جمل الفصل 'It-Clefts' للزمان والمكان: 'كان حينها أن...'
It-Clefts للزمان والمكان هي أدواتك السحرية لتسليط الضوء على التفاصيل الأساسية، وتضيف لحديثك قوة ووضوح. emphasis و clarity.
Grammar Rule in 30 Seconds
Use 'It + be + [Time/Place] + that' to put a linguistic spotlight on exactly when or where something happened.
- Start with 'It' plus the verb 'to be' in the correct tense. Example: 'It was...'
- Insert the time or place you want to emphasize. Example: 'It was in Paris...'
- Connect the rest of the sentence using 'that'. Example: '...that we first met.'
نظرة عامة
C1، فأنت لم تعد تبحث عن مجرد نقل المعلومة، بل تبحث عن «فن» صياغتها. في تواصلنا اليومي، سواء في المجالس أو في بيئات العمل الاحترافية، نحتاج أحياناً إلى تسليط الضوء على تفصيل معين في الجملة، مثل الزمان أو المكان، لنجعل المستمع يدرك أن هذا هو الجزء الأهم في حديثنا.It-Clefts for Time and Place.Cleft تعني «مشقوق» أو «منقسم»، وسميت بهذا الاسم لأننا نقوم بشق الجملة الواحدة إلى جزأين لإبراز عنصر معين (Focus Constituent).It-Clefts نكسر هذا النمط.Dummy Subject (الفاعل الصوري أو الوهمي)، وهو الضمير It. هذا الضمير لا يعود على شيء محدد، بل وظيفته فقط هي حجز مكان الفاعل لكي نبدأ الجملة بالتركيز. يتبعه فعل المساعد be (بصيغة is أو was)، ثم نضع المعلومة التي نريد إبرازها (الزمان أو المكان)، وأخيراً نربط بقية الجملة باستخدام that أو when أو where.It-Cleft.It-Cleft فهي تسليط الضوء (Spotlight) على زاوية محددة من المشهد.We met in London. | It was in London that we met. | التأكيد على أن المكان هو لندن وليس مدينة أخرى. |The contract expires tomorrow. | It is tomorrow that the contract expires. | التنبيه على خطورة أو أهمية التوقيت (غداً). |It + be (is/was) + [Time or Place Phrase] + that / when / where + [Rest of the sentence]- 1الفاعل الصوري
It: يبقى دائماً كما هو، لا يتغير إلىTheyأوWeحتى لو كان ما بعده جمعاً. - 2فعل الكينونة
be: هذا هو المحرك الزمني.
- إذا كان الفعل الأساسي في الجملة ماضياً، نستخدم
was. - إذا كان مضارعاً أو مستقبلاً، نستخدم
is.
- 1عنصر التركيز (The Focus): هنا تضع ظرف الزمان أو المكان (مثل:
yesterday,at the office,in 1990). - 2أداة الربط (The Relative Pronoun/Subordinator):
that: هي الجوكر، تصلح للزمان والمكان وهي الأكثر رسمية وشيوعاً.when: تستخدم للزمان فقط (أقل رسمية قليلاً ولكنها شائعة جداً).where: تستخدم للمكان فقط (أقل رسمية ولكنها مقبولة جداً).
- 1بقية الجملة: تضع ما تبقى من الجملة الأصلية دون تكرار العنصر الذي أبرزته في البداية.
- الأصل:
I realized my mistake then. - التعديل (زمان):
It was then that I realized my mistake.
- الأصل:
The ceremony takes place in the grand hall. - التعديل (مكان):
It is in the grand hall where the ceremony takes place.
It was فإنه يختفي تماماً من الجزء الأخير. لا تقل: It was in Cairo that I lived there. بل قل: It was in Cairo that I lived.It-Clefts في كل جملة، وإلا أصبح كلامنا درامياً بشكل مبالغ فيه. نستخدمها في حالات محددة:- 1تصحيح المفاهيم الخاطئة (Correcting Misconceptions):
No, it is on Tuesday that we are meeting.
- 1تحديد البدايات والنهايات في السرد (Narrative Markers):
It was in 2015 when our profits began to double.
- 1الإجابة على أسئلة «متى» و «أين» بدقة (Specific Emphasis):
It was at this very spot where the chemical reaction occurred.
- 1خلق التباين (Contrast):
It is during the winter that the island becomes quiet, whereas in summer it is crowded.
- 1خطأ الضمير العائد (The Resumptive Pronoun Error):
- خطأ:
It was in this house that I was born in it. - صح:
It was in this house that I was born.
in this house في البداية، لا نحتاج لأي إشارة للمكان في النهاية.- 1عدم تطابق الأزمنة (Tense Mismatch):
It is دائماً كأنها قالب ثابت.- خطأ:
It is in 1990 that he died. - صح:
It was in 1990 that he died.
was.- 1استخدام
Whichبدلاً منThat:
Which تصلح للمكان دائماً.- خطأ:
It was in London which we met. - صح:
It was in London that we met.أوIt was in London where we met.
It-Cleft لا نستخدم which للإشارة إلى الزمان أو المكان.- 1نسيان أداة الربط (Omitting the Subordinator):
that.- خطأ:
It was then I knew the truth.(مقبولة في الكلام غير الرسمي جداً، لكنها مرفوضة في مستوى C1 والكتابة). - صح:
It was then that I knew the truth.
It-Clefts بأنماط أخرى من الجمل التي تستخدم للتركيز، مثل Wh-Clefts (التي تبدأ بـ What أو Where).It was [Time/Place] that... | [Where/When...] was [Time/Place] |It was in May that she left. | When she left was in May. |It-Cleft للزمان والمكان؟It-Cleft مع الفاعل (Subject) بدلاً من الزمان والمكان؟It was Ahmed who solved the problem. لكن تركيزنا اليوم كان على الزمان والمكان لأنهما يتطلبان دقة أكبر في استخدام when و where وتجنب الضمائر العائدة.It was then that... تعتبر رسمية جداً؟It was in Dubai in 2020 that we started فهي صحيحة، لكنك هنا تبرز الكتلة الزمنية والمكانية معاً كحدث واحد.It-Cleft؟It is. مثال: It is next week that the results will be announced. لاحظ أننا استخدمنا is لأن الإعلان لم يحدث بعد، والتركيز على موعد مستقبلي.It-Clefts هي التي تمنحك القدرة على التحكم في «الإيقاع» والتركيز. تدرب على تحويل جملك العادية إلى جمل مشقوقة في تقريرك القادم أو محادثتك القادمة، وستلاحظ كيف سيتغير تفاعل الآخرين مع رسالتك.Tense Variations of the It-Cleft
| Tense | It + Be | Focus (Time/Place) | Connector | Clause |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Present Simple
|
It is
|
in the city
|
that
|
he works.
|
|
Past Simple
|
It was
|
in 1995
|
that
|
they met.
|
|
Present Perfect
|
It has been
|
since May
|
that
|
we've waited.
|
|
Future
|
It will be
|
at the gala
|
that
|
she'll perform.
|
|
Past Negative
|
It wasn't
|
until then
|
that
|
I knew.
|
|
Past Question
|
Was it
|
in Rome
|
that
|
it happened?
|
Contractions in Clefts
| Full Form | Contraction | Usage Note |
|---|---|---|
|
It is
|
It's
|
Common in speech/informal writing
|
|
It was
|
N/A
|
Rarely contracted in standard English
|
|
It is not
|
It isn't / It's not
|
Standard negative contractions
|
|
It was not
|
It wasn't
|
Standard past negative contraction
|
Meanings
A construction used to focus on a specific piece of information (the focus) by placing it in a separate clause starting with 'It is' or 'It was'.
Temporal Emphasis
Highlighting a specific moment or period in time to show its significance to the event.
“It was in 1969 that man first walked on the moon.”
“It is only now that we are seeing the results of the policy.”
Locative Emphasis
Focusing on a specific location to contrast it with other possible places.
“It was in this very room that the treaty was signed.”
“It is in the heart of the city that the most vibrant markets are found.”
Corrective Focus
Using the cleft structure to explicitly correct a previous statement about time or place.
“No, it was on Tuesday that I sent the email, not Wednesday.”
“It wasn't in London that they stayed, but in a small village nearby.”
Reference Table
| التركيب | العنصر المُشدد عليه | مثال | الجملة الأصلية |
|---|---|---|---|
|
It + be + TIME + that...
|
When
|
It was *yesterday* that I saw him.
|
I saw him yesterday.
|
|
It + be + PLACE + that...
|
Where
|
It was *in the park* that we met.
|
We met in the park.
|
|
It + be + TIME + when...
|
When (alternative)
|
It was *in 2022* when she graduated.
|
She graduated in 2022.
|
|
It + be + PLACE + where...
|
Where (alternative)
|
It was *at the cafe* where they first spoke.
|
They first spoke at the cafe.
|
|
It + be + PREP PHRASE + that...
|
Complex time/place
|
It was *after midnight* that he arrived.
|
He arrived after midnight.
|
|
It + be + ADVERB + that...
|
Simple time/place
|
It was *then* that I understood.
|
I understood then.
|
|
It + be + TIME CLAUSE + that...
|
Specific timing
|
It was *before the game started* that we left.
|
We left before the game started.
|
طيف الرسمية
It was in the boardroom that the executive committee convened. (Professional meeting)
It was in the boardroom that we had the meeting. (Professional meeting)
It was in the boardroom that we met up. (Professional meeting)
It was in the boardroom where it all went down. (Professional meeting)
تركيبات It-Clefts للزمان والمكان
التركيب
- It is/was افتتاحية ثابتة
- Emphasized Phrase العبارة المُشدد عليها (زمان أو مكان)
- that/when/where أداة ربط
- Rest of Clause بقية الجملة (ما حدث)
الاستخدام
- Correction تصحيح (تصحيح معلومات خاطئة)
- Emphasis تأكيد (إبراز تفصيل رئيسي)
- Storytelling رواية القصص (إضافة دراما)
- Clarification توضيح (إزالة الغموض)
أمثلة
- It was yesterday... تأكيد الزمان
- It was in the lab... تأكيد المكان
- It's now... تأكيد الزمان الحالي
مقارنة: It-Clefts مقابل الجمل البسيطة
بناء It-Cleft (زمان/مكان)
هل تريد التأكيد على زمان أو مكان محدد؟
هل الفعل الرئيسي في الجملة الأصلية ماضٍ أم مضارع؟
حدد عبارة الزمان أو المكان الدقيقة التي تريد إبرازها.
هل العبارة المُشدد عليها زمان (مثلاً، 'yesterday', 'in 2023')؟
هل العبارة المُشدد عليها مكان (مثلاً، 'in the park', 'here')؟
قم ببناء بقية الجملة الأصلية، مع إزالة الزمان/المكان المُشدد عليه.
متى تستخدم It-Clefts (زمان/مكان)
للتصحيح
- • تاريخ/وقت خاطئ
- • موقع خاطئ
لرواية القصص
- • لحظة رئيسية
- • إعداد حاسم
للتوضيح
- • معلومات غامضة
- • تفصيل جديد
لإضافة دراما
- • إدراك مفاجئ
- • حدث غير متوقع
أمثلة حسب المستوى
It is here that I work.
It is here that I work.
It was then that he left.
It was then that he left.
It is in the box that the toy is.
It is in the box that the toy is.
It was at 5:00 that we ate.
It was at 5:00 that we ate.
It was in Paris that they met.
It was in Paris that they met.
It wasn't at home that I saw her.
It wasn't at home that I saw her.
Was it on Monday that you called?
Was it on Monday that you called?
It was in the garden that we played.
It was in the garden that we played.
It was only after the rain that we went out.
It was only after the rain that we went out.
It is in this office that the decisions are made.
It is in this office that the decisions are made.
It was during the summer that I learned to swim.
It was during the summer that I learned to swim.
It wasn't until midnight that the party started.
It wasn't until midnight that the party started.
It was in the 1920s that the building was constructed.
It was in the 1920s that the building was constructed.
It is primarily in rural areas that the problem exists.
It is primarily in rural areas that the problem exists.
It was only when I saw the photo that I remembered him.
It was only when I saw the photo that I remembered him.
It was through this door that the thief entered.
It was through this door that the thief entered.
It was against this backdrop of economic instability that the revolution began.
It was against this backdrop of economic instability that the revolution began.
It is in the nuances of the language that the true meaning is found.
It is in the nuances of the language that the true meaning is found.
It was not until the final chapter that the mystery was solved.
It was not until the final chapter that the mystery was solved.
It was there, amidst the ruins, that they found the ancient scroll.
It was there, amidst the ruins, that they found the ancient scroll.
It was only upon the cessation of hostilities that reconstruction could commence.
It was only upon the cessation of hostilities that reconstruction could commence.
It is within the intersection of technology and ethics that our greatest challenges lie.
It is within the intersection of technology and ethics that our greatest challenges lie.
It was then, and only then, that the gravity of his error became apparent.
It was then, and only then, that the gravity of his error became apparent.
It is in the very fabric of our society that these prejudices are woven.
It is in the very fabric of our society that these prejudices are woven.
سهل الخلط
Learners often use 'What' when they should use 'It' to focus on a specific time/place.
Confusing the existential 'There' with the dummy 'It'.
أخطاء شائعة
Is here that I live.
It is here that I live.
It was in 1990 when I was born.
It was in 1990 that I was born.
It is in London that I met him.
It was in London that I met him.
It was because of the rain that caused the delay.
It was the rain that caused the delay. / It was because of the rain that the delay happened.
أنماط الجُمل
It was in ___ that I first ___.
It was only after ___ that I realized ___.
It is within ___ that the true ___ lies.
Real World Usage
It was during my time at Google that I developed these skills.
It was only when I got home that I saw your message!
It was in the 19th century that industrialization transformed the city.
It was at approximately 10 PM that the witness heard the noise.
It is in the hidden alleys of Kyoto that you find the best tea.
It was here that it all started! #memories
Spot the Original
It-Cleft صح، تخيل الجملة الأصلية في أبسط صورها (فاعل + فعل + مفعول به). بعدين، اسحب منها الجزء اللي يخص الزمان أو المكان اللي تبغى تركز عليه، وابني التركيبة حوله. مثلاً، لو جملتك I saw him yesterday، والتركيز على
yesterday، فكر كيف تحولها. To form an It-Cleft, mentally rephrase your sentence into a simple SVO structure. Then, pull out the time or place you want to emphasize and build the cleft around it.
Don't Overdo It!
It-Clefts بكثرة ممكن يخلي كلامك يبدو مصطنعًا أو مكررًا. خليها للحظات اللي فعلاً تبغى تبرز فيها تفاصيل محددة عن الزمان أو المكان. While powerful, using It-Clefts too frequently can make your writing sound forced or repetitive. Reserve them for moments when you genuinely want to highlight specific time or place details.
Which Conjunction to Use?
that دايمًا خيار آمن ومناسب. لكن when تبدو طبيعية أكثر مع الزمان، وwhere مع المكان. استخدام أداة الربط الأكثر تحديدًا ممكن يخلي جملتك تتدفق بشكل أجمل. مثلاً، بدل ما تقول It was last week that I went، ممكن تقول
It was last week when I went.
Subtle vs. Direct
It-Clefts عشان يصححوا أو يوضحوا المعلومات بطريقة لطيفة وغير مباشرة، خصوصًا في الأجواء الرسمية زي اجتماعات Zoom أو نقاشات الجامعة. هي طريقة مهذبة لتقول: Actually, this is the important part!
Practice with Questions
When did you…? أو Where did you…? إجابتك باستخدام It-Cleft راح تركز بشكل طبيعي على الزمان أو المكان. مثلاً، لو سألك أحد When did you go to the cinema?، ممكن تجاوب:
It was last week that I went.
Smart Tips
Use the negative it-cleft followed by the positive one for maximum clarity.
Use an it-cleft to define the scope of your research.
Try 'clefting' your time or place adjuncts to add variety to your rhythm.
Place these words immediately after 'is/was' for the strongest effect.
النطق
Stress on the Focus
The word or phrase immediately following 'It is/was' receives the strongest sentence stress.
Weak 'that'
The word 'that' is usually reduced to a schwa sound /ðət/.
Rise-Fall on Focus
It was in ↗PARis ↘that we met.
Conveys certainty and emphasis on the location.
احفظها
وسيلة تذكّر
IT is the spotlight, BE is the stand, THAT is the bridge to the rest of the land.
ربط بصري
Imagine a dark stage where a single spotlight (the 'It was') shines on a clock (Time) or a map (Place). Everything else on stage is in the dark until the word 'that' connects them.
Rhyme
If you want to show where or when, start with 'It was' and use 'that' then.
Story
A detective is interrogating a suspect. The suspect says 'I was at home.' The detective slams the table and says, 'No! It was AT THE BANK that you were seen!' The 'It was' makes the detective's point much stronger.
Word Web
تحدٍّ
Look at your calendar. Pick three events from last week and rewrite them as it-clefts. (e.g., 'It was on Tuesday that I went to the gym.')
ملاحظات ثقافية
It-clefts are very common in British academic prose to maintain an objective but focused tone.
In US political rhetoric, it-clefts are used to create 'soundbites' that emphasize specific values or locations.
Hiberno-English often uses cleft-like structures more frequently than other dialects for everyday emphasis.
Clefting has been a feature of English since the Old English period, though it became much more structured in Middle English.
بدايات محادثة
Was it in your hometown that you had your first job?
Was it only recently that you decided to master English?
In which decade was it that your country saw the most change?
مواضيع للكتابة اليومية
أخطاء شائعة
Test Yourself
Find and fix the mistake:
Arrange the words in the correct order:
All words placed
Click words above to build the sentence
Score: /3
تمارين تطبيقية
8 exercisesI graduated in 2015. -> It was in 2015 ___ I graduated.
Which sentence correctly emphasizes the location?
Find and fix the mistake:
It is in 1945 that the war ended.
We first met at a concert.
In formal writing, 'that' is preferred over 'where' in it-clefts for place.
Person A: 'I heard you're moving to Spain in July.' Person B: 'Actually, ___'
Identify the correct structure.
Reorder the words to form a cleft sentence.
Score: /8
Practice Bank
12 exercisesIt was at the cafe ___ I saw her reading your book.
It was on her birthday ___ he proposed.
It were a Sunday that they arrived.
It's next week when the deadline is gone.
Choose the correct sentence:
Choose the correct sentence:
Translate into English: 'Foi só depois da palestra que ela fez a pergunta.'
Translate into English: 'É no jardim que as crianças brincam.'
Arrange these words into a sentence:
Arrange these words into a sentence:
Match the clauses:
Match the sentences:
Score: /12
الأسئلة الشائعة (8)
Yes, in informal speech it is very common to hear `It was then when...`. However, in formal writing and exams, `that` is the preferred and safer choice.
You can use any tense of the verb `to be`. For example, `It has been in this house that we've raised our children` or `It will be at the meeting that we decide`.
An it-cleft starts with `It` (e.g., 'It was John who...'), while a pseudo-cleft (or Wh-cleft) starts with a Wh-word (e.g., 'What I need is...'). It-clefts are better for focusing on specific nouns/times/places.
Absolutely. `It wasn't in London that we met` is a very common way to correct someone's assumption.
Because the word `it` doesn't refer to anything specific (like a cat or a book). It is just a grammatical placeholder to allow the sentence to function.
No, it can be a long phrase. `It was only after three years of intensive research and many failures that the cure was found.`
Yes, especially when we want to be emphatic or when we are correcting someone. It adds a clear 'beat' to the sentence that draws attention.
Yes, for people, `who` is very common and accepted even in formal English. `It was Sarah who told me.`
Scaffolded Practice
1
2
3
4
Mastery Progress
Needs Practice
Improving
Strong
Mastered
In Other Languages
Fue entonces cuando / Es allí donde
English requires the dummy 'It', whereas Spanish starts with the verb 'Fue/Es'.
C'est... que
French uses this structure much more frequently in everyday speech than English does.
Es war... dass
German word order is more flexible, making clefts less 'necessary' for focus.
...no wa ... da
The structure is reversed: [Action] no wa [Time/Place] da.
Innama / Word order
Arabic lacks a 'dummy subject' equivalent to the English 'It'.
Shi... de (是...的)
The 'de' comes at the very end of the sentence, unlike the English 'that' which acts as a bridge.
Learning Path
Prerequisites
فيديوهات ذات صلة
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