Cleft (definition)

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A 'cleft' (also referred to as a 'cleft sentence') is a complex sentence constructed using a focused element preceded by either a special clefting particle or a phrase like "it is" followed by a relative clause marked with the complementizer that or "which". This type of complex sentence construction is usually used to bring focus to a particular constituent. An example in English is "It was pizza that he insisted on eating. Gaelic uses a lot of clefts. They typically start with 'S e and are followed by a clause starting with the complementizer a: 'S e pizza a dh'ith e

See Also

External Links

References

SIL entry on clefts