.
12 1 telephoned you in order to wam you uboul whal was happening.
As we have already scen (page 122), it is possible for non-defining clauses to be represented by separate sentenccs, though oltcn willi less econoiny or neamess of style. Non-defining clauses often have a morę obvious co-ordinating function when they follow, rallier than interrupt, the main clause—somc of the relative clauses in the last exercise could well be written as separate sentcnces. The co-ordinating function of non-defining clauses can be scen most clearly in sentcnces like die tbllowing.
a He’s not on die telephone, which makes it difficult to get in touch with him.
b As I had lost John’s new address, I wrote to his father, who will,
^ presumably, let me know where John is now livirig.
In both these sentcnces, we could replace which or who by and ihis or and hc. In sentence a, moreover, which does not relate to a noun antecedent, but refers back to die whole of the preceding clause:
He’s not on the telephone. This (= the fact that he’s not on the telephone) makes it difficult to get in touch with him.
This use of non-defining clauses is common in both the spoken language and the written. A prepositional construction is, howevcr, morę formal and morę appropriate to the written language:
He invested his money in scvcral different companies, bv which means (= and by this means) he hoped to reduce the natural hazards of investmcnt.
119 Join the sentences by changing the second sentence of each pair into a co-ordinate relative clause. In nos. 11-15 a prepositional construction is rcquircd, as in the second exaniple below, e g.
At /,9,000 this car is a little expensive. This is bound to affect ils sales in Britain.
At £9,000 this car is a litde expensivc, which is bound to alTect its sales in Britain.
it appears that the driver was asked to produce his licence.
Al this, he bccame angry and excited.
It appears that the driver was asked to produce his licence, at which he became angry and excited.
Cleft sentcnces 111
1 He decidcd not to complete his universiły eourse. This was a grcat disappointinent to his parents.
2 We’ve just installed central heating. This should make a tremendous differencc to the house ncxt winier.
3 John was ill in bed. This explains why hc didn’t turn up last night.
4 He blamed me for everything. 1 thought this very unfair.
5 1 gave the message to your secretary. She was supposed to pass it on to you.
6 Fcw people attendcd last night's meeting. This was a pity, sińce sevcral important matters were decided on.
7 My car’s got to go in for repair, This means J Ml have to take the train to work for the next lew days.
8 He showed the contraet to his lawyer. I lis lawyer adviscd him not to sign it in its present form.
9 Several people thought the speaker had deall with the subject verv thoroughly. This was hardly the impression I got.
10 Hc has given in his resignation. This was the best thing hc could do in the circumstanees.
11 The driver had no insurance and no current licence. In addition to this, he had erossed two sets of red traftic lights immediately beforc being stopped.
12 The singer returned to give yet another encore. The audienee bursi into even wilder applause at this.
13 He lost two games carly in the tournamenl. Dcspite this, however, he managed to carry off the championship.
14 The Company’s newly-acquired subsidiaries will begin to contribute significantly to protits next year. Sonie allowam e for this must be madę when considering the long-term prospeets.
15 The police diseovered the thicves’ hide-out two days later. By this time, however, the thicves had disappeared.
1 John soKcii the prublem.
2 I nceilyour help, not your sympathy.
3 It gets rcally colil only in tlie winiet.
English has a granimatical mechanism for focussing on words wr wi.sli m emphasizc: we begin the sentence with It, unii 'point' to the words:
la It was John who/that solvcd the problem.
2o It'! your help (that) 1 nced, not your sympathy. iii // V only in the wttttcr that it gets rcally cold.
Each sentence is now dividcd (cleft) to form two clauses, the second being very similar in appearance to a defining relatire clause. Enhcr who or linii can be used to rclcr to a person, but in alt other casus we usc that, cvcii when relerring to adverbiai plirases as in iu.