cleft sentence
noun[C]
languagespecializeduk/ˌkleft ˈsen.təns/us/ˌkleft ˈsen.təns/asentencethat isdividedinto twoclausesinorderto show whichinformationis new
分裂句Linguistic terms & linguistic style
- affricate
- allophone
- allophony
- anaphor
- anaphora
- chatty
- colloquial
- double entendre
- downtoner
- emphatic
- entailment
- etymological
- etymologically
- flowery
- oxymoron
- philological
- polysemy
- portmanteau word
- prescriptivism
- prescriptivist
Grammar
Word order and focus
There are a number of ways in which we can arrange subjects, verbs, objects, complements and adjuncts within a clause. Depending on how we arrange them, we can focus on certain elements over others, especially if we arrange them in an unusual way.…Word order: structures
There are a number of options which we can use to add emphasis or focus within a clause.…Indirect object versus prepositional complement
When we talk about someone receiving something, we can express it using the typical word order: indirect object (io) + direct object (do).…Active and passive voice
Active voice is the typical word order. That is when we put the subject (the doer) first, followed by the new information (which is the focus):…Cleft sentences
Cleft means ‘divided’ and in a cleft sentence a single message is divided across two clauses. We use cleft sentences, especially in speaking, to connect what is already understood to what is new to the listener. By doing this we can focus on the new information. There are different types of cleft sentence.…
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