it + be + noun + defining relative clause

"Cleaving" is a device that we can use in order to emphasisSpecial importance or attention given to something. E.g.: All I wanna do is have some fun.e a certain part of the sentence.

George arrived first at the meeting.
It was George who arrived first at the meeting.
It was the meeting where George arrived first.

The first sentence states a fact; the second one stresses that the person who arrived first was George and not someone else, while the third sentence emphasises the occasion (the meeting and not some other place).

Compare these two sentences:

It was the meeting where George arrived first.
It was at the meeting that George arrived first.

In the first sentence the relative pronounA part of speech that refers to or stands instead of a noun. E.g.: Who do you think I am? ("you", "I") where refers to the meeting, while in the second one that refers to at the meeting, which is not a noun phrase, therefore that George arrived first is not a relative clause.

Compare the following pair of sentences also:

It was Monday when he called.
It was on Monday that he called.

Here is an interesting combination of a cleft sentence and a non-defining relative clause:

It is Kevin, whose sister I go out with, who won the race.

Here whose sister I go out with is a non-defining relative clause describing the noun Kevin, whereas who won the race also refers to Kevin but is a defining relative clause.

Emphasis and relative clauses
Emphasis and relative clauses Pseudo-cleft sentences

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