جملات شکافدار (It-Clefts): افزودن تاکید قوی
It-Cleft با گذاشتن فاعل بلافاصله بعد از It is یا It was یه dramatic focus (تمرکز دراماتیک) ایجاد میکنه.
Grammar Rule in 30 Seconds
It-clefts split a sentence in two to highlight one specific piece of information, making it the 'star' of the sentence.
- Start with 'It' + 'be' (It is/was) to introduce the focus. Example: 'It was Sarah who won.'
- Follow the focus with a relative clause starting with 'that' or 'who'. Example: 'It was the dog that barked.'
- Ensure the verb 'be' matches the tense of the original action. Example: 'It is today that we leave.'
مرور کلی
It-cleft دقیقاً همین نقش را ایفا میکند. واژه cleft به معنای «شکافته» یا «منشعب» است. این نامگذاری به این دلیل است که ما یک جمله ساده و واحد (مثل John sent the email) را میشکنیم و آن را به دو بخش یا دو عبارت (Clause) تقسیم میکنیم تا بتوانیم روی یک جزء خاص نورافکن بیندازیم.It-clefts به شما این امکان را میدهد که به جای تکیه صرف بر استرس صوتی، از ساختار گرامری برای هدایت ذهن مخاطب استفاده کنید. این موضوع در آزمونهایی نظیر IELTS یا TOEFL و همچنین در محیطهای حرفهای بینالمللی، نشاندهنده درک عمیق شما از ظرافتهای دستوری است.It-cleft با استفاده از یک نهاد تهی یا صوری (Dummy Subject) به نام it آغاز میشود. در زبان فارسی، ما معادل مستقیمی برای این it نداریم، زیرا فارسی یک زبان pro-drop است (یعنی میتوانیم فاعل را حذف کنیم) و معمولاً جملات را با خودِ کلمه مورد تأکید شروع میکنیم. اما در انگلیسی، وجود این it برای حفظ ساختار جمله الزامی است.- 1ضمیر
It: همیشه ثابت است و هرگز بهtheyیاtheseتغییر نمیکند، حتی اگر مرجع مورد تأکید جمع باشد. - 2فعل
be: این فعل با توجه به زمان جمله اصلی تغییر میکند (is,was,will be,has been). - 3عنصر مورد تأکید (Focus): بخشی از جمله که میخواهیم برجسته شود (فاعل، مفعول، قید زمان یا مکان).
- 4عبارت موصولی (Relative Clause): بخشی که با کلماتی مثل
thatیاwhoشروع شده و اطلاعات پسزمینه (Presupposition) را ارائه میدهد.
The manager signed the contract yesterday. (مدیر دیروز قرارداد را امضا کرد.)- تأکید بر فاعل (The manager):
It was the manager who signed the contract yesterday.- تأکید بر مفعول (The contract):
It was the contract that the manager signed yesterday.- تأکید بر قید زمان (Yesterday):
It was yesterday that the manager signed the contract.It-cleft دارد. این یکی از معدود جاهایی است که منطق دستوری فارسی و انگلیسی به هم نزدیک میشوند و شما میتوانید از این شباهت به عنوان یک پل یادگیری استفاده کنید.It-cleft دقیق، باید از فرمول زیر پیروی کنید:It + be (conjugated) + [Emphasized Element] + [Relative Pronoun] + [Rest of the sentence]- تطبیق زمان فعل
be: فعلbeباید با زمان جمله اصلی هماهنگ باشد. - اگر جمله در مورد حال است:
It is... - اگر در مورد گذشته است:
It was... - اگر در مورد آینده است:
It will be...
- انتخاب ضمیر موصولی (Relative Pronoun):
- برای اشخاص:
whoیاthat(در حالت رسمی مفعولی ازwhomنیز استفاده میشود). - برای اشیاء و مفاهیم:
thatیاwhich. - برای زمان و مکان: معمولاً
thatیاwhen/where(هرچندthatرایجتر و ایمنتر است).
It-cleft |It is my father who/that always encourages me. |It was the red car that he decided to buy. |It was with great effort that she finished the project. |It was because of the rain that the match was cancelled. |It-cleft برخلاف عبارات موصولی معمولی، ضمیر موصولی (به ویژه that) به ندرت حذف میشود. حذف آن ممکن است جمله را از حالت تأکیدی خارج کرده یا باعث ابهام شود.It-cleft فراتر از یک تغییر گرامری ساده است؛ این ساختار یک ابزار استراتژیک برای مدیریت مکالمه است. در اینجا به موقعیتهایی میپردازیم که یک گوینده سطح پیشرفته باید از این ساختار استفاده کند:- 1اصلاح اطلاعات غلط (Correcting Misinformation):
It-cleft است:No, it was Nima who prepared the report, not Sara.- 1تأکید بر تضاد (Contrastive Focus):
It’s not the salary that attracts me to this job; it’s the opportunity to learn.Academic بسیار پرکاربرد هستند.- 1معرفی یک عامل تعیینکننده (Identifying a Crucial Factor):
It was his persistence that finally paid off.- 1شروع یک داستان یا گزارش (Narrative Openings):
It was a cold January morning when the news first arrived.It was my duty that I performed یا ساختارهای مشابه ترجمه میشود.It-clefts دچار خطاهای رایجی شوند. در اینجا به سه مورد از مهمترین آنها اشاره میکنیم:- 1استفاده از
Theyبرای مرجع جمع:
They were my friends who helped me.It was my friends who helped me.It یک فاعل صوری است و همیشه مفرد میماند، فارغ از اینکه کلمه بعد از آن جمع باشد یا مفرد.- 1حذف ضمیر
It(Pro-drop interference):
It را حذف میکنند.Was the rain that caused the accident.It was the rain that caused the accident.- 1عدم تطبیق زمان فعل (Tense Mismatch):
It is استفاده میکند، حتی اگر اتفاق در گذشته رخ داده باشد.It is last night that I saw him.It was last night that I saw him.It-cleft باید آن را با پسرعموی نزدیکش یعنی Pseudo-cleft (یا Wh-cleft) مقایسه کنیم. هر دو برای تأکید هستند، اما ساختار و تمرکز آنها متفاوت است.It + be + Focus + Clause | Wh-word + Clause + be + Focus |It was a laptop that I bought. | What I bought was a laptop. |It-cleft استفاده کنید. اگر میخواهید مخاطب را منتظر نگه دارید و در انتهای جمله سورپرایزش کنید، از Pseudo-cleft استفاده کنید. مثلاً در یک مهمانی (دورهمی) خانوادگی:It was a gold watch that we got for him.(تأکید مستقیم روی هدیه)What we got for him was a gold watch.(ایجاد تعلیق و سپس معرفی هدیه)
which به جای that در این جملات استفاده کرد؟which گرامری است، اما در ساختار It-cleft استفاده از that بسیار رایجتر و طبیعیتر به نظر میرسد. which بیشتر در عبارات موصولی توصیفی (Non-defining) به کار میرود.that حذف میشود (مثلاً: It was my brother did it)، اما در سطح C1 و در نوشتار آکادمیک یا محیطهای حرفهای، حذف آن توصیه نمیشود زیرا ساختار جمله را ضعیف میکند.It was me who... و It was I who... در چیست؟It was I who...). اما در انگلیسی مدرن و حتی در محیطهای دانشگاهی، استفاده از حالت مفعولی (It was me who...) کاملاً پذیرفته شده و بسیار رایجتر است.I ممکن است گاهی بیش از حد خشک یا متظاهرانه به نظر برسد.It-cleft برای تأکید بر فعل استفاده کنیم؟It-cleft نمیتواند مستقیماً روی فعل تأکید کند. برای تأکید بر فعل، باید از فعل کمکی do/did استفاده کنید (مثلاً: I did study) یا از ساختار Pseudo-cleft استفاده کنید: What I did was study.Tense Variations of It-Clefts
| Tense | It + Be | Focus | Relative Clause |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Present Simple
|
It is
|
the money
|
that matters.
|
|
Past Simple
|
It was
|
the money
|
that mattered.
|
|
Present Perfect
|
It has been
|
the money
|
that has caused the trouble.
|
|
Future Simple
|
It will be
|
the money
|
that decides the winner.
|
|
Modal (Possibility)
|
It might be
|
the money
|
that he wants.
|
|
Negative Past
|
It wasn't
|
the money
|
that I lost.
|
Common Contractions
| Full Form | Contraction | Usage Note |
|---|---|---|
|
It is
|
It's
|
Very common in speech and informal writing.
|
|
It was
|
It'was (Non-standard)
|
Rarely contracted in standard English.
|
|
It is not
|
It isn't / It's not
|
Both are common; 'It's not' is slightly more frequent.
|
|
It was not
|
It wasn't
|
Standard contraction for past negative.
|
Meanings
A grammatical construction used to focus on a specific constituent (subject, object, or adverbial) by placing it after 'It + be'. It effectively 'cleaves' (splits) a simple sentence into two parts to create contrast or emphasis.
Subject Focus
Emphasizing the person or thing performing the action.
“It was the rain that ruined our picnic.”
“It is my sister who usually handles the finances.”
Object Focus
Emphasizing the person or thing receiving the action.
“It was the red car that he bought, not the blue one.”
“It is her honesty that I admire most.”
Adverbial Focus (Time/Place)
Emphasizing when, where, or how something happened.
“It was in Paris that they first met.”
“It is only now that I realize my mistake.”
Reference Table
| جمله اصلی | نسخه It-Cleft | نقطه تمرکز |
|---|---|---|
|
The rain ruined our picnic.
|
It was the rain that ruined our picnic.
|
دلیل (باران)
|
|
My sister found the keys.
|
It was my sister who found the keys.
|
شخص (خواهر)
|
|
The app crashed again.
|
It's the app that keeps crashing.
|
شیء (اپلیکیشن)
|
|
The manager called you.
|
It was the manager who called you.
|
شخص (مدیر)
|
|
The loud noise woke me up.
|
It was the loud noise that woke me up.
|
دلیل (صدای بلند)
|
|
I need a holiday.
|
It's a holiday that I really need.
|
نیاز (تعطیلات)
|
طیف رسمیت
It was John who shattered the window. (Reporting an incident)
It was John that broke the window. (Reporting an incident)
It was John who did it. (Reporting an incident)
It was John who messed up the window. (Reporting an incident)
The Anatomy of an It-Cleft
Components
- It Dummy Subject
- Be Tense Carrier
- Focus The Emphasized Part
- Relative Clause Background Info
Normal vs. Cleft Sentence
Should I use an It-Cleft?
Do you want to emphasize a specific part?
Are you correcting someone?
What can you focus?
Subjects
- • It was the teacher...
- • It is I...
- • It was the dog...
Objects
- • It was the car...
- • It is the truth...
- • It was them...
Adverbials
- • It was at midnight...
- • It is because of you...
- • It was in Rome...
مثالها بر اساس سطح
It is my book.
It is my book.
It is me!
It is me!
It is cold today.
It is cold today.
It is a big dog.
It is a big dog.
It was my mom who called.
It was my mom who called.
It is the blue pen I want.
It is the blue pen I want.
It was 10 PM when they left.
It was 10 PM when they left.
It is not my fault.
It is not my fault.
It was the movie that made her cry.
It was the movie that made her cry.
It is in London that the story happens.
It is in London that the story happens.
It was because of the rain that we stayed home.
It was because of the rain that we stayed home.
It is her smile that I like most.
It is her smile that I like most.
It was only last week that I found out.
It was only last week that I found out.
It is the government that should take action.
It is the government that should take action.
It was with great difficulty that he finished the race.
It was with great difficulty that he finished the race.
It is not what he said, but how he said it.
It is not what he said, but how he said it.
It was through sheer persistence that she succeeded.
It was through sheer persistence that she succeeded.
It is not until we lose someone that we appreciate them.
It is not until we lose someone that we appreciate them.
It was the lack of transparency that the public resented.
It was the lack of transparency that the public resented.
It is I who am responsible for this oversight.
It is I who am responsible for this oversight.
It was but a moment ago that the world seemed simple.
It was but a moment ago that the world seemed simple.
It is precisely this ambiguity that the poet exploits.
It is precisely this ambiguity that the poet exploits.
It might well have been the stress that triggered the illness.
It might well have been the stress that triggered the illness.
It is seldom that one encounters such genuine talent.
It is seldom that one encounters such genuine talent.
بهراحتی اشتباه گرفته میشود
Both add emphasis, but Wh-clefts start with 'What' and focus on the whole clause.
Learners sometimes use 'There' as a dummy subject when they should use 'It'.
Both can shift focus to the object.
اشتباهات رایج
Is John who called.
It is John who called.
It was the cats that was hungry.
It was the cats that were hungry.
It was the book which I liked.
It was the book that I liked.
It is I who is the winner.
It is I who am the winner.
الگوهای جملهسازی
It was ___ who ___.
It is ___ that ___.
It was not until ___ that ___.
It is with ___ that I ___.
Real World Usage
It was my time at Google that really shaped my approach to coding.
It's not you, it's me.
It is this discrepancy in the data that warrants further investigation.
Actually, it was the diet coke that I ordered, not the regular.
It's the little things that count. ✨
It was the defendant whom I saw entering the building.
It is our priority to ensure your data remains safe.
It's the next turning on the right that you need.
قانون "It" خالی
It اینجا یه فاعل خالی یا dummy subject هست. یعنی هیچوقت تو این ساختار گرامری خاص، به they, those یا this تغییر نمیکنه. مثلاً حتی اگه بخوای بگی «اونا بودن که تصمیم گرفتن»، بازم میگی: It was they who made the decision.
دام مطابقت
who با فاعل اصلی جمله مطابقت داشته باشه. مثلاً وقتی خودتو فاعل قرار میدی، میگی It is I who am، نه
It is I who is.
قدرت مکث و تاکید
It is/was میاد، تاکید میکنیم. این تاکید کلامی باعث میشه منظورمون واضحتر شه. مثلاً اگه «جان» فراموش کرده بود، میگی: It was JOHN who forgot.
Smart Tips
Use a negative it-cleft followed by a positive one.
Use an it-cleft to define the specific problem you are solving.
Remember that 'It' stays singular even if the focus is plural.
Keep the preposition with the focus, not at the end of the sentence.
تلفظ
Focus Stress
In an it-cleft, the word immediately following 'is' or 'was' receives the strongest pitch accent.
Falling Intonation on Focus
It was the CAKE ↘ that I wanted.
Conveys finality and correction of a previous statement.
حفظ کنید
روش یادسپاری
Remember 'IT IS THE FOCUS': It + Is + The Focus + that...
تداعی تصویری
Imagine a theater stage. The whole stage is the sentence. The 'It is' is the spotlight operator, and the 'Focus' is the actor standing in the bright light while the rest of the sentence stays in the shadows.
Rhyme
If you want to make a point and make it hit, start your sentence with the word 'It'!
Story
John was accused of stealing a cookie. He didn't say 'I didn't do it.' He pointed at the dog and said, 'It was the DOG that ate the cookie!' The emphasis saved him from trouble.
شبکه واژگان
چالش
Look at the last three sentences you wrote. Rewrite one of them as an it-cleft to change the emphasis.
نکات فرهنگی
It-clefts are frequently used in British political debates to sound more assertive and precise.
Clefting is extremely common in Ireland, often used even when no strong emphasis is intended, influenced by the Irish language structure.
In scientific papers, it-clefts are used to highlight specific findings or variables without using 'I' or 'We'.
The cleft construction has roots in Old English but became much more prominent in Middle English as the language moved away from case endings toward fixed word order.
شروعکنندههای مکالمه
Was it your parents who chose your name?
Is it the salary or the work-life balance that matters more to you?
Was it a specific book that changed your way of thinking?
Is it the culture or the food that you enjoy most when traveling?
موضوعات نگارش
اشتباهات رایج
Test Yourself
Arrange the words in the correct order:
All words placed
Click words above to build the sentence
It was my sister who called youدقیقاً با این فرمول مطابقت داره.
Find and fix the mistake:
They were the kids who broke the window.
kids، فاعل خالی It و فعل was/is باید مفرد باشن.It was the rain ___ caused the power outage.
rain، that انتخاب استاندارد و طبیعیترین گزینه تو جملات cleft هست.Score: /3
تمرینهای عملی
8 exercisesIt ___ my brother ___ told me the news.
Select the correct option:
Find and fix the mistake:
Correct the verb agreement.
Rewrite the sentence.
You can use 'which' as a relative pronoun in an it-cleft.
A: Did Mary buy the cake? B: No, ___.
What is being emphasized?
1. I love her voice. 2. He lost his keys. 3. They met at the park.
Score: /8
Practice Bank
10 exercisesIt is I who ___ the leader of this group.
Was it the dog barked all night?
Arrange: [me, it, wasn't, the, door, who, unlocked]
Es el jefe quien toma las decisiones.
Select the correct option:
Match the pairs:
It ___ have been John who left the lights on.
They are the results that matter.
Fue la película lo que me aburrió.
Arrange: [your, it's, smile, makes, me, happy, that]
Score: /10
سوالات متداول (8)
Yes, in spoken English and informal writing, `It's` is very common. However, in formal academic writing, you should use the full `It is` or `It was`.
In formal English, `It is I` is technically correct. In modern, everyday English, almost everyone says `It is me`. If you use `I`, the following verb must be `am` (`It is I who am...`), which sounds very old-fashioned.
Absolutely! You can say, `It will be the voters who decide the outcome.` The verb `be` can be conjugated into any tense.
Normal sentences are fine, but they don't provide focus. `John called` is a fact. `It was John who called` implies 'It wasn't Peter or Sarah; it was specifically John.'
Yes, in very formal writing when the focus is an object. `It was he whom the committee chose.` However, `that` is much more common.
Yes. `It was because I was tired that I made the mistake.` This is a great way to emphasize a reason.
Yes, in this specific structure, `It` is a 'dummy subject' or 'expletive it'. It doesn't refer to anything; it just holds the spot for the verb.
In informal speech, yes, if it's the object. `It was the red one (that) I wanted.` But it's better to keep it for clarity.
Scaffolded Practice
1
2
3
4
Mastery Progress
Needs Practice
Improving
Strong
Mastered
In Other Languages
Es... que / Fue... quien
English requires the dummy subject 'It'.
C'est... qui/que
French uses 'C'est' for almost all emphasis, whereas English has more variety.
Es ist... der/die/das
Word order in the relative clause follows German rules (verb-final).
〜のは〜だ (no wa... da)
Japanese doesn't use a dummy subject like 'It'.
إنما (Innama) / هو الذي (Huwa alladhi)
Arabic relies on particles and word order rather than a dummy subject construction.
是...的 (shì... de)
The 'de' comes at the end of the sentence in Chinese, unlike the 'that' clause in English.
Learning Path
Prerequisites
Continue With
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تاکید با do/does/did
### Overview یکی از جذابترین و در عین حال ظریفترین بخشهای یادگیری زبان انگلیسی در سطح فرامیانی (Upper-Intermediate ی...
آنچه نیاز داری این است... (جملات شکافدار Wh- برای تاکید)
### Overview در زبان انگلیسی، برای تأکید بر بخش خاصی از یک جمله و جلب توجه شنونده یا خواننده به آن قسمت، از ساختارهای گو...
مقدم کردن: قرار دادن مفعول در ابتدا
### Overview در زبان انگلیسی، ساختار استاندارد جملات به صورت فاعل-فعل-مفعول (SVO) است. اما در سطح پیشرفته (C1)، ما با ت...
وجودی 'There' (وجود دارد)
تا به حال به گوشیتان نگاه کردهاید و متوجه شدهاید که `there is` (وجود ندارد) وایفای نیست؟ آن لحظه کوتاه وحشت توسط `th...
