#4505 Cleft Sentences（分裂文）③：英作文スキルアップのために Mar. 12, 2021

　分裂文の解説の3回目、最終回である。前回まではwh型の分裂文（疑似分裂文）を扱ったが、今回はit型の分裂文を採り上げる。

131　cleft sentences (2): it was my secretary who …
　We can use preparatory it in cleft sentences. The words to be emphasise are usually joined to the relative clause by that.
（分裂文ではitを文頭に置く。強調される語句は通常that（関係節）によって接続される。）

 元の文： My secretary sent the bill to Mr Harding yesterday.
　　　　（秘書は昨日ハーディング氏へ請求書を送った）
 分裂文：次の4種類の分裂文が書けます。
①It was my secretary that sent the bill to Mr Harding yesterday.
     　(not somebody else)
②It was the bill that my secretary sent to Mr Harding yesterday.
     　 (not something else)
③It was Mr. Harding that my secretary sent the bill to yesterday.
     　(not to somebody else)
④It was yesterday that my secretary sent the bill to Mr. Harding.
　　 (not another day)
　強調のために分裂文の形式をとります。イタリック・太字が強調部分です。

 Negative structures are also possible.
（否定文も可能）
   It wasn't my husband that sent the bill.
 Who is possible instead of that when a personal subject is emphasised.
   It was my secretary who sent ...
 When a plural subject is emphasised, the verb is plural.
   It was the students that were angry ... (NOT...that wasa angry)
 The verb cannot be emphasised with this structure: we cannot say
（動詞は強調できないので次のようには書けない）
   It was sent that my secretary the bill ...

2. It is I who ... ;It is me that ...
 When an emphasised subject is pronoun, there are two possiblilities.
（強調される主語が代名詞である場合には、つぎの2つの形のいずれかになる）
 Compare:
--- It is I who am responsible. (formal)
     It's me that's/who's responsible. (informal)
--- It is you who are in the wrong. (formal) 
     It's you that's in the wrong. (informal) 
 To avoid being either too formal or too informal in this case, we could say, for example,
     I'm the person / the one who's responsible.

　分裂文にはwh型とit型の3つのタイプがある。it型の方が使い勝手がいいようだ。何を強調したいのか焦点が定まったら、どんどん使って慣れることだ。


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