Cleft constructions
Cleft constructions allow the writer or speaker to foreground selected elements of the basic clause. There are two types of cleft constructions: it-clefts and pseudo-clefts. Both of these are described below.
Contents1. It-clefts Related pages |
It-clefts
It-clefts allow the speaker or writer to select a constituent of the clause and move it into a focus position as the subject of a relative clause. Consider the following examples (the foregrounded element is underlined):
Doug put the beer in the fridge. [basic clause]
It was Doug who put the beer into the fridge. [foregrounding Doug]
It was the beer that Doug put into the fridge. [foregrounding the beer]
It was the fridge that Doug put the beer into. [foregrounding the fridge]
An advantage of using it-clefts is that they allow the speaker/writer to determine what is foregrounded and what is backgrounded. The backgrounded information is generally assumed to be known or presupposed. What types of presupposition can you relate to the last three examples above?
Structure of it-clefts
An it-cleft takes the element from the basic clause that is to be foregrounded and treats it as the predicative complement in a complex intransitive clause. The rest of the original basic clause is incorporated into the predicate as a relative clause modifying the foregrounded element.
[It (Subject NP)] [was [Doug [who put the beer into the fridge (Relative clause)] (Pred Comp NP)] (Predicate VP)].
Normally relative clauses are modifiers of NPs but in it-cleft constructions they can occur as modifiers to a range of other types of constituent types.
It was to get the best seats that they lined up overnight. [modifies subordinate clause]
It was to Doug that Sandy sent a letter. [modifies PP]
It was Jude who they told to go. [modifies Subject in complement clause]
It was Sarah who they wanted to hire. [modifies Object in complement clause]
Pseudo-clefts
Pseudo-clefts foreground information at the end of the sentence. Pseudo-clefts also contain fused relative clauses instead of full relative clauses. In fused relative clauses there is one element that acts both as the head of the NP and as the relativised constituent in the relative clause. Consider the following examples (with the foregrounded elements bolded):
The person who said that is being hysterical. [non-fused relative clause]
Whoever said that is being hysterical. [fused relative clause]
Examples of pseudo-clefts include:
Basic clause |
Pseudo-cleft |
|---|---|
A dog bit me. |
What bit me was a dog. |
I need some food. |
What I need is some food. |
Sarah will wash the dishes. |
What Sarah will do is wash the dishes. |
Again, foregrounded elements are bolded.