Practice using it-cleft and wh-cleft sentences to add emphasis in technical writing, incident reports, and design discussions.
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Which sentence uses an it-cleft correctly to emphasise the cause of the performance issue?
An it-cleft (It is X that/who Y) moves the emphasised element into focus. Option B highlights the database query as the key cause. Option C is a wh-cleft, also correct but different structure.
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A team is writing a post-mortem. Which wh-cleft sentence best emphasises the solution that resolved the incident?
A wh-cleft (What + clause + was + noun phrase) emphasises the key fact. What resolved the incident was... focuses attention on the solution, common in post-mortems.
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A stakeholder asks why the deployment took so long. Which it-cleft answer emphasises the bottleneck most clearly?
It is X that Y is the standard it-cleft pattern. It is the test suite that is causing... focuses exactly on what the stakeholder asked about.
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An RFC proposes a major architectural change. Which sentence uses What + happened to narrate the motivation?
What happened was that... is a wh-cleft pattern used to narrate events and motivations. It adds dramatic emphasis to the sequence of events that led to the proposal.
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Which sentence uses a reverse wh-cleft (noun phrase + is what + clause) correctly?
A reverse wh-cleft places the topic (rollback mechanism) first: A rollback mechanism is what we need. This emphasises the noun phrase at the start, contrasting with the standard wh-cleft (What we need is...).
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PR Description
During code review, Sarah flagged a potential memory leak in the new user authentication module. Here's her PR description:
"The code now handles JWT validation correctly, but I'm seeing frequent garbage collection spikes during peak load. It seems like the way we're processing these tokens is inefficient."
This question tests your understanding of using an it-cleft to emphasize a key observation within a technical context. The incorrect options either miss the core problem (option 1), focus on a superficial detail (option 3) or simply state something already known (option 4). Using 'It seems like…' correctly draws attention to the *consequence* of the token processing – the frequent garbage collection spikes – which is precisely what needs further investigation.
7 / 14
PR Description
During code review, Sarah flagged a potential memory leak in the new user authentication module. Here's her PR description:
"The code now handles JWT validation correctly, but I'm seeing frequent garbage collection spikes during peak load. It seems like the way we're processing these tokens is inefficient."
This question tests your understanding of using an it-cleft to emphasize a key observation within a technical context. The incorrect options either miss the core problem (option 1), focus on a superficial detail (option 3) or simply state something already known (option 4). Using 'It seems like…' correctly draws attention to the *consequence* of the token processing – the frequent garbage collection spikes – which is precisely what needs further investigation.
8 / 14
PR Description
During code review, Sarah flagged a potential memory leak in the new user authentication module. Here's her PR description:
"The code now handles JWT validation correctly, but I'm seeing frequent garbage collection spikes during peak load. It seems like the way we're processing these tokens is inefficient."
This question tests your understanding of using an it-cleft to emphasize a key observation within a technical context. The incorrect options either miss the core problem (option 1), focus on a superficial detail (option 3) or simply state something already known (option 4). Using 'It seems like…' correctly draws attention to the *consequence* of the token processing – the frequent garbage collection spikes – which is precisely what needs further investigation.
9 / 14
PR Description
During code review, Sarah flagged a potential memory leak in the new user authentication module. Here's her PR description:
"The code now handles JWT validation correctly, but I'm seeing frequent garbage collection spikes during peak load. It seems like the way we're processing these tokens is inefficient."
This question tests your understanding of using an it-cleft to emphasize a key observation within a technical context. The incorrect options either miss the core problem (option 1), focus on a superficial detail (option 3) or simply state something already known (option 4). Using 'It seems like…' correctly draws attention to the *consequence* of the token processing – the frequent garbage collection spikes – which is precisely what needs further investigation.
10 / 14
During a standup meeting, David reported: 'The database connection pool was consistently maxed out.' Which sentence best uses an it-cleft to emphasize the *reason* for the problem?
An it-cleft places the emphasized element at the beginning of the sentence. Here, 'It' clearly identifies the problem – the connection pool – and its state as the cause. Options B and C simply restate the fact without the emphatic structure. Option D introduces a separate clause about investigation, deviating from the core emphasis on the root cause.
11 / 14
You're drafting a Slack message to your team after investigating an API outage. The following is the draft: 'The service responded with an error code 500, which is what caused the disruption.' Which sentence best exemplifies a reverse wh-cleft?
A reverse wh-cleft uses a noun phrase followed by 'is what' to introduce the key element. This sentence structures the information with that specific focus - 'the service responding with an error code' is highlighted as *the* cause. Options B and C rephrase this structure, while option D presents a different causal relationship.
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A code reviewer, Mark, is providing feedback on a pull request. He writes: 'The implementation of the caching strategy is what led to unexpected performance degradation.' Which sentence demonstrates correct use of a wh-cleft for emphasis?
In this scenario, 'the implementation' is the core element being highlighted. The structure 'is what' correctly places it at the beginning of the sentence to draw attention to *that* specific aspect as the reason for the problem. Options A and D shift the focus away from the implementation itself.
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During a code review, Emily notes: 'The lack of input validation is what introduced this vulnerability.' Which sentence best utilizes an it-cleft to emphasize the cause?
The it-cleft structure is crucial here. 'It' directly identifies the element causing the problem – the absence of validation - and immediately establishes that as the reason for the vulnerability. Options B and C simply restate this relationship without the emphatic focus. Option D introduces a separate action (identifying).
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You're writing a PR description for a bug fix related to asynchronous processing. The issue was that the queue wasn't being cleared properly. Which sentence best uses an it-cleft to emphasize the root cause?
An it-cleft is used here to highlight 'the queue' as the core problem. The sentence structure emphasizes that *this* specific element – its improper clearing – caused the processing errors. Options B and C simply describe the issue without this emphatic placement.
What will I practise in "Cleft Sentences for Emphasis in Technical English"?
Practice using it-cleft and wh-cleft sentences to add emphasis in technical writing, incident reports, and design discussions.
How many exercises are in this module?
This module has 14 multiple-choice exercises, each with instant feedback and a full explanation of the correct answer.
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How is this different from reading an article on the same topic?
Articles explain grammar rules in prose; this exercise tests and reinforces those rules through active recall with immediate feedback — the two work best together.
Who writes these exercises?
Every exercise is written by the CoderSlingo team, drawing on real workplace English used in IT roles, then reviewed for accuracy and clarity.