• 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. No sooner ___ the stage than the lights went out. (stepped she onto / she stepped onto / she had stepped onto / had she stepped onto) → had she stepped ontoPrompt: 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? So tired she was that she fell asleep at her desk. (correct / incorrect) → incorrectPrompt: 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 give lots of background information about the house. / They make the passage sound calm and relaxed. / They show the writer did not know grammar rules. / They build tension by slowing the pace and focusing on each sound.) → 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? What surprised me was how calm she stayed. (how calm she stayed / me / what / surprised) → how calm she stayedPrompt: In 'It was X who/that…', X is the focus.
2. Read the question and choose. Emphasise WHY the match was cancelled: "The match was cancelled because of the snow." • It was the match that was cancelled because of snow. • The snow, it cancelled the match. • What was cancelled was the match. • It was because of the snow that the match was cancelled. (It was the match that was cancelled because of snow. / The snow, it cancelled the match. / What was cancelled was the match. / It was because of the snow that the match was cancelled.) → It was because of the snow that the match was cancelled.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. Which part of this sentence is being emphasised by its structure? It was in 1969 that people first walked on the Moon. (in 1969 / the Moon / walked / people) → in 1969Prompt: In 'It was X who/that…', X is the focus.
2. Read the question and choose. Emphasise WHERE they met: "They met in Lisbon." • What they met was Lisbon. • Lisbon, they met there it. • It was they who met in Lisbon. • It was in Lisbon that they met. (What they met was Lisbon. / Lisbon, they met there it. / It was they who met in Lisbon. / It was in Lisbon that they met.) → It was in Lisbon that they met.Prompt: Put the element you want to emphasise straight after 'It is/was…', or at the end after 'What… is/was'.

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