It Was the Timing That Mattered
Use it-clefts to highlight people, decisions, and timing in project recaps. Explore contrasts, verb agreement, and formal wording.
Preview
Questions with solutions-
1. Choisissez la bonne réponse.
What does this recap place in focus?
It was Elena who spotted the duplicate entries during the final review.
- The person who spotted the duplicate entries
- The entries that were duplicated
- The stage at which the entries were spotted
Notice which phrase comes immediately after “It was.”
Show solution
- The person who spotted the duplicate entries
The cleft highlights Elena while treating the discovery as background information.
-
2. Remettez les mots dans l’ordre.
The recap credits the contingency plan, rather than extra staffing, for keeping the launch on schedule.
- that
- the contingency plan
- It was
- kept the launch
- on schedule.
The highlighted cause belongs between the opening phrase and the clause describing its effect.
Show solution
It was the contingency plan that kept the launch on schedule.
A subject-focused cleft separates the decisive factor from what it accomplished.
-
3. Choisissez la bonne réponse.
The recap needs to emphasize Tuesday without changing the event. Which sentence does that?
The revised specifications reached the team on Tuesday.
- It was the revised specifications that reached the team on Tuesday.
- It was on Tuesday that the revised specifications reached the team.
- It was the team that received the revised specifications on Tuesday.
Keep the arrival unchanged, but place its timing in the focus position.
Show solution
- It was on Tuesday that the revised specifications reached the team.
A time-focused cleft keeps the preposition with the time phrase: “on Tuesday.”
-
4. Complétez le blanc.
Two revisions were still holding up sign-off when the client called.
It was the two late revisions that ___ sign-off when the client called.
- was delaying
- has been delaying
- were delaying
The verb after “that” agrees with the highlighted noun phrase.
Show solution
It was the two late revisions that were delaying sign-off when the client called.
The opening stays singular—“It was”—but “that” refers to plural “revisions,” so the following verb is plural.
-
5. Remettez les mots dans l’ordre.
The client made the request. The recap singles out Priya as the person asked to revise the forecast.
- It was
- that
- asked
- the client
- Priya
- the forecast.
- to revise
Highlighting the recipient does not change who made the request.
Show solution
It was Priya that the client asked to revise the forecast.
In this object-focused cleft, “the client” remains the subject of “asked”; Priya receives the request.
-
6. Choisissez la bonne réponse.
What does this recap establish?
It was not until the second trial that we detected the fault.
- The fault first came into existence during the second trial.
- The fault was first detected during the second trial.
- The fault had already been detected before the second trial.
Distinguish the discovery of a fault from the beginning of the fault itself.
Show solution
- The fault was first detected during the second trial.
“Not until” marks the first detection; it does not establish when the fault began to exist.
-
7. Choisissez la bonne réponse.
Which interpretation matches this correction?
It wasn't the revised interface that reduced support requests; it was the clearer setup guide.
- Support requests did not fall after either change.
- The interface was never revised; only the setup guide changed.
- Support requests fell, but the recap credits the setup guide rather than the revised interface.
Consider whether the negative rejects the result or one explanation for it.
Show solution
- Support requests fell, but the recap credits the setup guide rather than the revised interface.
Negating the focus rejects a proposed cause without denying the background result.
-
8. Remettez les mots dans l’ordre.
The client disclosed the contingency plan to the external auditor, not the project team. The recap uses a formal cleft with the preposition immediately before “whom.”
- the client
- disclosed
- to whom
- the external auditor
- the contingency plan.
- It was
The auditor is the recipient; the client remains the person making the disclosure.
Show solution
It was the external auditor to whom the client disclosed the contingency plan.
Formal “to whom” links the recipient to the disclosure instead of leaving “to” at the end of the clause.
-
9. Complétez le blanc.
The recap uses a present-tense cleft frame for a lesson that still matters, while describing a completed result from last year's launch.
It is the decision to postpone release that ___ us from a costly recall last year.
- saves
- saved
- will save
The two clauses do not have to use the same tense.
Show solution
It is the decision to postpone release that saved us from a costly recall last year.
The cleft frame can be present because the lesson remains relevant, while the result stays past because it happened last year.
-
10. Choisissez la bonne réponse.
Which recap highlights the decisive change without dismissing the proposal's quality?
Our proposal was strong from the outset. The board initially had no authority to fund it. We submitted the same proposal again just after the budget was approved, and the board accepted it.
- It was the revision to the proposal, not the timing of its resubmission, that secured approval.
- It was the lack of merit in the proposal that made timing decisive.
- It was the original submission, before funding was authorized, that secured approval.
- It was the timing of the resubmission, not a revision to the proposal, that secured approval.
Identify what changed between the two submissions—and what stayed the same.
Show solution
- It was the timing of the resubmission, not a revision to the proposal, that secured approval.
The proposal stayed the same; the board's ability to fund it changed. The cleft highlights timing without treating the proposal as worthless.