Using clefts and other structures to highlight information
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wh-cleft sentences | page 4 of 4 |
what-clauses with do
The verb do sometimes occurs in a what-clause without any real meaning of
its own. Its function is to highlight the verb that occurs in the complement
, generally in the form of a to-infinitive :
What he did was to buy me the ring as a silver wedding present.
(Bank of English)
This would be the main verb if the sentence contained only one clause:
He bought me the ring as a silver wedding present.
In the example below, the author is able to emphasise the dramatic effects of the hurricane by using a what-cleft structure with did:
By 1938, hardwoods had begun to recapture some of their range, but in the main the pines still dominated. The hurricane changed all that. What the storm did was to force the forest to start over again, from the beginning.
(Bank of English)
The author could have written the passage with two sentences, but some of the dramatic effect would have been lost:
By 1938, hardwoods had begun to recapture some of their range, but in the main the pines still dominated. The hurricane changed all that by forcing the forest to start over again, from the beginning.
Sometimes the verb in the complement is a bare infinitive :
I think what she did was suddenly realize that it wasn't going to be as easy as she thought. (Bank of English)
Introduction
what-clauses with do
