PE-85: Cleft Sentences: It was ... / What I need is ...
How to put a spotlight on exactly the word you mean — splitting one sentence into two to correct, contrast or emphasise.
PE-85: Cleft Sentences: It was ... / What I need is ...
In Uzbek you can emphasise a word by moving it, or by adding aynan. English word order is too strict for that (PE-72), so it does something clever instead: it splits the sentence in two and puts a spotlight on one part. "Jasur broke the window" becomes "It was Jasur who broke the window." These are cleft sentences — "cleft" simply means split.
In this lesson you will learn
- It is / It was … who / that … — spotlighting a person or thing
- What … is … — spotlighting an action or a need
- Other openers: All I want…, The reason why…
- How clefts are used to correct somebody politely
1. The it-cleft: spotlighting a person or thing
Start with It is or It was, put the important word next, then continue with who (people) or that (things).
Plain: Afsona won the prize.
Spotlight on her: It was Afsona who won the prize.
Spotlight on the prize: It was the prize that Afsona won.
Sovrinni Afsona oldi. — Sovrinni aynan Afsona oldi. — Afsona aynan sovrinni oldi.
One fact, three versions — each one points at something different.
2. Correcting somebody politely
This is where clefts earn their keep in real conversation. They let you correct a mistake without sounding rude.
— You broke the window! — It wasn't me who broke it — it was the wind that did it.
— Derazani sen sindirdingmi! — Uni men sindirganim yoʻq — aynan shamol sindirdi.
It was in 2019 that we moved here, not 2018.
Biz bu yerga 2018-yilda emas, aynan 2019-yilda koʻchib kelganmiz.
The spotlight can also fall on a time or a place.
3. The what-cleft: spotlighting an action or a need
Begin with What and finish with is or was. This one is extremely common in speech, and it makes your point sound considered.
Plain: I need a holiday. → What I need is a
holiday.
Plain: She said something strange. → What she said was strange.
Menga dam olish kerak. → Menga aynan dam olish kerak. — U gʻalati narsa aytdi.
Common what-openers
- What I want is …
- What happened was …
- What I don't understand is …
- What she did was (to) call the police.
Other useful openers
- All I want is a quiet evening.
- The reason why I came is …
- The person who helped me was …
- The place where we met was …
All I want is to pass this exam. The reason why I study at night is that the house is quiet.
Men xohlagan yagona narsa — bu imtihondan oʻtish. Kechasi oʻqishimning sababi — uyning jimjitligi.
4. The verb agreement detail
5. Don't overdo it
Like inversion (PE-84), clefts are for the sentence that matters. Used once, a cleft makes your reader stop and notice. Used in every paragraph, it becomes a habit that slows the writing down.
Plain and good: We must protect the Aral Sea.
Emphatic, for your key point: What we must do is protect the Aral Sea.
Orol dengizini asrashimiz kerak. — Biz qilishimiz kerak boʻlgan narsa — Orol dengizini asrash.
6. Common mistakes
It was Jasur which broke the window.
It was Jasur who broke the window.
What I need are two more days.
What I need is two more days.
Was Afsona who called you.
It was Afsona who called you.
The reason why I'm late is because of the traffic was bad.
The reason why I'm late is that the traffic was bad.
All what I want is a cup of tea.
All I want is a cup of tea.
Practice
1 Spotlight Sherbek: Sherbek found the keys.
Show answer
It was Sherbek who found the keys.
Who because the spotlight is on a person.
2 Rewrite with What: I want a new bicycle.
Show answer
What I want is a new bicycle.
3 Correct somebody politely: "You told the teacher!" (it was your brother)
Show answer
It wasn't me who told the teacher — it was my brother.
A cleft lets you deny and correct in the same breath, without sounding aggressive.
4 is or are: What we need ? more chairs.
Show answer
is — the subject is the whole clause What we need, which counts as one singular idea.
5 Correct it: All what I want is to sleep.
Show answer
All I want is to sleep. After all there is no what.
Key words — Kalit soʻzlar
- Cleft sentenceboʻlingan gap
- To splitboʻlmoq, ajratmoq
- Spotlightdiqqat markazi
- To emphasisetaʼkidlamoq
- To correcttoʻgʻrilamoq
- The reason why...ning sababi
- All I wantmen xohlagan yagona narsa
- To denyrad etmoq
- To protectasramoq
- Consideredoʻylangan, puxta
🎯 Remember this
- It is / was + spotlight + who / that + rest — for people, things, times, places.
- What … is / was … — for actions and needs.
- Also: All I want is…, The reason why … is that…
- The verb after What… is singular.
- Clefts are perfect for correcting politely — and best used sparingly.