Level 3 — Intermediate · Spontaneous Explanation
Drill 25: Saying the Same Fact Two Ways
Give the same information two different emphases live — once with a cleft structure spotlighting the cause, once spotlighting the result — switching between them on the spot.
Learning Objectives
By the end of this drill, you should be able to:
- Speak a cleft sentence ('It was X that...') live, with natural stress on the emphasized part
- Rephrase the same fact a second time, live, with a different emphasis
- Switch between the two versions without a long pause to plan
Introduction
Lesson 25 taught you that a sentence's emphasis can shift depending on what comes first. A fluent speaker does this constantly, live — stressing "It was the manager who..." differently from a plain statement of the same fact. This drill asks you to control that emphasis with your own voice, on the spot.
Shadow the Model
It was a software bug that delayed the shipment, not the shipping company's fault at all.
Listen once, then shadow it — notice the heavier stress on software bug, right where the cleft structure puts the spotlight. That stress isn't optional; it's what tells the listener where to focus.
Your Turn
Your Turn
Fact: heavy rain caused the flight delay. When the timer starts, say this fact twice, out loud, back to back — first as a cleft sentence spotlighting the rain ("It was..."), then as a plain sentence spotlighting the delay itself.
Speak both versions now
Record Yourself
Speak both versions, then record and listen for the stress difference.
Model Answer
Show a model answer
"It was heavy rain that caused the flight delay." Then: "The flight was delayed for several hours because of heavy rain." What matters is audible stress on heavy rain in the first version, and a plainer, more even rhythm in the second.
Vocabulary in Context
stressnounneutral
extra emphasis given to certain words in speech (শব্দে জোর)
Often with stress a word, place the stress, word stress
“Put the stress on 'safety', not on 'speed', if that is your main point.”
delaynounneutral
a period of time by which something is made later than expected (বিলম্ব)
Often with cause a delay, unavoidable delay, delay in
“A delay in customs clearance pushed delivery back two days.”
Self-Check
Self-Check
- Did your first sentence use "It was X that..." with clear stress on X?
- Did your second sentence rephrase the same fact plainly, without the cleft structure?
- Did you speak both versions back to back, without a long pause between them?
Next: Speaking 26 — Arguing a Position Live: stating a claim and one piece of supporting evidence out loud, under a timer.