Cleft sentences & fronting

Article excerpt · target grammar marked

Robert Lifton, whose 1961 study of thought reform remains the field's foundational text, identified eight conditions. What makes Lifton's framework so durable is that it applies equally to small obscure movements and to some of the largest organisations on earth.

Grammar Reference · Cleft sentences & fronting

Wh-cleft

What the research shows is that idealists are most at risk. — use to highlight a key idea

It-cleft

It was Lifton who first named the eight conditions. — use to emphasise a specific person or fact

Fronting

The question worth asking is why we have not built something better. — move important noun phrase to front

Common error

What it surprises is the finding. ✗ → What surprises us is the finding. ✓ — subject, not object, in wh-cleft

01Exercise 1 — Form · Write the Correct Form

Cleft sentences & fronting

1.The group supplied daily structure and purpose. → the group supplied was daily structure and purpose.

2.Robert Lifton identified the eight conditions. → Robert Lifton ... identified the eight conditions.

3.The management of doubt distinguishes a high-control group. → distinguishes a high-control group ... the management of doubt.

4.The BITE model helps families understand the situation. → Steven Hassan developed ... the BITE model.

5.Leaving is a grief process, not a rational decision. → leaving involves ... a grief process, not a rational decision.

6.Lorne Dawson argues that these groups fill an unmet need. → Lorne Dawson ... argues that these groups fill an unmet need.

02Exercise 2 — Transform

rewrite with the new structure

1.The research surprised even seasoned psychologists.

2.Steven Hassan developed the BITE model.

3.The group provided a sense of identity.

4.Lifton named the eight conditions in 1961.

5.The exit process reveals the most uncomfortable psychology.

6.Healthy societies struggle to provide a sense of community at scale.

7.Dawson argues that unmet need drives people to these groups.

8.The vocabulary of a group reshapes how members think.

03Exercise 3 — About You

in your notebook

Personalise: complete five sentences about yourself using the target grammar.

Cleft sentences & fronting01classplan.ai