About Cleft Sentences

Learn about this unique sentence pattern.

Cleft Sentences in Conversation

Listen to short sentences using this pattern.

Conversation 1
Man: I hear Joe caused quite a storm last night.
Woman: It wasn’t Joe who caused a ruckus.
Man: Oh, really?! Who was it then?
Woman: It was Bill who caused trouble.
Man: Hmm. Why does that not surprise me?
Woman: I know, right? Shocker.

Conversation 2
Woman: How was your time in New York?
Man: Ugh, I couldn’t wait to leave.
Woman: Really?! Was it too crowded for your taste?
Man: No. It wasn’t the crowds that I hated.
Woman: Really?! What was it?
Man: It was the constant need to spend money that I didn’t like.
Woman: Yeah. The Big Apple is expensive, for sure.

Conversation 3
Man: How was the movie?
Woman: Oh, it was a letdown. Not recommended.
Man: Really?! Did it have a bad plot?
Woman: No. It wasn’t the story that bothered me.
Man: Then what did?
Woman: It was the overuse of special effects that I didn’t like.
Man: Hmm. Sounds like I should skip it.
Woman: Yeah, I’d give it a miss.

Conversation 4
Man: I hear we lost a contract. Did we overbid?
Woman: No. It wasn’t the price that they disliked.
Man: Really?! What was it then?
Woman: It was the strict timeframe they disapproved of.
Man: Hmm. Well, maybe we can counteroffer.
Woman: I doubt it. I think that ship has sailed.

Your Turn

Can you turn the sentences in the quiz into cleft sentences?