C1 · Cleft Sentences — Practice

Exercise 1

Identify the type of cleft sentence

8 points

1

It was the accountant who discovered the fraud.

2

What surprised me was his calmness.

3

All she needed was a little encouragement.

4

It was in Paris that they first met.

5

What the team lacked was strong leadership.

6

It was the noise that woke me.

7

What I enjoy most is cooking.

8

All we ask is your honesty.

Exercise 2

Rewrite as a cleft sentence emphasising the underlined element

4 points

1

[The noise] woke me up. (use it-cleft)

2

[Hard work] leads to success. (use wh-cleft)

3

I just want [honesty]. (use all-cleft)

4

[The manager] made that decision. (use it-cleft)

Exercise three — Production

Write original sentences using the target structure. Feedback appears automatically as you type.
Scoring: full marks for correct structure · partial for present but imperfect · zero for absent.

1

Write an it-cleft sentence emphasising the cause or reason for something.

2

Write a wh-cleft sentence beginning "What I..." to express a personal view.