Oraciones hendidas en inglés

Esta lección nos ayudará a comprender qué es una oración hendida en inglés, por qué la usamos y cómo podemos formar una oración hendida.

What is a cleft sentence?

Una oración hendida se enfoca en una parte de una oración. Agrega la parte que ya se conoce o entiende a una parte que no conoce el oyente. Una oración hendida es una forma de agregar enfoque en lo que es más importante para nosotros. Aquí, en oraciones hendidas, una sola idea se divide en dos partes donde el foco se coloca en un elemento.

En una oración hendida, la información se divide en dos partes:

a) uno que ya es conocido por los oyentes y es menos importante para nosotros
b) y el otro que no se conoce o es nuevo para los oyentes y es en lo que el hablante quiere enfocarse

En una oración hendida, la información se forma de una manera diferente a su estructura original. La parte que se enfoca aquí se mueve de su lugar original.

Puede ser cualquier elemento en el que el hablante se centre y separe en una oración hendida. Estudiemos algunos ejemplos.

Monica took 1000 dollars from a beggar last night.

Cleft sentence: It was Monica who took 1000 dollars from a beggar last night. (The focus is on the subject Monica)
Cleft sentence: It was 1000 dollars that Monica took from the beggar last night. (The focus is on the object)
Cleft sentence: It was a beggar whom Monica took 1000 dollars from last night. (The focus is on the object of the preposition)
Cleft sentence: It was last night when Monica took 1000 dollars from a beggar. (The focus is on the time of the action (adverb))

Simple sentence (non-cleft): Rahul stole my car last night.

Ahora, si queremos enfocarnos en una parte de la oración, digamos el sujeto (Rahul), tendremos que usar una oración hendida. Podemos escribir la oración anterior de la siguiente manera:

Cleft sentence: It was Rahul who stole my car last night.

Ahora, el foco está en Rahul, la oración original. Este es un ejemplo de una oración hendida. Una oración hendida generalmente se construye de las siguientes dos maneras:

It (pseudo pronoun) + to be form of verb + X + dependent clause
Dependent clause starting with WH words + to be form of verb + X

En la primera estructura, X (el elemento en el que se enfoca el hablante) es generalmente un sustantivo o un pronombre sustantivo. Puede ser un sintagma preposicional, adverbial o adjetival. En la segunda estructura, el elemento en el que se enfoca el hablante viene después de una forma de ser de un verbo (verbo de enlace).

Examples:

It was Jon who supported me in my tough times.
It was your brother Allen who came up with this idea.
It is Tina whom I am dating.
What I want from you is your support.
Who I really want to thank is you.
What I want for my birthday is a new bike.

Conversation 1:

Muskaan: I think Smriti paid for your college fee. Didn’t he?
Jon (Cleft sentence): No, it is Rahul who paid for my college fee.
Normal sentence: Rahul paid for your college fee.

Understood or common information: Somebody paid your college fee
New or focus information: Rahul did the action

Aquí se entiende la parte ‘la matrícula universitaria la paga alguien’. El hablante ha usado una estructura hendida para enfocarse en la parte (persona) que el oyente no conoce.

Conversation 2:

Mom: I am elated today.
Ashu: Why, mom? What’s going on?
Mom: We are having Chinese food in the evening. It is my favorite.
Ashu: No, mom, It is Italian food that we are having in the evening. Papa confirmed that a few minutes ago.

Aquí, la comida china es el objeto del verbo ‘tener’. Ashu, en la última línea, usa una estructura de hendidura para enfocarse en el objeto. Si no quisiera poner énfasis adicional en el objeto, la oración se escribiría como: Vamos a tener comida italiana por la noche. En la hendidura, deliberadamente puso énfasis en el objeto, que era una nueva información para el oyente (mamá).

Conversation 3:

Alex: Someone saved your sister from falling into a pot.
John: It was my friend Anoop who did that.

El foco está en la parte resaltada (negrita). El resto se entiende y se toma del enunciado anterior.

Conversation 4:

Maxwell: I spoke to your father yesterday.
Smith: It was my uncle (who) you spoke to.

Conversation 5:

Raj: Sneha was waiting for someone at the party.
Danish: It was you who she was waiting for at the party.

Nota: puede terminar la oración en la parte en la que se enfoca, ya que el resto ya se conoce.

Ex – It was you.

Types of cleft sentences

Hay dos tipos de oraciones hendidas comunes en inglés:

Using the psuedo subject ‘IT’
Using the WH words
Reverse pseudo cleft
Using the word ‘ALL’

Cleft sentences with pseudo IT db2424

Usar un pseudo pronombre ‘eso’ es la forma más común de formar una oración hendida. Las oraciones hendidas de TI generalmente se usan para corregir información y enfocarse en la información recién agregada.

Structure:

Normal: Subject + verb phrase + object (X) + other part (optional)
Cleft: It + to be verb + object (X) + adjective clause (that/who/whom + subject + verb phrase)

Examples:

Non-cleft: Jon supported me in my tough times.
Cleft: It was Jon who supported me in my tough times.

Non-cleft: An old farmer from Kerala created a machine that changes trash cans into running shoes.
Cleft: It was an old man from Kerala who created a machine that changes trash cans into running shoes.

Non-cleft: I am looking forward to meeting Conor the most.
Cleft: It is meeting Conor that I am looking forward to the most.

Non-cleft: I couldn’t join you because I was ill.
Cleft: It was because I was ill that I couldn’t join you.

Usar un pseudo pronombre ‘eso’ es la forma más común de formar una oración hendida. El foco de la hendidura puede ser el siguiente en la estructura:

Subject
Object of a verb
Object of a preposition
Adverbial

1. Cleft focusing on the SUBJECT

Situation 1:

I think Smriti paid for your college fee. Didn’t he?
Normal sentence: Rahul paid for your college fee.
Cleft sentence: It is Rahul who paid for my college fee.

Understood or common information: Somebody paid for your college fee
New or focus information: Rahul did the action

Aquí se entiende la parte ‘la matrícula universitaria la paga alguien’. El hablante ha usado una estructura hendida para enfocarse en la parte (persona) que el oyente no conoce.

Situation 2:

Didn’t Simran call your father last night?
Cleft: No, it was Manisha who called my father last night.

Normal sentence: Manisha called my father last night.

Situation 3:

Ashish: iPhone 11 has been awarded as the best smartphone in 2021.
Max: That’s not correct. It is the iPhone 13 that’s been awarded as the best smartphone in 2021. (cleft)

Situation 4:

Charu: IIM Indore produces the best HR managers, according to a report.
Monica: That’s amazing.
Ankit: That’s not necessarily true. It is IIM Ahmedabad that does it. (cleft)

La última oración es una oración hendida. La información que es nueva y en la que Ankit se enfoca (X) se resalta al dividir la oración en dos partes. La cláusula que sigue a X (Ankit) se refiere a la misma información que ya proporcionó Charu. Entonces. ‘que lo hace’ aquí significa ‘que produce los mejores gerentes de recursos humanos’.

2. Cleft focusing on the OBJECT

La parte de enfoque (X) también puede ser el objeto del verbo. Veamos algunos ejemplos donde se usan oraciones hendidas para enfocarse en el objeto del verbo.

Situation 1:

Mom: I am elated today.
Ashu: Why, mom? What’s going on?
Mom: We are having Chinese food in the evening. It is my favorite.
Ashu: No, mom, It is Italian food that we are having in the evening. Papa confirmed that a few minutes ago.

Situation 2:

Aarushi: Who are you dating, Ashish?
Ashish: No one.
Aarushi: Hey, come on. I know you are dating someone. Please tell.
Ashish: It is Megha who I am dating. Please don’t share this with anyone.

Aarushi, aquí, quiere centrarse específicamente en el objeto (persona) del verbo ‘citas’. Y como quiero centrarme en el nombre, se ha utilizado la hendidura. También tenga en cuenta que cuando el objeto de un verbo es una persona, who/whom/that puede usarse para referirse a él.

It is Megha whom I am dating.
It is Megha who I am dating.
It is Megha that I am dating.

3. Cleft focusing on the OBJECT OF A PREPOSITION

Situation 1:

A: You looked upset at the party. Were you still upset with us?
B: I wasn’t upset with you all. It was my brother Alex whom I was upset with.

Situation 2:

Tom: You think about Mary anymore. She doesn’t deserve it.
Sam: I am not. It’s her sister (whom) I’m thinking about right now. She got wronged in this.

Situation 3:

Laura: Rahul will be performing with my sister Naura at the party. They look great together.
Jon: It is Maria who he will be performing with. He told me this himself.

4. Cleft focusing on an ADVERBIAL

Un adverbial puede ser el foco de una oración hendida. Veamos algunos ejemplos.

Examples:

Non-cleft: He came to see us the day before yesterday.
Cleft: It was the day before yesterday when he came to see us.

Non-cleft: I will call you tomorrow.
Cleft: It is tomorrow when I will call you.

Non-cleft: They are buying a house in London.
Cleft: It is In London that they are buying a house.
or
Cleft: It is London where they are buying a house.

Si el adverbial (tiempo) es un sintagma nominal, usamos la conjunción ‘cuando’ después de él. Pero si es una frase preposicional, use la conjunción ‘eso’ después de ella.

NOTE: The verb (to be) of the pseudo subject (IT) needs to be singular even if the focus point (X) is plural.

Examples:

It is my friends who motivate me to pursue my dream.
It was your colleagues who saved you from getting fired.

WH cleft sentences (pseudo cleft)

Estas son oraciones hendidas que comienzan con palabras de la familia WH, generalmente la palabra ‘QUÉ’. Estas oraciones generalmente responden a una pregunta. Tenga en cuenta que estas oraciones hendidas generalmente comienzan con la conjunción ‘qué’.

Structure: WH clause (known information) + to be verb + X (focus part)

Examples:

Question: What do you want from me?
Cleft: What I want is your support.
Non-cleft: I want your support.

Non-cleft: We want to get a job right now.
Cleft: What we want right now is to get a job.

Non-cleft: I needed a safe house to stay.
Cleft: What I needed was a safe house to stay.

Non-cleft: I loved the food the most at the party.
Cleft: What I loved the most at the party was the food.

Non-cleft: He wrote his resignation letter and threw it at his employer’s face.
Cleft: What happened was that he wrote his resignation letter and threw it at his employer’s face.

More examples:

What I want right now is a person who I can trust.
What she really wants is your money.
What I am saying is that I can’t work with anymore.
What I said to him was that you don’t deserve this job.

Other WH cleft sentences

Non-cleft: Sam used to live in a deserted village.
Cleft: Where Sam used to live was a deserted village.

Non-cleft: I reached home at 2 am.
Cleft: When I reached home was 2 am.

Non-cleft: We do this job because we love it.
Cleft: Why we do this job is because we love it.

Non-cleft: We want to hire your brother.
Cleft: Who we want to hire is your brother.

Reverse pseudo sentences

En las oraciones con pseudofisura inversa, el foco se coloca al principio, a diferencia de las otras oraciones con fisura.

Structure: X (focus point) + to be verb + WH clause

Cleft: What I gifted him was a racing car.
Reverse cleft: A racing car is what I gifted him.

Cleft: We need your support.
Reverse cleft: Your support is what we need.

Cleft: What I have been looking for is a tech guy.
Reverse cleft: A tech guy is what I have been looking for.

Cleft: What he is asking for the project is 2 crores.
Reverse cleft: 2 crores is what he is asking for.

Aquí, la cláusula que viene después del verbo principal (to be) es una cláusula nominal. Funciona como complemento del sujeto.

Cleft sentences using the word ALL

Aquí, la conjunción qué se sustituye por todo. Una oración hendida que comienza con all hace que la oración sea más enfática.

Examples:

Non-cleft: I just want skilled people to make this a successful product.
Cleft: All I want to make this a successful product is skilled people.

Non-cleft: We just want your support right now.
Cleft: All we want right now is your support.

Non-cleft: We just need love in life.
Cleft: All we need in life is love.

Non-cleft: I am thinking about your family.
Cleft: All I am thinking about is your family.

NOTA: Aquí, la palabra ‘solo’ se usa implícitamente en ‘todas las oraciones hendidas’, y la palabra ‘todos’ se puede reemplazar con la frase ‘lo único’. Usar esta frase hace que la oración sea más enfática. Aquí hay unos ejemplos:

Examples:

All we were looking for was your performance.
The only thing we were waiting for was your performance.

All they gave me in exchange for the phone was a cheap camera.
The only they gave me in exchange for the phone was a cheap camera.

All I am asking for is your time.
The only thing I am asking is your time.

All I did was give her my laptop, and she started crying.
The only thing I did was give her my laptop, and she started crying.

All I did was look at her, and they threw me out of the class.
The only thing I did was look at her, and they threw me out of the class.

En esta oración, nos estamos enfocando en el verbo. La oración quiere decir que no hicieron mucho. Aquí, la estructura hendida se usa para enfocarse en el hecho de que el verbo no tuvo mucha participación en el resultado.

Practice set!

SET 1
Cambie estas oraciones normales a ‘si oraciones’ enfocándose en el sujeto.

Jon brought that gift for me.
Your father is leading this case.
My book is considered one of the best books for learning English.

Answers:

It was Jon who brought that gift for me.
It is your father who is leading this case.
It is my book that is considered one of the best books for learning English.

SET 2
Cambie estas oraciones normales a ‘si oraciones’ enfocándose en el objeto directo.

I need your laptop right now.
They called my sister Anna for the role.
She betrayed me, not you.

Answers:

It is your laptop I need right now.
It was my sister Anna who they called for the role.
It was her who she betrayed, not you.

SET 3
Cambie estas oraciones normales a ‘si oraciones’ centrándose en un adverbial.

They called me a few minutes ago to show up.
She ran away with all the money last night.
They hid the bag in their apartment.

Answers:

It was a few minutes ago when they called me to show up.
It was last when she ran away with all the money.
It was in their apartment that they hid the bag.

SET 4

Cambie estas oraciones normales a ‘oraciones hendidas WH’ centrándose en el objeto directo.

I need your laptop right now.
They called my sister Anna for the role.
I just had a small apple in the morning.
Jonas gave me a diamong watch.

Answers:

What I need right now is your laptop.
Who they called for the role was my sister Anna.
What I had in the morning was a small apple.
What Jonas gave me in the morning was a diamong watch.

SET 5

Cambie estas oraciones normales a ‘oraciones hendidas inversas’ centrándose en el objeto directo.

I need your laptop right now.
They called my sister Anna for the role.
I just had a small apple in the morning.
Jonas gave me a diamong watch.

Answers:

Your laptop is what I need right now.
My sister was who they called for the role.
A small apple was what I had in the morning.
A diamond watch was what Jonas gave me.

SET 6

Cambie estas oraciones normales a ‘TODAS las oraciones hendidas’ centrándose en el objeto directo.

I need your laptop right now.
I just had a small apple in the morning.
Jonas gave me a diamond watch.

Answers:

All I need right now is your laptop.
All I had in the morning was a small apple.
All Jonas gave me in the morning was a diamond watch.

FAQs

What is a cleft sentence in grammar?

What is a cleft sentence in grammar
Una oración hendida es un mecanismo para enfocarse en un elemento específico de la oración. El elemento en el que nos enfocamos en una estructura de hendidura es información que es nueva para el oyente y, a menudo, la construimos para hacer que la oración sea más enfática. El tipo más común de oración hendida es una oración IT CLEFT.

Here is the structure: It + to be verb + focus information + relative clause

Examples:

Non-cleft: Your own brother stole your car.
Cleft: It was your own brother who stole your car.

Other cleft sentences

Non-cleft: We wanted your support.
Cleft: All we wanted was your support.

Non-cleft: I want a house to live in.
Cleft: What I want is a house to live in.

What is an example of a cleft sentence?
Non-cleft: The company is looking for some good coders.
Cleft: It is some good coders the company is looking for.

Non-cleft: The company is looking for some good coders.
Cleft: What the company is looking for is some good coders.

Non-cleft: The company is looking for some good coders.
Cleft: All the company is looking for is some good coders.

What is cleft in syntax?
En lingüística, una hendidura es una construcción en la que el escritor/hablante se enfoca en una parte de una oración al dividirla en dos partes: una que ya se conoce y la otra que es nueva (en lo que el hablante se enfoca para hacer que la oración sea enfática). ).

Non-cleft: She wants your money.
Cleft: What she wants is your money.

How do you write a cleft sentence?
There are a few ways to write a cleft construction in English. The most common one is an IT CLEFT STRUCTURE:
IT (pseudo subject) + to be form of a verb + X (the focus part) + relative clause. The focus part (X) is usually a noun/noun phrase, but it can be an adverbial either.

Examples:

It is you who should be blamed for this loss.
It was a beggar who won the lottery.
It was after the match that they came to see us.

What are the types of cleft sentences?
Estos son los tipos más comunes de oraciones hendidas en inglés:

IT CLEFT sentence
WHAT cleft sentence
REVERSE cleft sentence
ALL cleft sentence

Non-cleft: She wants your money.

It is your money that she wants.
What she wants is your money.
Your money is what she wants.
All she wants is your money.

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