Relative Clauses • Cleft Sentences • do/did Emphasis • B2
⭐ Score: 0 🔥 Streak: 0

👋 Welcome

This lesson helps you sound more natural, precise and expressive when you speak and write. We will master three powerful tools:

1️⃣ Relative clauses – add essential or extra information
2️⃣ Cleft sentences – emphasise the most important part
3️⃣ do / does / did – add emotional force and contrast

1️⃣ Relative Clauses

Defining relative clauses give essential information. No commas. We can often omit the pronoun when it is the object.

She’s the colleague who always stays calm under pressure.
= essential – tells us which colleague
That’s the project (that/which) we finished last month.
Pronoun can be omitted: “the project we finished…”
I met a woman whose ideas completely changed my approach.

2️⃣ Cleft Sentences

Use clefts when you want to put strong focus on one part of the sentence.

It-clefts

Normal: Juanita works with Magdalena.
Cleft: It is Magdalena that Juanita works with.
Emphasises Magdalena
It was last week that she got the promotion.
It was the manager who called me, not HR.

What-clefts

What I need is a quiet weekend.
What really helped me was talking to a mentor.
What you should do is take a short break.
💡 After It and What we almost always use the singular form of be (is / was).

3️⃣ do / does / did for Emphasis

Add do / does / did in affirmative sentences to show contrast, strong feeling or to correct someone.

I do understand your point, but I still disagree.
= I’m not ignoring you – I really understand
She does care about the team, even if she seems strict.
I did send the email yesterday! Check your spam folder.
You do like working from home, don’t you?

📖 Reading + Comprehension

Last year I joined a project which completely changed the way I work. It was the team leader, who had lived in five different countries, that inspired me the most.

What I loved about the experience was the freedom we were given. It was during the final presentation that I realised how much I had grown. I did feel nervous at the beginning, but the support I received made a huge difference.

The colleague whose advice I valued most was Anna. She’s the person I still turn to whenever I need a second opinion.

1. Which structure is used to emphasise the team leader?
It was the team leader… that inspired me
who had lived in five different countries
I did feel nervous
2. “What I loved about the experience was…” is an example of:
a What-cleft sentence
an It-cleft sentence
a non-defining relative clause

✏️ Complete the cleft sentences

Fill the gaps with one or two words.

1. my sister who recommended this course, not my colleague.

2. really matters is consistency, not perfection.

3. It only after the meeting that I understood the problem.

4. What you need to do take a proper break this weekend.

🔗 Matching: Relative Pronouns

Tap a sentence half, then the correct ending.

Matched: 0/5

⚡ do / does / did Quiz

🗣️ Speaking (Main Focus)

Speak for 60–90 seconds. Try to use at least two of the target structures naturally.

🎤
Prompt 1
Tell a short story about a person or experience that had a big impact on you. Use a relative clause and at least one cleft sentence.
01:30
✅ Self-check:
• Did you use a defining or non-defining relative clause?
• Did you use an It-cleft or What-cleft?
• Did you use do/does/did for emphasis at least once?

✍️ Writing Task

Write 90–140 words. Choose one topic:

Option A: Describe a professional or personal turning point. Use cleft sentences to emphasise key moments and relative clauses to give extra detail.

Option B: Write about someone you admire. Use relative clauses and at least one “do/does/did” for emphasis.

🏁 Well done!

If you feel more confident using these structures, move to the Games section for extra practice. The more you play, the more natural the language becomes.

🎡 Wheel of Structures

Spin and create a natural sentence with the structure or word you land on.

🎯

⚡ Speed True / False

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🎲 Random Challenge Generator

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