The Karate Kid: Cleft Sentences

It is great to have a movie segment to have students practice the use of cleft sentences, because it contextualizes the grammar point, allowing students to meaningfully emphasize the information presented in the segment.






Cleft sentences are used to help us focus on a particular part of the sentence and to emphasize what we want to say by introducing it or building up to it with a kind of relative clause. Because there are two parts to the sentence it is called cleft (from the verb cleave) which means divided into two. Cleft structures include the reason why, the thing that, the person/people who, the place where, the day when and what-clauses which are usually linked to the clause that we want to focus on with is or was.

I. Rewrite the sentences below, using the information presented in the movie segment. Make sure you start your sentences with the given cues, using cleft sentences. Pay attention to the cues in bold.








1. The story is about a Princess and the boy she loves.

No, it isn't a Princess who loves the boy. It ____________________





2. The Goddess and the boy can stay together a single week.


No, it isn't a single week they can stay together. It ______________________




3. The boy promised to be in her house later that day.


No, what _____________________________




4. The audience was amazed by the fragile puppets.


What _________________________________




5. What did you like (dislike) about the movie segment.

What __________________________________



WORKSHEET

MOVIE SEGMENT DOWNLOAD - THE KARATE KID




Answer key:

1. No, it is the Goddess who loves a boy.


2. No, it is a single night that they can stay together.


3. No, what he promised was to be at her audition.


4. What amazed the audience were the fragile puppets.


5. What (answers will vary) I liked about the segment was the romantic love story.