cleft sentence
English edit
Noun edit
cleft sentence (plural cleft sentences)
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- (linguistics) A complex sentence whose meaning could be expressed by a simple sentence, that has a dependent clause in front of the main clause, and that typically stresses a particular constituent.
- 1978, Per-Kristian Halvorsen, The Syntax and Semantics of Cleft Constructions, Department of Linguistics, University of Texas at Austin, page 28,
- Quirk et al (1972) say about the cleft sentence that it is "...so called because it divides a single clause into two separate sections, each with its own verb".
- 1984, Ann Borkin, Problems in Form and Function, Ablex Publishing Corporation, page 120:
- Following Bolinger (1972, 1977) and Gundel (1977), I assume that the introductory it of cleft sentences is referential […] .
- 2007, Joachim Crass, Ronny Meyer, editors, Deictics, Copula and Focus in the Ethiopian Convergence Area, page 170:
- Similar analyses of cleft sentences have been repeated in the linguistic literature ever since.
- 1978, Per-Kristian Halvorsen, The Syntax and Semantics of Cleft Constructions, Department of Linguistics, University of Texas at Austin, page 28,
Related terms edit
Translations edit
complex sentence stressing a particular constituent
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