Cleft sentences with IT IS / WAS... THAT...

This structure can be used to emphasize almost any part of the sentence. Compare:

My mother threw an egg at the Minister of Education yesterday.
It was my mother that threw an egg at the Minister of Education yesterday.
It was an egg that my mother threw at the Minister of Education yesterday.
It was yesterday that my mother threw an egg to the Minister of Education.
It was the Minister of Education that my mother threw an egg at yesterday.

Notes:
The verb cannot be emphasized in this way. You cannot say "It was threw that..."
When the subject is emphasized, WHO (referring to a person) is possible instead of THAT
It was my mother that / who threw...
When the emphasized subject is a pronoun, there is a choice between subject forms (I, he, etc.) and object forms (me, him, etc.)
It was I / me that...


You can watch this video to get another example.




Do you want to practise a bit more? Write all the cleft sentences you can think of:
My brother bought a new car yesterday.
Peter writes an e-mail to Mary everyday.
I never go abroad alone.