Business English C1 · Lesson 1B

Grammar Bank

The rules behind this lesson — form, use, model sentences and the mistakes to avoid.

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Grammar focus of this lesson

cleft sentences

1 structure

Adding emphasis (2): cleft sentences
Splitting a sentence in two to spotlight one element.
I've got this
Rules & form
- ›It-cleft: It was the pricing that killed the deal.
- ›Wh-cleft: What we need is a clearer brief.
- ›All-cleft: All I want is a straight answer.
- ›The thing / the reason / the place that… is…
Examples
- “It's the onboarding, not the product, that frustrates users.”
- “What sets you apart is judgement under pressure.”
- “The reason we paused was cash flow.”
Watch out · Keep verb agreement with the real subject: What we need are two engineers.
Your own example