It-Cleft: Emphasizing Time or Place

Imagine a standard sentence: "I met Sarah in Paris in 2010." It is fine, but it is a bit boring. It gives all the information equal weight. Now, imagine someone says, "You met Sarah in Lyon, right?" You want to correct them. You say: "No, it was in Paris that I met her." Suddenly, in Paris is the star of the show. The it-cleft splits the sentence into two parts. The first part uses it + be to introduce the focus. The second part uses a relative clause (starting with that, when, or where) to give the background. It is like saying, "Look at this specific thing! Now here is the rest of the story." It turns a simple statement into a powerful clarification. You are basically rearranging the furniture in your sentence to make the room look better.

1. 1Creating an it-cleft for time or place is like following a simple recipe. Just follow these steps:
2. 2Start with the word it.
3. 3Add the verb be in the correct tense (usually is or was).
4. 4Insert the time or place you want to emphasize (often with a preposition).
5. 5Add a relative pronoun like that, when, or where.
6. 6Finish with the rest of the original sentence.
7. 7Example: "It was + in 1969 + that + man first walked on the moon."
8. 8Example: "It is + right here + where + we will build the new office."
9. 9Remember, the tense of be should match the time you are talking about. If it happened in the past, use was. If it is happening now or is a general fact, use is. It is like a grammar traffic light—it tells the listener where to stop and look.

You should reach for an it-cleft when you need to be precise. One major use is correcting misinformation. If a waiter brings you pasta but you ordered pizza, you might say, "It was the pizza that I ordered!" (Though maybe be a bit nicer about it). Another use is adding emphasis in storytelling. "It was only when the sun went down that we realized we were lost." It creates suspense. You can also use it in job interviews to highlight specific achievements. "It was at my previous firm where I developed these leadership skills." It makes your contribution sound more unique. Finally, use it to contrast two things. "It wasn't in London but in Manchester where the movement began." It helps you draw a clear line between two ideas.

Don't use it-clefts for every single sentence. If you do, you will sound like a movie trailer narrator. "It was at 8:00 that I brushed my teeth. It was in the kitchen where I ate toast." That is just exhausting for the listener. Avoid them for simple, unimportant facts. If the time or place isn't special, just use a normal sentence. Also, be careful in very informal texting. Cleft sentences can sometimes feel a bit "heavy" or overly formal for a quick "see you later" message. Think of it like wearing a tuxedo. It looks great at a wedding, but maybe not at the gym. Use it when the situation demands a bit of extra focus or authority.

The most common trip-up is using which instead of that. While which works in other relative clauses, it sounds very clunky in a cleft sentence. Stick to that, where, or when. Another mistake is forgetting the preposition. If you say, "It was London that I lived," it sounds broken. You need "It was in London that I lived." Also, watch your subject-verb agreement. The verb after it is almost always singular (is or was), even if the thing you are emphasizing is plural. "It was the 1990s that changed everything," not "It were the 1990s." Yes, English is weird like that. Even native speakers occasionally trip over these, so don't sweat it too much.

You might know the pseudo-cleft, which starts with what. For example: "What I need is a coffee." This emphasizes the *object* or the *action*. The it-cleft is different because it is much better at emphasizing *adverbials* like time and place. "It is a coffee that I need" sounds a bit strange compared to "What I need is a coffee." However, "It was in the morning that I felt best" sounds much more natural than "What I felt best was in the morning." Use it-clefts when you want to point to a specific point on a map or a calendar. Use pseudo-clefts when you want to talk about desires, needs, or actions.