• Quick retrieval from earlier learning (Inversion for emphasis: Never have I…, Not only did she…; Syntax for effect (GCSE/AP)). Students answer on mini whiteboards.
• Show answers together and note who needs support in the main task.

1. Choose the correct form to complete the emphatic sentence. Never ___ such a beautiful sunset. (I have seen / I saw / have I seen / seen I have) → have I seenPrompt: Does the sentence start with a negative or limiting word (never, rarely, not only, only then, little, hardly)?
2. Is this sentence correct in formal written English? Seldom does a team come back from four goals down. (correct / incorrect) → correctPrompt: Does the sentence start with a negative or limiting word (never, rarely, not only, only then, little, hardly)?
3. The door creaked. Silence. Then footsteps — slow, deliberate, closer. What is the main effect of the short sentences and fragments? (They show the writer did not know grammar rules. / They make the passage sound calm and relaxed. / They build tension by slowing the pace and focusing on each sound. / They give lots of background information about the house.) → They build tension by slowing the pace and focusing on each sound.Prompt: Think about how the sentence makes you read: faster, slower, with more emphasis?

• Show a sentence with the grammar point used wrongly and ask what sounds odd.
• Share the objective: Cleft sentences for focus: It was… who…, What… is…. Read the success criteria together.

• Work through the example out loud, saying why you do each step, not just what you do.
• Example: Which part of this sentence is being emphasised by its structure? It was not the price but the quality that worried us.
• Step 1: Cleft sentences split a simple sentence into two parts to spotlight one element: It was Maya who… / What we need is…
• Step 2: The cleft contrasts and focuses on 'the quality'.
• Step 3: So the answer is: the quality
• Answer: the quality
• Pause after each step and ask a student to say what comes next.

• Do these together. Students try each step on whiteboards before you reveal it.
• Use the hints as prompts rather than giving the answer.

1. Which part of this sentence is being emphasised by its structure? It was Maya who broke the school record. (Maya / It / the school record / broke) → MayaPrompt: In 'It was X who/that…', X is the focus.
2. Read the question and choose. Emphasise WHAT annoys you: "His constant lateness annoys me." • It is me whom his lateness annoys. • What annoys me is his constant lateness. • His constant lateness, it annoys me. • Me, his lateness annoys. (It is me whom his lateness annoys. / What annoys me is his constant lateness. / His constant lateness, it annoys me. / Me, his lateness annoys.) → What annoys me is his constant lateness.Prompt: Put the element you want to emphasise straight after 'It is/was…', or at the end after 'What… is/was'.

• Students work on the student sheet. Circulate and check the first two answers of every student early.
• Students who finish: write a question of their own for a partner, with the answer.

The 8 questions are on the student sheet below, with answers in the key.

• Two questions on their own. Sort answers into got it / nearly / not yet to plan the next lesson.

1. Read the question and choose. Emphasise WHAT annoys you: "His constant lateness annoys me." • His constant lateness, it annoys me. • What annoys me is his constant lateness. • It is me whom his lateness annoys. • Me, his lateness annoys. (His constant lateness, it annoys me. / What annoys me is his constant lateness. / It is me whom his lateness annoys. / Me, his lateness annoys.) → What annoys me is his constant lateness.Prompt: Put the element you want to emphasise straight after 'It is/was…', or at the end after 'What… is/was'.
2. Which part of this sentence is being emphasised by its structure? What the scientists discovered was a new species of beetle. (what / the scientists / discovered / a new species of beetle) → a new species of beetlePrompt: In 'It was X who/that…', X is the focus.

Free online practice with hints and printable worksheets for this skill: eurekami.com/english/grade-12.