What are Focus Structures?
Focus structures are advanced grammatical techniques that allow speakers to emphasize or highlight specific information in a sentence. They shift the normal word order to place focus on the element you want to emphasize. Understanding focus structures makes your English more sophisticated and persuasive.
Focus structures emphasize specific elements by restructuring the sentence. Common types include cleft sentences ('It was John who called') and pseudo-cleft sentences ('What I want is a holiday'). These make certain parts more prominent in the listener's mind.
Step-by-step worked examples
Normal sentence: 'John passed the exam.' Create a cleft sentence to emphasize 'John'.
Use the cleft structure 'It + to be + focused element + relative clause.' Answer: 'It was John who passed the exam.' This emphasizes John as the one who passed.
Normal: 'I like the beach most.' Rewrite as a pseudo-cleft to emphasize 'the beach'.
Use 'What + subject + verb + is + focused element.' Answer: 'What I like most is the beach.' This structure emphasizes the beach as the thing she likes.
Sentence: 'She worked hard because she wanted success.' Emphasize why (the reason).
Use a focus structure with 'It is ... that.' Answer: 'It is because she wanted success that she worked hard.' This puts the reason in focus.
Flashcards
Quick quiz
Q1.Change to cleft: 'Mary won the award.' Emphasize Mary.
Q2.Pseudo-cleft for 'I need help': emphasize 'help'.
Q3.What does 'It is because of you that I'm here' emphasize?
Q4.Which is a focus structure?
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Common mistakes
Focus structures always use 'It is... that'. — Correct: Focus structures include cleft ('It was John who...'), pseudo-cleft ('What I like is...'), and other patterns.
You must use focus structures in every sentence. — Correct: Focus structures are for emphasis; use them selectively to highlight important information.
Cleft and pseudo-cleft sentences mean the same thing. — Correct: Cleft uses 'It + to be + element + relative clause'; pseudo-cleft uses 'What/Who + clause + to be + element.'
Focus structures change the basic meaning of the sentence. — Correct: Focus structures keep the same meaning but emphasize different elements.
FAQ
What are focus structures?
Grammatical techniques that emphasize specific information by restructuring sentences, commonly using cleft and pseudo-cleft patterns.
How do focus structures work?
They move the emphasized element to a prominent position, usually after 'It is/was' or in a 'What' clause, making it stand out to the listener.
What's the difference between cleft and pseudo-cleft?
Cleft: 'It was John who left' (It + verb + element + who clause). Pseudo-cleft: 'What John did was leave' (What clause + to be + verb).
When should I use focus structures?
Use them when you want to emphasize or clarify important information, draw attention to a particular element, or add emphasis in writing and speech.