The Grammaring Guide to English Grammar with Exercises

Pseudo-cleft sentences

WHAT-CLAUSE + BE + PHRASE

Pseudo-cleft sentences (also called wh-clefts) are similar in function to cleft sentences, but they are formed with the pronoun what (= the thing(s) that/which). The emphasis in a pseudo-cleft sentence is on the phrase after the what-clause + be:

What you need is

a good sleep

.

What I didn't like was

the end of the movie

.

What changed his mind was

a book he'd read

.

If we want to refer to a person, we say The person/people who/that:

The people who/that I met were

members of the delegation

.

If we want to emphasise an action, the verb after be usually takes the form that corresponds to the form used in the what-clause:

What you

should do

is

write

a letter to the manager.

What I

need to do

is

get

some rest.

What they

were doing

was

arguing

about which train to take.

What I

can do

is

call

for a taxi.

In the following examples, the verb after be takes the form that the verb in the what-clause is normally followed by:

What I

want

is

to sleep

.

What he

can't stand

is

getting up

early.

In the past simple and present perfect, we can use the following patterns:

What I

did

in the end was

(to) go

home.

What I

have done

is

(to) write

a letter to the editor.

Quotes:

It is the familiar that usually eludes us in life. What is before our nose is what we see last. - William Barret

Related topics:

WHAT (the thing(s) that/which)