[Grammar] It was .... that

[Arthur Schopenhauer]

What does "It was the chicken that scared the lion." mean?

How to build this sentence in English? What is "it" and "that" role this sentence?



Thank you for your help.

 

[MikeNewYork]

It sounds like irony. Usually chickens don't scare lions. "It" is a dummy subject; it stands in for the real subject. "That" is a relative pronoun.

 

[Rover_KE]

"It was the chicken that scared the lion."

Click here to read about cleft sentences, of which the above is an example.

The structure emphasises that the chicken and not some other creature scared the lion.

 

[Arthur Schopenhauer]

Thank yo so much for all of you. I am happy to see like you are very helpful.

 

[emsr2d2]

Thank you so much, [strike]for[/strike] all of you. I am happy to see [strike]like[/strike] you are very helpful.

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