CLEFT SENTENCES If we want to give special importance to one part of a sentence, we can put it into a separate clause. This kind of sentences are called cleft sentences (cleft means divided ). There are two common ways: 1. It is/was& that& : Harry told the police. ®ð It was Harry that told the police. 2. What& is/was& : I need a beer. ®ð What I need is a beer. CLEFT SENTENCES WITH WHAT What means the thing that . We can put the words to be emphasised first or last in the sentence. Compare: Mary keeps a pig in the garden shed. A pig is what Mary keeps in the garden shed. What Mary keeps in the garden shed is a pig. Phil is the secretary. The secretary is what Phil is. What Phil is is the secretary. A what-clause is normally considered to be singular; if it begins a cleft sentence it is followed by is/was. But a plural verb is sometimes possible before a plural noun in an informal style. What we want is/are some of those cakes. When we want to emphasise a verb, we have to use a more complicated structure with what . . . do. Various verb forms are possible. He screamed. What he did was (to) scream/screamed. She s daydreaming. What she s doing is (to) daydream/daydreaming. This structure can be used to emphasise the verb together with other words that follow it: She writes science fiction. What she does is (to) write/writes science fiction.