Ejercicios de cleft sentences para dar énfasis
28 preguntas · opción múltiple, relacionar, transformar frases, verdadero o falso y huecos · corrección al instante
Opción múltiple
Identifica la estructura
Elige la única opción que completa la estructura de énfasis.
It was the missing safety certificate delayed the opening.
impressed the jury was the clarity of her explanation.
It was not until the appeal was rejected they released the documents.
What the witness did was the original statement.
The reason why we withdrew was the conditions had changed.
I need is a clear answer, not another estimate.
Relacionar
¿Qué se destaca?
Relaciona cada frase con la información que presenta como foco principal.
Pulsa un elemento de la izquierda y después su pareja de la derecha.
Transformación
Reformula con énfasis
Completa con entre dos y cinco palabras, conservando el significado y la palabra clave sin cambiarla. Usa la estructura iniciada en cada frase; cuando el sujeto ya aparezca, no lo repitas. No sustituyas por sinónimos las palabras de la frase original.
A software fault caused the shutdown.
THAT
It was a software fault the shutdown.
We need more evidence.
WHAT
is more evidence.
The technician disconnected the alarm.
DID
What the technician the alarm.
They discovered the mistake only after the results were published.
THAT
It was only after the results were published the mistake.
I want nothing except a written apology.
ALL
is a written apology.
We cancelled because the venue was unsafe.
THAT
The reason why we cancelled the venue was unsafe.
Verdadero o falso
Comprueba la estructura enfática
Marca Verdadero si la frase es gramaticalmente correcta y Falso si contiene un error.
It was the unexpected silence what unsettled the panel.
What the auditors need is unrestricted access to the accounts.
It was not until the hearing ended that did she speak to the press.
What the spokesperson did was retract the allegation.
It was on procedural grounds that the motion was dismissed.
Completar
Completa el foco del contraste
Completa cada estructura enfática con la palabra que falta. Escribe una sola palabra por hueco.
It the revised budget that the trustees rejected, not the timetable.
the chair demanded was a binding commitment, not another informal assurance.
It was only after the appeal the data were released.
All the researchers did repeat the analysis; they did not discard the sample.
The reason the discrepancy arose was a faulty database, not the laboratory.
Explicación
Las cleft sentences dividen un mensaje en dos partes para destacar un elemento. Son útiles para corregir una suposición, contrastar información o guiar al lector hacia lo que importa.
It-clefts: it + be + foco + that / who
Una frase neutra como The deputy approved the changes on Friday permite destacar distintos elementos:
| Foco | Estructura enfática |
|---|---|
| Persona | It was the deputy who approved the changes. |
| Objeto | It was the changes that the deputy approved. |
| Momento | It was on Friday that the deputy approved the changes. |
That sirve también para personas; who es habitual cuando el foco es una persona. It funciona como sujeto de la estructura, aunque el foco sea plural: It was the assistants who found the error.
El verbo dentro de la relativa concuerda con su sujeto real: It is the assistants who check the figures. Al destacar un lugar o un momento, that es el enlace neutro: It was in the cellar that we found it.
What-clefts: empezar por una idea pendiente
Usamos what + oración + be + foco. La primera parte significa aproximadamente «lo que…» y anuncia qué tipo de información falta.
- What surprised me was her refusal to negotiate.
- What we need is a workable timetable.
No se trata de una pregunta: What we need, no what do we need. También puedes invertir el orden de las dos partes: A workable timetable is what we need.
Con un foco plural pueden aparecer is o are, según el análisis y el registro: What we need is / are clearer guidelines. En los ejercicios evitamos usar esa variación como único criterio de corrección.
Destacar una acción
Con what + sujeto + do / did destacamos una acción mediante un infinitivo, que puede llevar to o no.
- What she did was request an independent review.
- What she did was to request an independent review.
El tiempo se expresa en did y was; no ponemos el verbo enfocado en pasado: no was requested si queremos decir que ella pidió la revisión.
Otras formas de enfocar
- All… is… limita el contenido a una sola necesidad o deseo: All I want is a fair hearing.
- The reason why… was that… destaca la causa: The reason why we stopped was that the floor was unstable.
- It was not until… that… destaca un momento tardío: It was not until Monday that they replied.
Truco: no mezcles dos patrones: It was the delay that annoyed me y What annoyed me was the delay son correctos. It was the delay what annoyed me no lo es. Tras it was not until… that mantén el orden normal: they replied, sin did they reply.