Emphatic structures
Cleft sentences
• It-clefts
It was Jane who/that I met yesterday.
It was yesterday that (when) I met Jane.
It is by using the spell checker that he edits his papers.
• Wh-clefts
Who I met yesterday was Jane.
When I met Jane was yesterday.
What I did yesterday was (to) meet Jane.
Reading the article is what they are doing today.
This is what we should be doing now.
Fronting
• We front objects, adverbial modifiers and adjectives used as part of a
predicate and clauses
This I should not do any more.
Jane he rarely congratulated.
Through the door he went immediately.
Much more interesting was “Lord of the Rings”.
Smart you are! (ironical)
Difficult as / though it may be, it is interesting.
Try as you may, you won’t be able to catch me.
Inversion
• The verb is put before the subject.
fronting
Here comes the bus.
Not only is Kate late, she also looks very confused.
Not until June did the pandemic end.
John likes skiing and so do I.
“Good morning,” said Jane.
Ellipsis
• (I am) Sorry.
• (I am) Already coming.
• (Are you) Scared?
• Jane arrived early and (she) went to the reception to ask if she could already
check in.
• You should have waited for the little brother this morning. –Yes, I should
have.
• Did you buy oranges? – No, I forgot (to).
Other means of emphasis
• I do like this place.
• That’s the very book I’ve been looking for.
• It is my own picture.
• You are the Jane, aren’t you?
• There was no food left whatsoever.