Editing Cleft sentence (section)

{{Short description|Complex sentence that could be expressed in a simpler way}}
A '''cleft sentence''' is a [[complex sentence]] (one having a main clause and a [[dependent clause]]) that has a meaning that could be expressed by a [[simple sentence]]. Clefts typically put a particular [[Constituent (linguistics)|constituent]] into [[Focus (linguistics)|focus]]. In [[spoken language]], this focusing is often accompanied by a special [[Intonation (linguistics)|intonation]].

In [[English language|English]], a cleft sentence can be constructed as follows:

:''it'' + conjugated form of ''to be'' + ''X'' + subordinate clause

where ''it'' is a cleft pronoun and ''X'' is the '''cleft constituent''', usually a [[noun phrase]] (although it can also be a [[prepositional phrase]], and in some cases an adjectival or adverbial phrase). The focus is on ''X'', or else on the subordinate clause or some element of it. For example:
*''It's Joey (whom) we're looking for.''
*''It's money that I love.''
*''It was from John that she heard the news.''

Furthermore, one might also describe a cleft sentence as inverted. That is to say, it has its dependent clause in front of the main clause. So, rather than (for example):

*''We didn't meet her until we arrived at the hotel.''

the cleft would be:

*''It wasn't until we arrived at the hotel that'' (or ''when'') ''we met her.''