E.O.I. de Mieres
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Ways of Adding Emphasis
I.
Cleft Sentences
If we want to give special importance to one part of a sentence, we can put it into a separate
clause. There are two common ways of doing this. One is to use the structure
It is/was ... that ...;
the other is to use What . . . is/was ....
Compare:
Harry told the police. It was Harry that told the police.
I need a beer. What I need is a beer.
The sentence with
It gives special importance to Harry; the sentence with What emphasises a
beer.
Sentences like these are called 'cleft sentences' by grammarians
(cleft means 'divided').
A Cleft sentences with It is/was ... that
...
This structure can be used to emphasise almost any part of the sentence.
Compare:
My mother threw an egg at the Minister of Education yesterday.
It was my mother that threw an egg at the Minister of Education yesterday.
It was an egg that my mother threw at the Minister of Education yesterday.
It was yesterday that my mother threw an egg at the Minister of Education.
It was the Minister of Education that my mother threw an egg at yesterday.
Notes
9
The verb cannot be emphasised in this way: you cannot say
*It was threw that ...
9
When the subject is emphasised,
who (referring to a person) is possible instead of that.
It was my mother who threw...
9
When the emphasised subject is a pronoun, there is a choice between subject forms I,
me, etc)
and object-forms
(me, him, etc).
It was I who ... It was me that ...
Object forms are more common in informal English.
B Cleft sentences with What ... is/was ...
This structure is used to emphasise the subject or object. Compare:
My left leg hurts. What hurts is my left leg.
I like her style. What I like is her style.
Who (m) cannot be used in this way for person subjects or objects. You cannot say, for instance,
*Who telephoned was my uncle.
E.O.I. de Mieres
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1. Restructure the following statements to make them more emphatic.
a. We doubt his sincerity.
____________________________________________________
b. I admire the efficiency of the Swiss.
____________________________________________________
c. She hates having to get up at 6 o'clock every morning.
____________________________________________________
d. His approval of the scheme is important.
____________________________________________________
e. Their self-righteousness is annoying.
____________________________________________________
f. You should go to Spain for your holidays.
____________________________________________________
g. I like London because it has beautiful parks.
____________________________________________________
h. h. Nobody likes losing.
____________________________________________________
2. Join each of the following sentence-pairs using the way or the fact, and
beginning with
What
...
a.
He never makes a fuss. I admire this.
____________________________________________________
b.
She's always on time. I appreciate this.
____________________________________________________
c.
This government has treated the Health Service so badly. This irritates everybody.
____________________________________________________
E.O.I. de Mieres
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28/11/2005
d.
The Health Service wastes less money than it used to. This is of no consequence.
____________________________________________________
3. Work in pairs. Prepare to talk for one minute on one of the topics below, or
any other topic that you feel particularly strongly about. Try to use some of
these patterns for emphasis:
What really annoys me about ...
What is most surprising ...
It is the way some people ... that ...
What most people don't realize is the fact that ...
litter
badly-behaved children
smoking
the weather
bad drivers learning English
politics
people who wear fur coats
football
teachers who set too
exams
much homework
II.
The use of '-ever' for emphasis
Whatever. whoever, whichever, whenever, wherever. and however are used to
express
It doesn't matter what/who/which. etc.
Examples
Well, I like it whatever - you might think.
Whatever the weather, l get up at dawn and go for a walk.
Take whichever one -you want.
They, can also express the idea of ignorance, indifference, or something not
precisely specified.
Examples
Give this to Mary, or Marie, whatever her name is.
I'll ring you at 8. 00 or 8.30, whenever I get the time.
Practice
Fill each gap with one of the above words formed with -ever.
E.O.I. de Mieres
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28/11/2005
1.
___________________ thinks that the earth is flat is a fool.
2. I don't want to be disturbed.
___________________ calls, and ___________________ they
want, tell them I'm out..
3. Hang the picture
___________________ you like, I don't mind.
4.
___________________ hard I try, I can never remember people's names.
5.
___________________ my wife cooks she gets distracted, so the meat or the
vegetables,
___________________ it is she's cooking, gets burnt.
6. She can't decide whether to study economics or politics, but I'm sure she'll do well
___________________ she chooses.
7. Pick up the children. Megan, Kate, Dave - maybe Beth will be there.
___________________ many there are, bring them back here for tea.
8. You've got to get the money somehow, but for goodness' sake don't pay too much
interest,
___________________ you get it.
9. Could
___________________ leaves the room last turn all the lights out?
10.
___________________ you go, and ___________________ long you are away, you
never forget your own home town.
III.
The use of '-ever' to express surprise
It is also possible to use
-ever with interrogative words to express surprise.
Examples
Whoever is that woman talking to your sister?
However did - you manage to save so much money so
Whatever did you do that for?
The same meaning can be expressed more informally using, on
earth.
Example
What on earth is that?
E.O.I. de Mieres
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key
Ways of Adding Emphasis
IV.
Cleft Sentences
4. Restructure the following statements to make them more
emphatic.
i. We doubt his sincerity.
It is his sincerity that we doubt
What we doubt is his sincerity
His sincerity is what we doubt
j. I admire the efficiency of the Swiss.
It is the efficiency of the Swiss that I admire
What I admire is the efficiency of the Swiss
The efficiency of the Swiss is what I admire
k. She hates having to get up at 6 o'clock every morning.
Having to get up at 6 o'clock every morning is what I hate
What I hate is get ting up at 6 o'clock every morning
It is getting up at 6 o'clock that I hate.
l. His approval of the scheme is important.
It is his approval of the scheme that is important
What is important is his approval.
His approval is what is important
m. Their self-righteousness is annoying.
What annoys me is their self-righteousness
It is their self-righteousness that annoys me
Their self-righteousness is what annoys me
n. You should go to Spain for your holidays.
It is Spain that you should go for your holidays
Spain is where you should go for your holidays
Where you should go for your holidays is Spain.
o. I like London because it has beautiful parks.
What I like about London is the beautiful parks.
It is the beautiful parks that I like about London
The beautiful parks is what I like about London
p. Nobody likes losing.
Losing is what nobody likes
It is losing that nobody likes
What nobody likes is losing
5. Join each of the following sentence-pairs using the way
or the fact, and beginning with What ...
e.
He never makes a fuss. I admire this.
What I admire about him is the way he never makes a fuss
f.
She's always on time. I appreciate this.
What I appreciate is the way she is always on time
g.
This government has treated the Health Service so badly. This
irritates everybody.
What irritates everybody is the way the government has treated the H.
S.
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h.
The Health Service wastes less money than it used to. This is of
no consequence.
What is of no consequence is the fact the H.S. wastes less money than
it used to.
V.
The use of '-ever' for emphasis
Practice
Fill each gap with one of the above words formed with -ever.
a.
Whoever
thinks that the earth is flat is a fool.
b.
I don't want to be disturbed
whoever
calls, and
whatever
they
want, tell them I'm out..
c.
Hang the picture
wherever
you like, I don't mind.
d.
However
hard I try, I can never remember people's names.
e.
Whenever
my wife cooks she gets distracted, so the meat or the
vegetables,
whatever
it is she's cooking, gets burnt.
f.
She can't decide whether to study economics or politics, but I'm
sure she'll do well
whatever
she chooses.
g.
Pick up the children. Megan, Kate, Dave - maybe Beth will be
there.
However
many there are, bring them back here for tea.
h.
You've got to get the money somehow, but for goodness' sake don't
pay too much interest,
wherever
you get it.
i.
Could
whoever
leaves the room last turn all the lights out?
j.
Wherever
you go, and
however
long you are away, you never forget
your own hometown.