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about the cleft sentences

Hello,


I would like to know the "that-clause" part in a cleft sentence.


Please read the following sentences:

It was Alice that talked to my brother in the restaurant yesterday.
It was my brother that Alice talked to in the restaurant yesterday.
It was in the restaurant that Alice talked to my brother yesterday.
It was yesterday that Alice talked to my brother in the restaurant.

Then, in modern English, can they be this way as below?

It was Alice who talked to my brother in the restaurant yesterday.
It was my brother whom Alice talked to in the restaurant yesterday.
It was in the restaurant where Alice talked to my brother yesterday.
It was yesterday when Alice talked to my brother in the restaurant.

Does the "that-clause" part in a cleft sentence work like an adjective clause?

Thanks for responding to my question!!

Re: about the cleft sentences

No: although the clause subordinator "that" can be used instead of a wh relative pronoun in your examples, neither the that clauses nor the wh clauses are adjective clauses.

They are dependent relative clauses, but they are not modifiers; they are "postnucleus" clauses. This is a matter of advanced grammar which you won’t be into yet, but just bear in mind that they are not modifying clauses, so they cannot be called adjective clauses.




PaulM

Re: about the cleft sentences

I've got it! Thank you so much, Paul!