How do I know when to use a cleft sentence in B2 First?

In B2 First you'll usually see it above all in Part 4, Key Word Transformation. The signal isn't a magic word but an intention: the original sentence highlights a person, a moment, a reason or a place, and the transformation forces you to keep that emphasis. If you see a prompt like "It was... that" or a key word that fits that structure, think of a cleft sentence. What matters is preserving the meaning and the information focus exactly.

What's the difference between "It was... that" and "What... is" in B2 First?

"It was... that" emphasises a specific element inside the sentence: person, time, place, etc. For example: "It was Sarah that called". "What... is", on the other hand, presents a whole idea as if it were a definition or explanation: "What I need is more time". In B2 First they may belong to the same emphasis family, but they're not interchangeable. In Part 4 you lose marks if you choose the wrong emphasis structure even when the overall message looks similar.

Can I use "who" instead of "that" in a First cleft sentence?

Yes, when the emphasised element is a person, "who" can be possible: "It was the finance director who approved the budget". But in many B2 First exercises the expected form in the transformation is "that", because it's the most neutral option and fits the exact word count better. If the target sentence already starts with "It was...", your priority in Part 4 is to complete the correct structure and respect the word limit, not to look for stylistic variants.

Why do my cleft sentences sound wrong in the exam?

Because the instinct is to emphasise without changing the structure much, or to add a connector that doesn't belong. In exam English, the formal pattern matters a great deal. The typical slips in B2 First are leaving out "that", using a verb tense that doesn't match "is/was", or building something hybrid like "It was because..." when the sentence asked you to emphasise a noun or a moment. In Part 4, that kind of break costs the whole answer.

What errors does Cambridge penalise with "It is/was... that" in Key Word Transformation?

It penalises three things above all: changing the focus of the information, breaking the grammar of the structure, and not preserving the exact meaning of the base sentence. For example, if the original emphasises the person, you can't turn it into a sentence that emphasises the reason. It also penalises omitting "that" when the structure requires it, or using "is" when the context clearly calls for the past. In Part 4 they don't assess isolated grammar alone: they assess total precision of form and meaning.

Cleft sentences in B2 First | Mastery

Where it appears in the exam

Cambridge format example

The storm damaged the roof, not the builders' mistake.
IT
· damaged the roof, not the builders' mistake.

The student restructures the sentence using the keyword

Answer: It was the storm that. You're assessed on keeping the focus on 'the storm' and closing the structure with that. The typical error is omitting that or using what by analogy with the idea of 'the thing that'.

Cambridge format example

We finally understood the problem only after the meeting.
IT
It · that we finally understood the problem.

The student restructures the sentence using the keyword

Answer: was only after the meeting (the sentence already gives you 'It', and the answer fits the word limit). The structure focuses the time expression and closes with that. The trap is slipping in when instead of that because the focus is temporal.

What is it?

Cleft sentences with "It is/was... that" put the focus on a specific part of the sentence: the relevant person, moment, place or reason. English speakers emphasise in other ways too, but this fixed structure is far more visible and far more controlled: the emphasis lives in the grammar, not just in the intonation.

Why it matters in the exam

In B2 First it appears very clearly in Part 4, where Cambridge forces you to rebuild the sentence while keeping exactly the same information focus. If you get it wrong, you don't just make a grammar mistake: you change which information is being highlighted, and in Key Word Transformation that costs the whole answer.

The cognitive trap

Instinct

"Your instinct drops the connector: "It was the finance director approved the revised budget""

This is structural incompleteness: your brain treats the emphasised noun and the rest of the sentence as if they could simply sit side by side, so it omits the relative link. The cleft pattern actually needs an explicit connector to bind the two halves together.

Rule

"It was the finance director that approved the revised budget." / not "It was the finance director approved the revised budget."

In English the structure needs a relative connector, normally that in this kind of sentence. If you omit it, the sentence breaks even though the transition might feel implicit.

Recognition pattern

Do I use a cleft sentence?

Does the sentence explicitly highlight one specific person, moment, place or reason?

SÍ

Can you rewrite it as "It is/was + emphatic element + that + rest of the sentence" without changing the meaning?

SÍ

Use a cleft sentence with "It is/was ... that". Choose "is" if the frame is present and "was" if the frame is past.

NO

Don't force this structure: the exercise may want another form of emphasis, such as "What... is", inversion or a rewrite without a cleft.

NO

This competency doesn't apply: use the normal sentence structure and focus on another grammar point.

In the exam, look for the key signal first. The answer follows.

Signals that lead you to "It is/was... that"

Signal Form

The original sentence puts the focus on a specific person Use "It was/is + person + that..."

"It was the finance director that approved the revised budget."

Signal Form

You want to highlight the exact moment of the action Use "It was/is + time expression + that..."

"It was after lunch that they announced the merger."

Signal Form

The real focus is the place, not the action itself Use "It was/is + place + that..."

"It is in the reception area that visitors usually wait."

Signal Form

The transformation already starts with "It was" or "It is" Think of a cleft sentence and check which element belongs in the middle

"It was only later that we realised the figures were wrong."

Signal Form

After the emphasised element you need to introduce the rest of the clause Normally use "that" to close the structure

"It was because of the weather that the event was cancelled."

The errors Cambridge exploits in Part 4

Wrong

"It was the finance director approved the revised budget."

Cambridge penalises it because the link "that" is missing and the structure is left grammatically incomplete.

Right

"It was the finance director that approved the revised budget."

It's correct because it emphasises the person and keeps the full cleft sentence structure with "It was ... that ...".

Wrong

"It was after the meeting when several investors requested another one."

Many students slip in "when" because of the temporal value, but in this standard cleft sentence the expected form is "that".

Right

"It was after the meeting that several investors requested another one."

Here the moment is emphasised, and "that" introduces the remaining clause correctly.

Wrong

"It was in the reception area that the printer keeps jamming."

Cambridge penalises it because it mixes a past in the focused part with a clearly present context in the main clause.

Right

"It is in the reception area that the printer keeps jamming."

The sentence focuses on the place and uses the present because the problem is still current.

Wrong

"It was the delay because the client cancelled the order."

This error usually comes from translating word by word. The resulting sentence doesn't form a grammatical cleft sentence.

Right

"It was because of the delay that the client cancelled the order."

It's valid because the focus is on the cause and the whole structure keeps the causal meaning.

Why your brain gets it wrong

The learner's short circuit

Analyse the trap by exam format

Part 4 — Key Word Transformation

The neighbours' noise kept us awake, not the traffic. (WAS) → It ______ kept us awake, not the traffic.

Your brain

You wrote was the neighbours' noise what ✗

Correct was the neighbours' noise that ✓

The instinct is to think 'it was the neighbours' noise, the thing that…', and that pushes you to write what. But in a cleft with 'It was + element + …' the correct connector is that (or who for people), never what.

The signal

It

The new sentence already starts with 'It was…', so it's a cleft already set up: all that's missing is the focused element and the connector that closes the structure.

→ was the neighbours' noise that

The problem isn't understanding the sentence, but closing the structure without breaking the grammar

In Part 4, cleft sentences are hard because you can produce a similar sentence that's actually broken. The exam doesn't reward the general idea being understood: it rewards keeping the same emphasised part and closing the structure with the correct connector (that/who, not what).

Strategy

When you build It is/was … that, ask yourself first: what is being highlighted — person, time, place or reason? Then check two things: the verb tense of is/was and that the connector is that (or who with people), even when your instinct reaches for 'the thing that'.

Cleft sentences (It is/was... that) is 1 of 82

The exam tests 82 grammar competencies across 19 families. Mastering one is the first step. Automating all 82 is passing.

Tiempos verbales 6

Modales 5

Pasiva y causativa 2

Condicionales 6

Infinitivo, gerundio y participio 5

Énfasis y orden de palabras 4

Oraciones de relativo 4

Reported Speech 4

Comparativos y superlativos 5

Conectores 5

Preposiciones 4

Colocaciones y phrasal verbs 4

Formación de palabras 6

Determinantes y cuantificadores 4

Adjetivos y adverbios 5

Preguntas y negación 4

Patrones verbales 3

Concordancia y ortografía 3

Vocabulario 3

Related competencies

Practise this topic with real exercises

Cleft sentences (It is/was... that) in B2 First

Where it appears in the exam

Part 4 — Key Word Transformation

Part 4 — Key Word Transformation

Recognition pattern

The learner's short circuit

Cleft sentences (It is/was... that) is 1 of 82