1. Cleft Sentences Profª. Flavia Maria

2. CLEFT SENTENCES • CLEFT SENTENCE is a construction that makes possible to put special emphasis on a particular sentence function. This special structure is called CLEFT SENTENCE because to form such a sentence we cleave the sentence into two parts in a way that emphasized part takes place in the first section. Consequently, structural pattern of a cleft sentence remains as:

3. CLEFT SENTENCES It + be + emphasized sentence function FIRST PART + (who / that )………… SECOND PART

4. CLEFT SENTENCES Consider the following sentence: Peter wroteMarya love letterin Paris Subj V OiOd A1 last week. A2

5. CLEFT SENTENCES Emphasizing the Subject Function: Sentence: Peter wrote Mary a love letter in Paris last week. Pattern: It + be + emphasized sentence function + (who / that )…………

6. CLEFT SENTENCES Cleft Sentence: (considering the tense) It was Peter who wrote a love letter to Mary in Paris last week. (It was Peter who wrote Mary a love letter in Paris last week - also acceptable)

7. CLEFT SENTENCES Emphasizing the Direct Object Function: It was a love letterthat Peter wrote (to) Mary in Paris last week

8. CLEFT SENTENCES Emphasizing the Indirect Object Function: It was Mary Peter wrote a love letter to in Paris last week.

9. CLEFT SENTENCES Emphasizing the Adverbial (1) Function: It was in Paris that Peter wrote Mary a love letter last week.

10. CLEFT SENTENCES Emphasizing the Adverbial (2) Function: It was last week that Peter wrote Mary a love letter in Paris.