[Grammar] cleft sentence

[adrenalinman]

Are these called 'cleft sentence'?:

I want respect.This is all.
-All (that) I want is respect.
-The only thing (that) I want is respect.

You need discipline.This is the only thing.
-The only thing (that) you need is discipline.
-All (that) you need is discipline.

 

[emsr2d2]

There are multiple full stops missing in your post. Please click on Edit Post and ensure that every sentence ends with a full stop.

 

[PaulMatthews]

No, they are not clefts, though they are related structures and similar in meaning to pseudo–clefts (see below).

The crucial property of clefts is that they contain a kind of relative construction: a relative clause in it-clefts, or a 'fused' relative construction in pseudo clefts.

Most clefts are of the it-cleft kind, as in It was a brand new car that Ed bought. The other kind, the so-called pseudo-cleft, has a fused relative as subject, as in What I need is a holiday.

Your examples are clearly not it-clefts, and the subjects are not fused relatives but general noun phrases with an integrated relative clause as modifier, so that rules them out as being pseudo-clefts.

The meaning similarity I mentioned can be seen in these pairs:

What I want is respect (pseudo-cleft) ~ All I want is respect (non-cleft)
What you need is discipline (pseudo-cleft) ~ All you need is discipline (non-cleft)