CLEFT SENTENCE

Question

Hello, I want to ask about my cleft sentence homework.

.

Rewrite the sentence using a cleft structure and the word given

The best prices are at Akihabara (where)

The answer key: The place where they have the best prices is Akihabara.

My answer: Akihabara is where the best prices are at.

Is my answer wrong?

.

Thank you for reading my post.

Anonymous · Accepted Answer

hyakuya stars
Hello, I want to ask about my cleft sentence homework.
.
Rewrite the sentence using a cleft structure and the word given
The best prices are at Akihabara (where)
The answer key: The place where they have the best prices is Akihabara.
My answer: Akihabara is where the best prices are at.
Is my answer wrong?
.
Thank you for reading my post.

The answer should be like this:

It is Akihabara where the best prices are.

CalifJim · Answer

hyakuya starsThe answer key: The place where they have the best prices is Akihabara.

The answer key is wrong. Cleft sentences always have

It [is/was] ... that ....

It is Ahihabara that has the best prices.

You might bend the pattern to use 'where' instead of 'that', but it's not often done like that.

CJ

Anonymous · Answer

hyakuya stars
Hello, I want to ask about my cleft sentence homework.
Rewrite the sentence using a cleft structure and the word given
The best prices are at Akihabara (where)
The answer key: The place where they have the best prices is Akihabara.
My answer: Akihabara is where the best prices are at.
Is my answer wrong?

No, your answer is not wrong, but the one in the key is.

Your answer consists of is a special type of cleft called a ‘reversed pseudo-cleft'. Instead of having “it” as subject, pseudo-clefts have a subject consisting of either a noun phrase in a 'fused' relative construction, or (as in your example) the defining element itself with the fused relative as complement of "be".

You could also have used the usual it-cleft construction. Compare the three constructions:

[1] It is in Akihabara where the best prices are.

[2] Akihabara is where the best prices are.

[3] The place where they have the best prices is Akihabara.

[1] is a basic it-cleft construction, where the subject is “it” and the defining element “Akihabara” is foregrounded.

[2] is a reversed pseudo-cleft in which the foregrounded element “Akihabara” is both subject and defining element.

[3] is neither an it-cleft nor a pseudo-cleft, but simply a declarative clause where the noun phrase subject happens to contain a modifying relative clause.

CLEFT SENTENCE

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