grammar · academic
It is/was + NP + that + clause
A cleft structure used to put emphasis on one part of a sentence (e.g. It was X that Y).
Examples
“It was the delay in supply that caused production to stop.”
“It was his honesty that earned him the promotion.”
“It was the volunteers' quick response that prevented a worse disaster.”
Band 8 sentence
“It was the chronic underfunding of public schools that largely explains the widening achievement gap between regions.”
Collocations
- It was precisely X that ...
- It was only X that ...
Common mistakes
It was the increase in prices caused widespread anger.→It was the increase in prices that caused widespread anger.
It was her who won the award.→It was she who won the award.
Say it for a higher band
5The change caused the problem→6It was the change who caused the problem→7+It is/was + NP + that + clause
Synonyms
What + clause + is + clause
Easily confused
What + clause + is + clause
“What impressed the panel most was her clarity of argument.”
Related words
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In Complex sentences
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