A sentence in which an element is emphasized by being put in a separate clause, with the use of an empty introductory word such as it or that, e.g. it's money we want; it was today that I saw him; that was the King you were talking to.
〔语法〕分裂句（强调句中某成分，将此成分单独列为从句，使用it，that作为虚义引导词，如it's money we want；it was today that I saw him；that was the King you were talking to）
Example sentencesExamples
They weren't necessarily treating the construction itself as a cleft sentence.
The first clause of a cleft sentence consists of It, a form of the verb be, and the focused item.
You can move it to the front of a cleft sentence.
Two explanations have been proposed for the formation of the Japanese cleft sentence.
Definition of cleft sentence in US English:
cleft sentence
nounklɛft ˈsɛntns
Grammar
A sentence in which an element is emphasized by being put in a separate clause, with the use of an empty introductory word such as it or that, e.g. it's money we want; it was today that I saw him; that was the King you were talking to.
〔语法〕分裂句（强调句中某成分，将此成分单独列为从句，使用it，that作为虚义引导词，如it's money we want；it was today that I saw him；that was the King you were talking to）
Example sentencesExamples
You can move it to the front of a cleft sentence.
The first clause of a cleft sentence consists of It, a form of the verb be, and the focused item.
They weren't necessarily treating the construction itself as a cleft sentence.
Two explanations have been proposed for the formation of the Japanese cleft sentence.