Emphasis
WHAT CLAUSES
Basic sentence: Tom went to Sofia to study medicine.
Emphatic: 1. What Tom did was (to) go to Sofia to study medicine. / you emphasis on
the whole sentence/ action/. Something that Tom did was go to Sofia.
a. Where Tom went to was Sofia.
b. Why Tom went to Sofia was to study medicine.
c. Who went to Sofia to study medicine was Tom.
These are common with verbs such as need, want, like, hate.
I hate rainy weather.
What I hate is rainy weather. / what = the thing that /
You need a holiday.
What you need is a holiday.
It is also possible to emphasise events, using auxiliary do/did.
Peter left the windows unlocked.
What Peter did was (to) leave the windows unlocked.
They are destroying the environment.
What they are doing is destroying the environment.
Clauses beginning with “all” emphasise 'the only thing'.
I only need another £15.
All I need is another £15
Cleft sentences
It… be ….. that -clause
1. It was Tom who/that went to Sofia to study medicine.
2. It was Sofia where/ that Tom went /to/ to study medicine.
3. It was because Tom wanted to study medicine that he went to Sofia.
These are sentences introduced by it is/it was
Different parts of the sentence can be emphasised in this way.
In speech, stress and intonation also identify the emphasis.
With it is/was
Sue borrowed my bike last night.
It was Sue who borrowed my bike.
It was last night that Sue borrowed my bike.
It was my bike that Sue borrowed.
Sentences with because are also possible.
It was because I felt ill that I left.
Modal auxiliaries are also possible.
You can't have read the same book.
It can't have been the same book that you read.
Mary wrote a letter to Philip to invite him to come and visit her.
It was Mary who/that wrote….
It was a letter that Mary wrote to Philip….
It was to Philip who/that Mary wrote a letter…./ it was Philip that M wrote a letter to…
It was because Mary wanted to invite Philip to visit her that she wrote a letter to him.
Emphatic “do” – used in affirmative sentences!
It is used to mean “really” and emphasizes the action.
He did tell me the right answer.
It can mean “please” in formal situations.
Do sit down!
Own
This intensifies possessive adjectives.
It was my own idea.
• Very and indeed
Very can be used emphatically to mean exactly/precisely.
At the very same moment, the telephone rang.
Very ... indeed is another way of intensifying adjectives.
It was very cold indeed.
• Emphasising negatives
Ways of emphasising not include: at all, in the least, really.
It was not at all cold. It was not cold at all.
In the least/slightest usually adds bit if used before an adjective.
I wasn't interested in the slightest.
I wasn't the least bit interested.
No and none can be emphasized by at all and whatsoever.
There were none left at all.
There were no tickets left whatsoever.
• The
The can emphasise uniqueness. It is heavily stressed in speech.
Surely you are not the Elizabeth Taylor, are you?
• Question words ending in -ever
These add an air of disbelief to the question.
Whatever are you doing? Whoever told you that?
Passive
Passive constructions vary the way information is given in a sentence, putting more
emphasis on what comes first.
All roads to the north have been blocked by snow.
