Cleft Sentences ("c'est... qui/que...", "ce qui/ce que/ce dont...") — literally: "It's... who/that...", "what/that which/of which..."

What is a cleft sentence?

A cleft sentence (French: "phrase clivée") is a way of splitting a simple sentence into two parts to put strong emphasis or to identify one particular element. In English the idea is usually expressed with "It is/was ... that ..." or with "What ... is ...". In French, the common cleft patterns use c'est ... qui/que and clauses introduced by ce qui / ce que / ce dont.

Example (simple → cleft):
Paul a cassé la fenêtre. → C'est Paul qui a cassé la fenêtre.
(Paul broke the window. → It's Paul who broke the window.)

When do I use cleft sentences?

Cleft sentences are used to:
- Emphasize one element (subject, object, time, place, reason, etc.):
C'est le chien qui a mangé mon sandwich. (It was the dog that ate my sandwich.)
- Identify or single out one item among others (answering "which one?"):
Qui a gagné? — C'est Marie qui a gagné. (Who won? — It's Marie who won.)
- Contrast two possibilities:
Ce n'est pas Marc qui viendra, c'est Paul. (It's not Marc who will come; it's Paul.)
- Introduce a general idea with "what" or "that which":
Ce qui me plaît, c'est la liberté. (What pleases me is freedom.)

Clefts are common in spoken and written French whenever you want to shift focus. They are more emphatic than a neutral sentence.

How are cleft sentences formed? (patterns and rules)

Basic c'est ... qui / c'est ... que pattern

- Use c'est + the element you want to emphasize + qui/que + the rest of the clause.
- Use qui when the emphasized element is the subject of the clause that follows.
- Use que when the emphasized element is the direct object of the clause that follows.

Examples (emphasize the subject → use qui):
- Paul a gagné. → C'est Paul qui a gagné. (It is Paul who won.)
- Les voisins ont frappé à la porte. → Ce sont les voisins qui ont frappé à la porte. (It was the neighbors who knocked at the door.)

Examples (emphasize the object → use que):
- Paul a cassé la fenêtre. → C'est la fenêtre que Paul a cassée. (It is the window that Paul broke.)
- J'ai lu le livre. → C'est le livre que j'ai lu. (It's the book that I read.)

Note on agreement with que
When que stands for a direct object that comes before a past participle (compound tenses with avoir), the past participle agrees in gender and number with that object.
- J'ai vu la pièce. → C'est la pièce que j'ai vue. ("vue" agrees with "la pièce".)
- Ils ont invité mes amies. → Ce sont mes amies qu'ils ont invitées. ("invitées" agrees with "mes amies".)

When qui is the subject, there is no special agreement with a preceding object; the verb simply agrees with its subject as usual.

Ce qui / ce que / ce dont: "what" or "that which"

These forms introduce a clause when there is no specific noun to refer back to. They act like English "what/that which":
- ce qui = subject (what + verb)
Ce qui m'inquiète, c'est la situation. (What worries me is the situation.)
- ce que = direct object (what + subject + verb)
Ce que je veux, c'est une pause. (What I want is a break.)
- ce dont = replaces "de + thing/idea" (what/of which)
Ce dont j'ai besoin, c'est d'un stylo. (What I need is a pen.)

How to choose between them
- If the clause needs a subject → use ce qui.
Example: "_____ est important?" → "Ce qui est important, c'est..."
- If the clause needs a direct object → use ce que.
Example: "_____ veux-tu?" → "Ce que je veux, c'est..."
- If the clause needs the preposition de → use ce dont.
Example: "Tu as besoin de quoi?" → "Ce dont j'ai besoin, c'est..."

Other prepositions: ce à quoi, ce sur quoi, ce pour quoi

If the verb requires another preposition, replace de with the correct preposition plus a relative expression:
- Je pense à mon avenir. → Ce à quoi je pense, c'est mon avenir. (What I think about is my future.)
- Il s'agit de plusieurs points. → Ce à quoi il s'agit is less common; better: "Ce dont il s'agit." (What it's about.)

Note: ce à quoi is common for verbs that take à. For the preposition pour, sur, etc., you will see ce pour quoi or ce sur quoi in formal registers, but often rephrasing is more natural.

Common types of cleft sentences with examples

1) Emphasizing the subject (c'est ... qui)

- Paul a gagné. → C'est Paul qui a gagné.
(Paul won. → It's Paul who won.)
- Marie a réparé la voiture. → C'est Marie qui a réparé la voiture.
(Marie repaired the car. → It's Marie who repaired the car.)
- Les oiseaux ont mangé les graines. → Ce sont les oiseaux qui ont mangé les graines.
(It was the birds that ate the seeds.)

2) Emphasizing the object (c'est ... que) — watch agreement

- Paul a cassé la fenêtre. → C'est la fenêtre que Paul a cassée.
(Paul broke the window. → It's the window that Paul broke.)
- J'ai rencontré Anna hier. → C'est Anna que j'ai rencontrée hier.
(I met Anna yesterday. → It's Anna whom I met yesterday.)
- Ils ont lu les lettres. → Ce sont les lettres qu'ils ont lues.
(They read the letters. → Those are the letters that they read.)

3) "What" clefts with ce qui / ce que

- Le bruit m'énerve. → Ce qui m'énerve, c'est le bruit.
(Noise annoys me. → What annoys me is the noise.)
- Je veux une longue promenade. → Ce que je veux, c'est une longue promenade.
(What I want is a long walk.)

4) Clefts with ce dont (for verbs/adjectives that take de)

- J'ai besoin d'aide. → Ce dont j'ai besoin, c'est d'aide.
(I need help. → What I need is help.)
- Elle rêve d'une maison au bord de la mer. → Ce dont elle rêve, c'est d'une maison au bord de la mer.
(She dreams of a house by the sea. → What she dreams of is a house by the sea.)
- Je ne sais pas de quoi il parle. → Je ne sais pas ce dont il parle.
(I don't know what he's talking about.)

5) Time/place emphasis (often with que)

- Nous sommes arrivés en 1999. → C'est en 1999 que nous sommes arrivés.
(We arrived in 1999. → It was in 1999 that we arrived.)
- Nous mangeons ici le soir. → C'est ici que nous mangeons le soir.
(We eat here in the evening. → It is here that we eat in the evening.)

How to form a cleft step by step (practical test)

1. Decide which element you want to emphasize (subject, object, time, place, cause, etc.).
2. Put that element after c'est (or ce sont for plurals) as a nominal phrase.
3. Choose qui if that element is the subject of the following clause; choose que if it is the direct object.
4. If the emphasized idea is an entire clause or a "what" idea, use ce qui (subject), ce que (object), or ce dont (if the clause needs de).

Quick test: replace the part you want to emphasize with an English "who" or "what" and see whether it functions as subject or object. That tells you to use qui (subject) or que (object).

Common mistakes to avoid

1. Mixing up qui and que
- Wrong: C'est moi que suis venu.
- Right: C'est moi qui suis venu. ("moi" is the subject of "suis venu", so use qui.)

2. Forgetting past participle agreement after que
- Wrong: C'est la lettre que j'ai écrit.
- Right: C'est la lettre que j'ai écrite. ("lettre" is feminine and precedes the past participle, so "écrite" must agree.)

3. Using ce que instead of ce dont when the verb requires de
- Wrong: Ce que j'ai besoin.
- Right: Ce dont j'ai besoin. (Use dont because "avoir besoin de" requires "de".)

4. Using ce dont with a specific noun in place of a normal relative clause
- Wrong/awkward: *La voiture, ce dont je t'ai parlé, est rouge.* (Better: La voiture dont je t'ai parlé est rouge.)
- Correct cleft: Ce dont je t'ai parlé, c'est la voiture. (What I told you about is the car.)

5. Overusing clefts for simple statements
Clefts are emphatic. For neutral statements, prefer the regular word order. Too many clefts can sound unnatural.

Examples grouped by type (quick reference)

Subject emphasis (qui)
- C'est Paul qui a mangé le gâteau. (It's Paul who ate the cake.)
- Ce sont les étudiants qui étudient tard. (It's the students who study late.)

Object emphasis (que) — watch agreement
- C'est le gâteau que Paul a mangé. (It's the cake that Paul ate.)
- C'est Marie que j'ai vue hier. (It's Marie whom I saw yesterday.)

What/which clauses (ce qui / ce que)
- Ce qui m'intéresse, c'est la science. (What interests me is science.)
- Ce que tu dis est important. (What you say is important.)

De + verb: ce dont
- Ce dont j'ai peur, ce sont les araignées. (What I'm afraid of is spiders.)
- Ce dont elle parle n'est pas clair. (What she is talking about isn't clear.)

Place/time emphasis
- C'est demain que je partirai. (It's tomorrow that I will leave.)
- C'est ici que tout a commencé. (It is here that everything began.)

Short glossary

- cleft sentence (phrase clivée): a sentence split into two parts to emphasize one element.
- sujet (subject): the person/thing that performs the action.
- complément d'objet direct (direct object): the person/thing that receives the action directly.
- relative pronoun (qui / que / dont): words that introduce relative clauses; qui = subject, que = direct object, dont = replaces de + noun.
- past participle agreement: with que (preceding direct object), the past participle agrees in gender and number with that object.

Final tips

- To decide between qui and que, ask: in the clause that follows, is the emphasized element doing the action (subject) or receiving it (direct object)? If doing → qui; if receiving → que.
- Use ce qui / ce que / ce dont when the emphasized idea is not a specific noun but a whole clause or an idea (English "what/that which").
- Remember agreement after que in compound tenses.
- Listen to natural French (news, podcasts, conversations) to hear how native speakers use clefts for emphasis — they are very common.

This guide gives you the patterns, tests and many examples so you can recognize and build French cleft sentences with confidence.