Grammar Structure

Question

The film studio was never able to determine ________ leaked the film on the Internet.

A. who it was that

B. was it that

C. that it was

D. who was it that

I chose A, which is also the correct answer, but it was a stroke of luck.

Could you explain to me why A is the correct answer?

GPY · Accepted Answer

"who it was that" exemplifies an "uninverted" word order that occurs in indirect questions:

"Who was it that leaked the film?" (direct)
"They don't know who it was that leaked the film." (indirect)

"When will the world end?"
"Nobody knows when the world will end."

"Why did the chicken cross the road?"
"He told me why the chicken crossed the road."

Top answer