Complete the 12 sentences below. Choose the best answer for each one.
1It was not until the external auditors had signed off on the figures that ............... the acquisition.
Wrong!
After a fronted negative cleft phrase such as "Not until...", use inversion: "did the board approve".
2It was in the temporary warehouse ............... the engineers finally reproduced the fault.
Wrong!
In an it-cleft focusing on a place, use "where" before the clause that happened there.
3It was ............... who first questioned the reliability of the survey.
Wrong!
In formal C1 usage, a subject-focused cleft takes the subject form after be: "she".
4It was ............... the delay that the project manager accepted full responsibility.
Wrong!
The noun "responsibility" takes "for" in this meaning, so the cleft focus is "for".
5It ............... the revised safety protocols, rather than the new software, that reduced the accident rate.
Wrong!
When an it-cleft focuses a plural noun phrase in careful usage, the verb agrees with that focus: "were".
6It was the committee's abrupt change of policy ............... unsettled the investors.
Wrong!
For a focused thing or event, the neutral cleft connector is "that".
7It was ............... whom the minister consulted before announcing the reform.
Wrong!
Because the focused pronoun is the object of "consulted", use the object form "him".
8It was during the second round of negotiations ............... the two sides reached a compromise.
Wrong!
A cleft focusing on a time expression can use "when", so the correct option is "when".
9The cost itself was within budget; it was ............... that jeopardised the launch.
Wrong!
The follow-up sentence says the cost was acceptable, so the cleft must emphasize "not the price but the delivery schedule".
10It was ............... that the report misled the analysts.
Wrong!
To focus the reason in an it-cleft, use the reason clause beginning with "because": "because the database had not been updated".
11It is the regional coordinators ............... will brief the volunteers before the inspection.
Wrong!
For a human focus, use "who" in the cleft clause.
12It was the final paragraph of the memo that the consultant ............... most carefully.
Wrong!
The clause after an it-cleft needs a finite verb, so the correct form is "wrote".
Done.
Score: 0/12
Answers
- It was not until the external auditors had signed off on the figures that did the board approve the acquisition.
- It was in the temporary warehouse where the engineers finally reproduced the fault.
- It was she who first questioned the reliability of the survey.
- It was for the delay that the project manager accepted full responsibility.
- It were the revised safety protocols, rather than the new software, that reduced the accident rate.
- It was the committee’s abrupt change of policy that unsettled the investors.
- It was him whom the minister consulted before announcing the reform.
- It was during the second round of negotiations when the two sides reached a compromise.
- The cost itself was within budget; it was not the price but the delivery schedule that jeopardised the launch.
- It was because the database had not been updated that the report misled the analysts.
- It is the regional coordinators who will brief the volunteers before the inspection.
- It was the final paragraph of the memo that the consultant wrote most carefully.
