Business English C1 · Lesson 5B

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

emphatic structures (what / all / the thing…)

1 structure

Emphatic structures (what / all / the thing…)
Rebalancing a sentence so the key idea lands last.
I've got this
Rules & form
- ›What + clause + is / was: What surprised us was the speed.
- ›All + clause + is: All they want is certainty.
- ›Emphatic do: We did warn them.
- ›Fronting: Never in ten years have we seen this.
Examples
- “What matters here is credibility.”
- “All we're asking for is a two-week extension.”
- “I do appreciate the effort.”
Watch out · Emphatic do only works in affirmative present/past simple.
Your own example