C1 Sentence Structure 16 min read Hard

Wh-Clefts: Adding Drama to Actions

Use Wh-clefts to put a powerful spotlight on specific actions or entire events.
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Grammar Rule in 30 Seconds

Wh-clefts move the most important part of your sentence to the end to create suspense and emphasis.

  • Start with a Wh-word (usually 'What') followed by a clause: 'What I need...'
  • Add the verb 'to be' as a bridge: 'What I need is...'
  • Place the 'spotlight' information at the very end: 'What I need is a vacation.'
What + 🧩 (Clause) + 🌉 (be) + 🔦 (Focus)

Overview

Use this to show one action is very important.

It helps people see the most important part.

This makes the action very special and big.

How This Grammar Works

Start with 'What' and a person. Use 'do' or 'did'.
The word 'What' means 'the thing that happened'.
Then use 'is' or 'was'. Put the action word last.
This makes people listen to the end of the sentence.
Example: 'What he did was say sorry.' 'Say sorry' is important.
This makes your meaning very clear for the listener.

Word Order Rules

Put the words in the right order. This is important.
Write the sentence like this:
| Part 1 | Middle Word | Part 2 |
| :-------------------------------- | :--------------------- | :--------------------------------------- |
| What + Person + do/did | is/was | Action Word |
Let's examine each component:
  • What: This is almost exclusively the wh-word used for action-focused clefts. It functions as a nominal relative pronoun, meaning it acts like a noun (referring to 'the action' or 'the thing') while also introducing the dependent clause. It is never omitted. Example: What she experienced...
  • Subject: This is the agent performing the action. It directly follows what. Example: What they always do...
  • do/does/did: This auxiliary verb is indispensable. It functions as the pro-verb in the wh-clause, standing in for the main action. Its tense must strictly align with the original action's tense:
  • Present Simple: do (for I, you, we, they) or does (for he, she, it).
  • Past Simple: did (for all subjects).
  • Example: What I did... (past action); What she does... (habitual present action).
  • Linking Verb (is/was): The verb to be connects the two clauses. Crucially, it always agrees with the entire wh-clause as a singular unit. The wh-clause, regardless of the plurality of its internal components, is conceptually treated as a singular 'thing' or 'action'. Therefore, is is used for present tense, and was for past tense. Example: What they needed was patience (not were); What the children did was play quietly (not were).
  • Bare Infinitive: The emphasized action is presented in its bare infinitive form (the base form of the verb, without to). While to-infinitive was historically more common, modern standard English strongly prefers the bare infinitive in this construction for action emphasis. Example: ...was analyze the data. This ensures a direct and concise statement of the action.
Words like 'who' or 'where' work differently.

Formation Pattern

1
You can change a normal sentence. Follow these steps.
2
Find the main action word in your sentence.
3
Old sentence: They decided to wait.
4
The action to show is: wait.
5
Start with 'What they did'. Use 'did' for the past.
6
Subject: the committee
7
The word 'decided' is past. So use 'did'.
8
Result: What the committee did...
9
Add 'is' or 'was'. Use 'was' for the past.
10
If you use 'did', you must use 'was'.
11
Result: What the committee did was...
12
Add the action word last. Use the simple form.
13
Use 'wait'. Do not say 'to wait'.
14
Remaining complement: the vote
15
Result: What the committee did was postpone the vote.
16
Let's apply this to another example:
17
Old sentence: She checks everything carefully.
18
The main thing is: she checks everything.
19
Use 'What'. Then say 'she'. Then say 'does'.
20
What she does...
21
Next, use the word 'is'.
22
What she does is...
23
Use the word 'check'. Then say the other words.
24
What she does is check every detail.
25
This helps people understand you. It is clear and strong.

When To Use It

These sentences are useful. They show which action is important.
  • To Correct Misconceptions or Clarify Information: This is perhaps the most frequent and impactful use. If you perceive that your audience holds a mistaken belief about an action, or lacks precise information, a Wh-cleft can emphatically set the record straight.
  • Misconception: "I thought you just overlooked the mistake." -> Correction: What I actually did was identify a major flaw in the system. This clarifies the action beyond mere oversight.
  • Clarification: "What happened after the meeting?" -> What happened was everyone agreed to the new proposal. This provides the key action as the direct answer.
  • To Add Emphasis, Drama, or Emotional Weight: When you want an action to resonate strongly, to highlight its significance, or to imbue it with emotional intensity, this structure is ideal. It signals to the listener that the action is central to your message.
  • Significance: What we need to do now is secure the funding immediately. The urgency of secure the funding is amplified.
  • Drama/Impact: What she couldn't believe was how quickly the situation deteriorated. The action deteriorated gains emotional weight.
  • To Respond to Implicit or Explicit Questions: This structure naturally frames the emphasized action as the answer to a question, whether stated directly or implied by the context.
  • Explicit question: "What did you do about the error?" -> What I did was implement a temporary workaround.
  • Implicit question (e.g., after an unexpected event): What triggered the alarm was a sudden drop in pressure. The action triggered is the focus, providing the cause.
  • To Highlight Unexpectedness or Specificity: When an action defies expectation or requires precise articulation, the Wh-cleft foregrounds it.
  • Unexpectedness: What surprised everyone was that he resigned without explanation. The act of resigning is presented as unexpected.
  • Specificity: What makes this design unique is its ability to adapt to user input. The action adapt is precisely what makes it unique.
  • In More Formal and Analytical Contexts: While not exclusive to formal registers, the precise nature of Wh-clefts lends itself well to academic writing, legal discussions, or detailed reports where clarity and accurate emphasis are paramount. It allows for unambiguous articulation of actions and their consequences. Despite this, it's also common in passionate or corrective casual speech, showing its versatility across registers.

Common Mistakes

Many people make mistakes. Learn them to speak better.
  • Omitting the do/does/did Auxiliary: This is perhaps the most frequent mistake. Without do/does/did, the cleft shifts its emphasis from an action to a thing or concept. Contrast:
  • Incorrect for action emphasis: What I want is eat pizza. (Emphasizes eat pizza as a thing/concept, which sounds unnatural. Usually, What I want is pizza. or What I want to do is eat pizza. for action.)
  • Correct for action emphasis: What I do want is to eat pizza. (Even here, the to-infinitive after is is often preferred when the focus is on the desire to perform the action, rather than the action itself. If the specific action is what happened, the bare infinitive is clearer: What I did was eat pizza.)
  • Correct for action emphasis (what happened): What he did was run away. (Emphasizes the action of running away.)
Use 'do' to show an action is important.
  • Incorrect Tense of do or be: The tense of do/does/did must match the original action's tense, and the linking to be must then match that tense (always is or was, never are or were).
  • Original: She solved the problem. (Past) -> Incorrect: What she does is solve the problem. (Tense mismatch)
  • Correct: What she did was solve the problem.
  • Using a to-Infinitive instead of a Bare Infinitive (for the emphasized action): While some historical or regional variations might permit to-infinitive, modern standard English for action-focused clefts strongly prefers the bare infinitive. Using to can sound archaic or slightly off.
  • Incorrect: What they decided was to cancel the event.
  • Correct: What they decided was cancel the event. (Or, more naturally, What they did was cancel the event. This is often a confusion with It-clefts where to is more common after it is.)
  • Agreement Errors with to be: Remember, the wh-clause acts as a singular subject for to be.
  • Original: We needed more resources. -> Incorrect: What we needed were more resources.
  • Correct: What we needed was more resources. (What we needed is treated as 'the thing we needed', a singular concept.)
  • Overuse or Misuse: Wh-clefts are emphatic. Using them too frequently can make your writing or speech sound overly dramatic, repetitive, or unnatural. Reserve them for moments when genuine emphasis is required, not for every statement.
  • Instead of: What I did was wake up. What I then did was eat breakfast. What I then did was go to work.
  • Simply: I woke up, ate breakfast, and went to work. Use the cleft when there's a reason to highlight the action.

Contrast With Similar Patterns

These sentences look like others. But they are different.
  • Contrast with It-Clefts:
  • It-Clefts (It is/was X that/who Y): Primarily emphasize a noun phrase (person, thing) or sometimes a prepositional phrase (time, place). They spotlight who or what performed an action, or when or where it happened.
  • It was John who broke the window. (Emphasizes John)
  • It was the window that John broke. (Emphasizes the window)
  • It was yesterday that he left. (Emphasizes yesterday)
  • Action-focused Wh-Clefts (What S do/does/did is/was bare infinitive): Exclusively emphasize the verbal action itself.
  • What John did was break the window. (Emphasizes the act of breaking the window)
Some sentences show things. These show what people do.
  • Contrast with Pseudo-Clefts (without do):
  • Standard Pseudo-Clefts (What S verb is/was X): These also use a wh-clause as a subject, but the wh-clause typically contains the main verb directly, without the auxiliary do. They emphasize a noun phrase or clause that is the object or complement of the initial verb.
  • What I like is pizza. (Emphasizes pizza, a noun. Like is the main verb.)
  • What she needs is a long vacation. (Emphasizes a long vacation, a noun phrase. Needs is the main verb.)
  • Action-focused Wh-Clefts (What S do/does/did is/was bare infinitive): The presence of do/does/did specifically signals that the subsequent emphasized element will be an action, typically a bare infinitive, making it clear that the focus is on the verb.
  • What I do like is eat pizza. (Though often still sounds more natural with to-infinitive or a rephrasing like What I like to do is eat pizza if it's a general preference for the activity. If it describes an actual past event: What I did was eat pizza.)
Use the word 'do' to talk about an action.
  • Contrast with Emphatic do:
  • Emphatic do (S do/does/did + main verb): This structure adds emphasis to the truth or affirmation of a statement, often in contradiction or strong assertion. It doesn't split the sentence into two clauses.
  • I do like coffee. (Contradicts an assumption that I don't.)
  • He did submit the report. (Affirms the action despite doubt.)
  • Action-focused Wh-Clefts: While also emphatic, they achieve emphasis through a complete structural reorganization, focusing on the identity of the action itself, rather than merely affirming its occurrence. The action becomes the new, focal information.

Real Conversations

Action-focused Wh-clefts are integral to dynamic English communication, appearing across various registers when precision, clarification, or strong assertion is needed. You'll encounter them in both formal and informal contexts.

- In Business Meetings/Professional Communication: When explaining decisions, corrective actions, or priorities, this structure adds gravitas.

- Team Lead: "We've hit a roadblock with the launch date." Project Manager: What we need to do immediately is re-evaluate our timeline and notify stakeholders. (Emphasizes the critical, immediate actions.)

- Email update: Following our review, what we decided was to proceed with a phased rollout to mitigate risk. (Clarifies the specific decision/action taken.)

- In Everyday Discussions and Explanations: When recounting events, clarifying intentions, or correcting misunderstandings, these clefts make your point undeniable.

- Friend A: "I thought you said you'd call." Friend B: What I actually did was send a text message, because my phone battery died right after. (Corrects a misconception about the action taken.)

- Parent to child: What your brother did was accidentally spill the juice, not on purpose. (Clarifies the nature of the action, emphasizing it was an accident.)

- In Debates or Arguments: To stress a particular action or its consequence, especially when making a strong point.

- Debater: What the opposition consistently fails to do is offer concrete solutions, only criticism. (Highlights the specific failing of the opponent.)

- In Personal Reflections or Narrative: When reflecting on past events, this structure can emphasize a key action that led to an outcome.

- Looking back, what I should have done was listen more carefully to her advice. (Emphasizes the regretted action.)

This structure is favored by native speakers because it allows for unambiguous focus. In a world of rapid communication and potential misinterpretation, clearly articulating what was done or what must be done is highly valued.

Quick FAQ

Here are short answers to your questions.
  • Can I use other wh-words like where or when?
Use 'What'. Other words show time, place, or people.
  • Is to-infinitive ever acceptable after is/was?
Do not use 'to'. Say 'What she did was go'.
  • Is this a formal or informal structure?
Use this with friends. Use it at work too.
  • Can I use this with non-human subjects?
Absolutely. The subject can be anything capable of performing an action.
  • What the new software did was streamline our workflow significantly.
  • What the machine does is sort packages by size and destination.
  • What's the difference between What I did was X and I did X?
This shows the action is special. It answers 'What happened?'
This makes the action sound very important.

Structure of a Wh-Cleft

Wh-Clause (Subject) Bridge (Be) Focus (Complement)
What I need
is
a break
What she said
was
shocking
What they are doing
is
helping
What we want
is
to succeed
What happened
was
an accident
What I don't like
is
his attitude

Contractions in Wh-Clefts

Full Form Contraction Usage Note
What is
What's
Very common in speech
What I am
What I'm
Common in speech
What we are
What we're
Common in speech

Meanings

A Wh-cleft is a sentence structure that uses a relative clause (starting with 'What', 'Where', 'Why', etc.) to focus on specific information, making it more prominent than in a standard sentence.

1

Emphasizing an Object

Using 'What' to highlight a noun or noun phrase that is the object of the verb.

“What I bought was a vintage typewriter.”

“What she hates most is being late.”

2

Emphasizing an Action

Using 'What [Subject] did was...' to focus on a specific verb or event.

“What he did was call the police immediately.”

“What I'm going to do is write a formal complaint.”

3

Emphasizing a Reason or Place

Using 'Why' or 'Where' (though less common than 'What') to focus on logic or location.

“Why I'm here is to help you succeed.”

“Where we should go is the mountains, not the beach.”

Reference Table

Reference table for Wh-Clefts: Adding Drama to Actions
Form Structure Example
Affirmative
What + S + V + is/was + Focus
What I want is peace.
Negative
What + S + V + is/was NOT + Focus
What I want is not money.
Action Focus
What + S + DO + is/was + (to) Verb
What I did was (to) leave.
Plural Focus
What + S + V + is + Plural Noun
What I need is new ideas.
Reversed
Focus + is/was + What + S + V
A vacation is what I need.
All-Cleft
All + S + V + is/was + Focus
All I want is you.
The thing-Cleft
The thing + S + V + is/was + Focus
The thing I hate is rain.

Formality Spectrum

Formal
What is required at this juncture is additional time.

What is required at this juncture is additional time. (Requesting a deadline extension)

Neutral
What I need is more time.

What I need is more time. (Requesting a deadline extension)

Informal
What I'm gonna need is a bit more time.

What I'm gonna need is a bit more time. (Requesting a deadline extension)

Slang
What I need is like, five more minutes, okay?

What I need is like, five more minutes, okay? (Requesting a deadline extension)

The Anatomy of a Wh-Cleft

Wh-Cleft

Wh-Clause

  • What I need The setup

Bridge

  • is The connector

Focus

  • coffee The spotlight

Standard vs. Wh-Cleft

Standard
I love her voice. Flat emphasis
Wh-Cleft
What I love is her voice. Dramatic focus
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Examples by Level

1

What I want is a cat.

2

What I like is pizza.

3

What he needs is water.

4

What we have is a car.

1

What I did was go home.

2

What she said was 'No'.

3

What they bought was a house.

4

What I saw was a big bird.

1

What I'm trying to say is that I'm sorry.

2

What happened was that the car broke down.

3

What we need to do is call a taxi.

4

What I love about summer is the weather.

1

What the government should do is lower taxes.

2

What I found most interesting was the ending.

3

What they are looking for is a creative solution.

4

What makes this city great is the people.

1

What concerns me is the lack of transparency.

2

What he's effectively doing is sabotaging the project.

3

What I'd like to highlight is the shift in consumer behavior.

4

What remains to be seen is whether the plan will work.

1

What the author is positing is a radical rethink of ethics.

2

What is particularly striking is the use of chiaroscuro.

3

What we are witnessing is a paradigm shift in technology.

4

What lies at the heart of the matter is a simple misunderstanding.

Easily Confused

Wh-Clefts: Adding Drama to Actions vs It-Clefts

Learners don't know when to use 'It is...' vs 'What is...'.

Common Mistakes

✗

What I want are apples.

✓

What I want is apples.

Even if the object is plural, the 'What' clause is singular.
✗

What I did was went home.

✓

What I did was go home.

After 'What I did was', use the base form of the verb.
✗

What I like it is swimming.

✓

What I like is swimming.

Don't add an extra 'it' after the Wh-clause.
✗

What I'm concerned is the cost.

✓

What I'm concerned about is the cost.

Don't forget the preposition that belongs to the verb in the Wh-clause.

Sentence Patterns

What I love about ___ is ___.

Real World Usage

Job Interview very common

What I can contribute is five years of experience.

Texting common

What I'd give for a burger right now!

Academic Writing common

What the data suggests is a correlation between the two variables.

Customer Service common

What I can do for you is offer a full refund.

Social Media occasional

What I actually ordered vs. what I got.

Political Speech constant

What this country needs is change.

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🎯

The 'All' Variation

Use 'All' instead of 'What' to mean 'The only thing'. Example: 'All I want is you' sounds more romantic than 'What I want is you'.
⚠️

Don't Over-Cleft

If every sentence is a Wh-cleft, you will sound like a dramatic actor. Use them sparingly for real impact.
💡

The 'To' Rule

In 'What I did was (to) go', the 'to' is optional. Most native speakers omit it in casual speech.
💬

Softening Blows

Use Wh-clefts to give bad news gently. 'What I'm afraid of is that we can't help you' sounds kinder than 'We can't help you'.

Smart Tips

Start your sentence with 'What we need to focus on is...' instead of 'We should focus on...'

We should focus on the budget. → What we need to focus on is the budget.

Use 'What happened was...' to distance yourself slightly from the error.

I forgot the keys. → What happened was that I forgot the keys.

Pronunciation

What I need... [pause] is a coffee.

The 'What' Pause

There is often a slight rise in pitch and a tiny pause after the Wh-clause to build suspense.

Suspense Rise

What I want ↗ is a car ↘

The rise on 'want' signals that more important info is coming.

Memorize It

Mnemonic

W.H.A.T. = Why Highlight All This? (Use it when you want to highlight the main point).

Visual Association

Imagine a dark stage where a spotlight slowly moves from left to right. The 'What' clause is the dark stage, and the 'Focus' at the end is where the spotlight finally lands.

Rhyme

Start with What, give it a pause / Put your focus at the end of the clause.

Story

A detective enters a room. He doesn't just say 'The butler did it.' He says, 'What I discovered... after hours of searching... was that the butler did it!' The Wh-cleft creates the suspense needed for the big reveal.

Word Web

WhatWhyWhereAllThe thingIsWas

Challenge

Take three normal sentences from your last email and rewrite them as Wh-clefts to make them sound more professional.

Cultural Notes

Wh-clefts are frequently used in polite British English to soften a request or a disagreement.

Used heavily in 'corporate speak' to sound more decisive and visionary.

Clefting comes from the Old English 'cleofan' (to split).

Conversation Starters

“

What is the one thing you would change about your city?

“

What did you do last weekend that was unexpected?

Journal Prompts

Write about your biggest dream. Use at least three Wh-clefts to emphasize your goals.

Common Mistakes

Incorrect

Correct

Incorrect

Correct

Incorrect

Correct

Incorrect

Correct

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Test Yourself

Rewrite the sentence using a Wh-cleft starting with 'What'. Sentence Transformation

I need a strong cup of coffee.

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: What I need is a strong cup of coffee.
The structure is What + Subject + Verb + is + Focus.
Choose the correct verb form. Multiple Choice

What I did was ___ the door.

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: lock
After 'What I did was', we use the base form of the verb.
Find the mistake. Error Correction

Find and fix the mistake:

What I like most about her are her eyes.

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: are
In Wh-clefts, the verb 'be' is usually singular ('is') even if the focus is plural.
Fill in the missing word.

___ I really want to know is why you lied.

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: What
Wh-clefts almost always start with 'What'.
Match the standard sentence to its Wh-cleft version. Match Pairs

Match each item on the left with its pair on the right:

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: What I hate is rain.
This is the standard Wh-cleft transformation.
Put the words in order. Sentence Building

is / what / need / we / a / plan

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: What we need is a plan.
The Wh-clause comes first for emphasis.
Is this sentence correct? True False Rule

'What I bought was a new car.'

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: True
This is a perfectly formed Wh-cleft in the past tense.
Complete the response. Dialogue Completion

A: Why are you so angry? B: ___ is that you forgot my birthday.

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: What happened
'What happened was...' is a common way to explain a situation.

Score: /8

Practice Exercises

8 exercises
Rewrite the sentence using a Wh-cleft starting with 'What'. Sentence Transformation

I need a strong cup of coffee.

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: What I need is a strong cup of coffee.
The structure is What + Subject + Verb + is + Focus.
Choose the correct verb form. Multiple Choice

What I did was ___ the door.

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: lock
After 'What I did was', we use the base form of the verb.
Find the mistake. Error Correction

Find and fix the mistake:

What I like most about her are her eyes.

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: are
In Wh-clefts, the verb 'be' is usually singular ('is') even if the focus is plural.
Fill in the missing word.

___ I really want to know is why you lied.

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: What
Wh-clefts almost always start with 'What'.
Match the standard sentence to its Wh-cleft version. Match Pairs

I hate rain.

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: What I hate is rain.
This is the standard Wh-cleft transformation.
Put the words in order. Sentence Building

is / what / need / we / a / plan

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: What we need is a plan.
The Wh-clause comes first for emphasis.
Is this sentence correct? True False Rule

'What I bought was a new car.'

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: True
This is a perfectly formed Wh-cleft in the past tense.
Complete the response. Dialogue Completion

A: Why are you so angry? B: ___ is that you forgot my birthday.

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: What happened
'What happened was...' is a common way to explain a situation.

Score: /8

Practice Bank

12 exercises
Complete the Wh-cleft sentence. Fill in the Blank

What I love most about coding ___ solving complex problems.

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: is
Which sentence correctly uses a Wh-cleft to emphasize the action? Multiple Choice

Choose the correct sentence:

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: What she did was to apologize immediately.
Identify and correct the mistake. Error Correction

What was confusing me were the conflicting instructions.

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: What was confusing me was the conflicting instructions.
Translate the sentence into natural English, using a Wh-cleft if appropriate. Translation

Lo que me sorprende es su dedicación.

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: ["What surprises me is her dedication.","What surprises me is their dedication."]
Unscramble the words to form a grammatically correct Wh-cleft sentence. Sentence Reorder

Arrange these words into a sentence:

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: What motivated him was personal success
Match the beginning of the Wh-cleft with its correct ending to emphasize the action. Match Pairs

Match the beginnings and endings:

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: matched
Choose the best verb to complete the Wh-cleft sentence. Fill in the Blank

What the user complained about ___ the slow loading times.

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: was
Which sentence is the best Wh-cleft for emphasizing the specific issue? Multiple Choice

Choose the correct sentence:

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: What caused the delay was the bad weather.
Correct the error in the sentence. Error Correction

What I'm trying to say are that we need to collaborate more.

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: What I'm trying to say is that we need to collaborate more.
How would you express this emphasis using a Wh-cleft? Translation

Es el trabajo en equipo lo que hace que nuestro proyecto sea exitoso.

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: ["What makes our project successful is teamwork."]
Arrange the words to form a coherent Wh-cleft sentence. Sentence Reorder

Arrange these words into a sentence:

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: What concerned me was his attitude
Pair the Wh-cleft beginnings with their logical completions. Match Pairs

Match the clauses:

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: matched

Score: /12

FAQ (8)

No, we don't usually say 'Who I saw was John.' Instead, use 'The person I saw was John.'

In formal English and exams, use `is`. In casual speech, `are` is common, but `is` is never wrong.

Yes, but they are less common. 'Where I want to go is Paris' is correct but sounds a bit formal.

It's when you put the focus first: 'A coffee is what I need.' It's less dramatic but still emphasizes the coffee.

No, it's optional. 'What I did was go' is actually more common in modern English.

To control the 'Information Flow'. It helps you highlight the 'new' information and build suspense.

Yes! 'What I will do is call you tomorrow.'

They are neutral. You can use them in a casual text to a friend or a formal academic paper.

Scaffolded Practice

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Mastery Progress

Needs Practice

Improving

Strong

Mastered

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In Other Languages

Spanish high

Lo que...

Spanish speakers must remember not to say 'The what I need' in English.

French high

Ce que / Ce qui...

French requires a 'ce' (that) which English does not.

German high

Was...

German requires a comma before the 'ist', which English does not.

Japanese moderate

...no wa

The focus comes at the end, but the structure is built with particles rather than Wh-words.

Arabic moderate

Al-ladhi / Ma...

Arabic often requires a 'resumptive pronoun' later in the sentence which English forbids.

Chinese moderate

...de shi

The word order is quite different as Chinese doesn't use Wh-words for this purpose.

Learning Path

Prerequisites

Previous
What you need is... (Wh-Clefts for Emphasis)
Next
It-Clefts: Adding Strong Emphasis

Learn These First

C1 Builds On

What you need is... (Wh-Clefts for Emphasis)

Overview Wh-clefts are a powerful grammatical construction used to foreground specific information within a sentence, th...

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Related Grammar Rules

C1

Emphasis: I *do* like it! (Emphatic Do/Does/Did)

Overview English grammar provides several mechanisms for emphasis, ranging from lexical choices like strong adjectives a...
B2

Emphasis with do/does/did

Overview Emphatic `do`, `does`, and `did` are used in affirmative sentences to add emphasis, typically to contradict a n...
C1

What you need is... (Wh-Clefts for Emphasis)

Overview Wh-clefts are a powerful grammatical construction used to foreground specific information within a sentence, th...
C1

Fronting: Putting the Object First

Overview Fronting, specifically **object fronting**, is a sophisticated syntactic mechanism in English that reorders the...
B2

Existential 'There' (There is / There are)

Overview The existential `there` construction, as in `There is a problem` or `There are two options`, is one of the most...
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