Letras – Relações Textuais em Língua Inglesa - 2014/1
Profª Flávia Cunha
Organizing Information: CLEFT SENTENCES – Written Practice
1) Fill in the blanks with It cleft sentence or Wh-cleft sentence.
a. The _______splits the sentence into two halves, highlighting the topic (usually the subject, the object or the
adverbial), by making it the complement of it + be.
b. The second part of the ________________ sentence is very similar to a restrictive relative Clause, usually
beginning with that.
c. ______________ may have an initial or final wh-clause.
d. _______________ always have end-focus.
e. _______________ are also called pseudo-cleft sentences.
2) Rewrite the sentences to focus attention on the underlined information. Use It-cleft sentences.
a. I’m not looking forward to physics, but I’m most worried about the statistics test.
b. She’s been seeing a doctor at Newtown Hospital, but she’s having the operation in the Queen Hospital.
c. They said they dropped in when they were passing, but I think they came to visit us because they wanted to
watch TV.
d. He says he’s got a cold, but in fact he’s feeling unwell because he’s working so hard.
3) Restate the following sentences about the United States Civil rights movement of the 1960s to emphasize
the information indicated in parentheses. Change any other wording as necessary. (IT cleft sentences)
a. Black students staged the first sit-in at a lunch corner in Greensboro. , North Carolina, in 1960) (emphasize
the date)
b. White and black civil rights workers sat together in “white only” sections of restaurants and other public
places to protest segregation. (emphasize the purpose)
c. The civil rights movement reached a climax in 1963 with the march on Washington. (emphasize the event)
d. Martin Luther King, Jr., delivered his famous “I have a dream” speech during the march on Washington.
(emphasize the speech)
e. Three young civil rights workers were tragically murdered in Mississippi on June 22, 1964. (emphasize the
subject)
f. King was assassinated by James Earl Ray in Memphis, Tennessee, in 1968. (emphasize the assassin)
g. We now celebrate the achievements of this great civil rights leader in January. (emphasize the month)
4) Imagine that each of the situations below is true. Provide explanation, either serious or humorous,
emphasizing the reason.
e.g. You were late to class yesterday.
It was because the bus didn’t come that I was late to class.
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
You didn’t have an assignment done that was due.
You missed a medical appointment.
You forgot a relative’s birthday. (you choose the relative)
You haven’t eaten anything for two days.
You stumbled and fell crossing the street.
5) Rewrite the sentences below so that the part underlined is the focus using a wh-cleft.
a. We now face a global recession.
b. I was working with the arm, not the navy.
c. It isn’t known when he will get here.
d. Emily Dickinson wrote poetry not plays.
e. E-crime is on the increase.
f. The head of the department needs the annual turnover figures tomorrow morning.
g. A last minute error delayed him.
h. The streets of London are paved with concrete, not gold.
i. Mick Jagger has become a film producer.
6) Rewrite the following sentences so that they contain wh-cleft constructions.
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
f.
g.
h.
i.
j.
k.
A lepidopterist specializes in the study of moths and butterflies.
Florida produces citrus fruit.
Martin Luther King, Jr., believed in racial equality.
“MPH” means miles per hour.
The Pyramids are located in Egypt.
Most Americans eat turkey at thanksgiving.
Mozart wrote music.
The world needs peace and justice.
She is a brilliant politician.
I paint houses.
We’d like less homework.
7) Give responses which focus on the action.
a. Did you go next door and complain about the noise? No, What I…
b. Did you buy a new washing machine?
c. Did you write a letter of complaint to the company?
d. Did you stay with Keith for the New Year?
e. Did you give John the money?
f. Did you send the broken bookcase back?
8) Rewrite the following into it-type and wh-type cleft sentences, both forms giving focus to the object of the
sentence.
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
f.
g.
h.
I can’t stand the noise.
The caretaker discovered the body.
Fleming discovered penicillin.
John won a silver medal.
Copernicus came out with an astounding theory.
A Pandora’s Box had been opened.
He had never forged my signature.
Our self-respect had been lost for all time.
9) Rewrite the sentences, making them more emphatic.
1. I was most unhappy with the service.
- ….What…………………………………………………………
2. I can’t stand the noise.
- ….It’s………………………………………………………………
3. John didn’t pay for the wedding ring, Sarah did.
- ….It…………………………………………………………………
- ….It…………………………………………………………………
4. He’s always late. It really annoys me.
- ….What…………………………………………………………
5. Did you choose the furniture?
- ….Was……………………………………………………………
6. The waiter’s attitude made things worse.
- ….It………………………………………………………………
7. I love autumn because of the color of the leaves.
- ….What…………………………………………………………
8. Her terrible accent annoyed me most.
- ….What…………………………………………….………………
9. I bought it because it was a bargain.
- ….It was…………………………………………………………
10. In the end Martha went to the police.
- ….What……………………………………………………………
10) Read the following sentences and identify those which have contrasting focus and state how the focus and
how the focus has been switched. Identify those with end-focus and state what device, if any, has been used to
achieve it.
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
f.
In the corridor stood Percival.
But what arrested me was a portrait of a young woman.
On the subject of my debts I frankly exaggerated.
On her shoulders society has placed the burden of guilt.
What astonished me was her appearance.
What a marvelous capacity for unhappiness we writers have.
11) Rewrite the following sentences to give end-focus to the underlined elements.
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
I enjoy Mozart more than any other composer.
A man in a black raincoat bought the chairs.
My lawn will not be ruined by any moles.
A riffle shot interrupted our picnic.
It was the following week that the rains started.
12) Write cleft sentences of your own (either it or wh- cleft sentences), highlighting the following clause
constituents:
a)
b)
c)
d)
e)
f)
g)
h)
subject
subject complement
direct object
prepositional adverbial of place
adverbial clause of purpose
prepositional adverb of time
adverbial clause of time
verb
13) True (T), Incomplete (I) or False (F) Statements. If false, restate it; if incomplete, add the missing
information. Illustrate the true statements.
a. ( ) Focus is the weight given to part of a sentence, by its position in writing.
b. ( ) A simple sentence often gives focus to several pieces of information.
c. ( ) Cleft sentences are a common feature of spoken English.
d. ( ) A simple sentence can be changed into different cleft sentences depending on what element is
considered the most important in the sentence.
e. ( ) Cleft sentence constructions highlight sentence constituents for contrast. The contrastive meaning of the
topic can be seen if we make clear the implied negative.
f. ( ) There are two varieties of cleft sentences.
g. (
) The It-type splits the sentence into two halves, highlighting the topic (usually the subject, the object or
the adverbial), by making it the complement of it + be
h. ( ) Cleft sentences may have an initial or final wh-clause.
i. ( ) Wh-type sentences always have end-focus.
j. ( ) Wh-type sentences are also called pseudo-cleft sentences.
k. ( ) The it-type and the wh-type cleft sentences can’t always be used in the same circumstances
14) Read the articles below and add sentences with the following constructions to it. Make sure you do not
change the meaning of the article. Please specify the line/paragraph you are adding your sentences to.
Constructions: 1 cleft sentence, 1 pseudo-cleft sentence,
Text 1
WESTCHESTER, N.Y. — The15th victim has died after a tour bus that crashed on a New York highway
in a horrific weekend accident.
A World Wide Tours tour bus was sliced by the exit sign on Interstate 95 south in the Bronx borough of
New York early Saturday morning. A World Wide Tours tour bus was sliced by the exit sign on Interstate
95 south in the Bronx borough of New York early Saturday morning.
Police say a 70-year-old man died from his injuries at about 7:30 a.m. Monday. His name and the names
of 14 others haven't been released.
The company whose tour bus crashed in New York City has been cited for fatigued driving often enough
in recent years that it was put on alert by the federal government.
Online records of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration show World Wide Travel buses were
inspected 26 times over the past two years, with five violations related to fatigued driving issued in New
Jersey, Pennsylvania and Connecticut. There were two crashes with injuries: Oct. 24, 2009, in
Westchester, N.Y., and last June in Perth Amboy, N.J. One person was injured in each crash; there were
no fatalities.
The company had no serious violations over the past 24 months, the records show
USA Today - By Jonathan Bandler, The (Westchester, N.Y.) Journal News – March 14th, 2011
Text 2
At the scene
Roland Buerk BBC News, Tokyo
In the centre of Tokyo many people are spending the night in their offices. But thousands, perhaps
millions, chose to walk home. Train services were suspended.
Even after the most violent earthquake anyone could remember the crowds were orderly and calm. The
devastation is further to the north, along the Pacific coast.
There a tsunami triggered by the quake reached 10km (six miles) inland in places carrying houses,
buildings, boats and cars with it. In the city of Sendai the police found up to 300 bodies in a single ward.
Outside the city in a built-up area a fire blazed across several kilometres.
Japan's ground self-defence forces have been deployed, and the government has asked the US military
based in the country for help. The scale of destruction from the biggest quake ever recorded in Japan will
become clear only at first light.
BBC -11 March 2011 Last updated at 22:24 GMT