Question 1

How do I use an it-cleft to emphasise time?

Accepted Answer

Place the time expression immediately after "It was" and follow it with "that": "I first visited Spain in 2019" becomes "It was in 2019 that I first visited Spain." Days, dates, and time phrases all work: "It was on Saturday that she finally called," "It was during the meeting that the fire alarm went off." For events that happened late or were delayed, use "It was not until": "It was not until she arrived that we heard the full story." This "not until" form is especially common in Cambridge B2 First sentence transformations. Keep the clause after "that" in the same tense as the original sentence.

Question 2

Can I use "where" and "when" instead of "that" in adverbial it-clefts?

Accepted Answer

In place it-clefts, you can sometimes use "where" instead of "that": "It was in Paris that she studied" or "It was in Paris where she studied." However, "that" is considered more standard and is more widely accepted in formal writing and exams. For time it-clefts, "when" is occasionally used: "It was last summer when we moved," but again "that" is preferred by most grammar authorities. For reason it-clefts with "because" or "because of," only "that" works — you cannot say "It was because of the rain where..." Cambridge examiners expect "that" in most it-cleft transformations.

Question 3

How do I emphasise the reason in an it-cleft sentence?

Accepted Answer

Use "It was + because/because of + reason + that + clause" to shift the emphasis to the cause: "The event was cancelled because of the storm" becomes "It was because of the storm that the event was cancelled." With a full clause as the reason, use "because": "It was because she had studied hard that she passed with distinction." You can also create negative reason clefts: "It wasn't because he was lazy that he failed — it was because of poor preparation." These reason-focus it-clefts are particularly common in academic essays and formal arguments. Practise both "because" and "because of" forms for exam flexibility.

It-Cleft Time, Place & Reason Exercises

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