The thing, the one/only/first thing, something
The thing
我們可以用 the thing (+ 形容詞子句) 當主詞，後接 BE 動詞 (is 或 was) 來強調 BE 動詞後面的元素 (即主詞補語)。這與 Wh-分裂句的作用一樣，但比較不是那麼正式。例如：
- The thing I love about John is his loyalty to his wife. (我喜歡約翰的一點是，他對他太太的忠誠)
= What I love about John is his loyalty to his wife.
即使被強調的元素為複數，BE 動詞亦用單數，因為 the thing 是單數名詞。例如：
- The thing I like most about Penghu is the historic sites. (我最喜歡澎湖的地方是歷史古蹟)
= What I like most about Penghu is the historic sites.
BE 動詞後面要強調的元素也可以是連接詞 that 所引導的名詞子句。在非正式情況中，有人會將 that 省略，但筆者期期以為不可，因為這是錯誤的文法。例如：
- The thing you need to remember is that you’ve lent James 50,000 dollars. (你必須記住的是，你已借給詹姆斯五萬元) (正)
= What you need to remember is that you’ve lent James 50,000 dollars. (正) - The thing you need to remember is you’ve lent James 50,000 dollars. (誤)
BE 動詞後面要強調的元素亦可以是帶 to 或不帶 to 的不定詞或不定詞片語。若形容詞子句有動詞 do，則當主詞補語用的不定詞或不定詞片語可以省略 to，若是 do 以外的其他動詞，則 to 不省略。下面所討論的強調句型，若 BE 動詞後面被強調的元素是不定詞或不定詞片語，都適用這項規則。例如：
- The thing I have to do is (to) marry her. (我必須要做的就是跟她結婚)
= What I have to do is (to) marry her. - The thing Megan plans is to study abroad. (梅根所計畫的就是到國外留學)
= What Megan plans is to study abroad.
One thing, the one thing, the only thing, the first thing
我們可以用 one 來加強 thing 的語氣，而 the one thing、the only thing 和 the first thing 的語氣更強烈。BE 動詞後面要強調的元素與上述相同。例如：
- One thing I admire most about Peter is his diplomatic tact. (我最欣賞彼得的一點就是他的外交手腕)
- The one thing you should know is that your husband has extramarital affairs. (妳應該要知道的一件事就是妳先生有外遇)
- The only thing I want is to win the lottery. (我唯一想要的就是中樂透)
- The first thing we must do is (to) deal with all of the documents from before 2015. (我們首先必須要做的就是處理 2015 年之前的所有文件)
Something
我們還可使用 something (+ 形容詞子句) 當主詞，後接 BE 動詞 (is 或 was) 來強調 BE 動詞後面的元素 (即主詞補語)。同樣地，這與 Wh-分裂句的作用一樣，但沒有 the thing 那麼特定和直接，它的含意相當於「除了別的以外的另一件事」。例如：
- Something you must never do is give your cellphone number to a complete stranger. (你絕對不能做的另一件事就是，把你的手機號碼給一個完全陌生的人)
或 What you must never do is give your cellphone number to a complete stranger. - Something I love about John is that he frequently lends money to me. (我喜歡約翰的另一點是，他常常借錢給我)
或 What I love about John is that he frequently lends money to me. - Something you need to remember is that you mustn’t yawn in class. (你還必須記住的是，千萬不要在課堂上打哈欠)
或 What you need to remember is that you mustn’t yawn in class.
用 it 做假主詞或形式主詞來強調真正的主詞
這種以 it 做假主詞或形式主詞來代表其後的動名詞或動名詞片語、帶 to 的不定詞或不定詞片語或 that 所引導的名詞子句的句型，在英文中用得很多。例如：
- It was very dangerous having a foot in both camps. (腳踏兩條船是很危險的) － 這句真正的主詞是 having a foot in both camps。
- It is my hobby to play computer games. (玩電腦遊戲是我的嗜好) －這句真正的主詞是 to play computer games。
- It is generally believed that mice are afraid of cats. (一般認為老鼠怕貓) －這句真正的主詞是 that mice are afraid of cats。
若要強調句中的時間副詞 (如 yesterday, in the morning, at 8 pm)，我們可以使用 it is/was not until、it is/was only when 等句型。它們的意思都是「到某時才 (做某事)」。例如：
- It wasn’t until I read your email yesterday that I understood the true reason. (我直到昨天看了你的電子郵件才瞭解真正的原因) － 強調 “yesterday”。但這個句型可改成更具強調作用的倒裝句：Not until I read your email yesterday did I understand the true reason.
<試比較：Until I read your email yesterday, I didn’t understand the true reason.> - It was only when I met him in the afternoon that I realized his true intention. (我直到下午跟他會面才明白他真正的意圖) － 強調 “in the afternoon”。但這個句型可改成更具強調作用的倒裝句：Only when I met him in the afternoon did I realize his true intention.
<試比較：When I met him in the afternoon, I realized his true intention.>
用 there 做假主詞或形式主詞來強調真正的主詞
這種以 there 做假主詞或形式主詞並與 BE 動詞連用的結構，可對其後的真正主詞起強調作用。例如：
- There’s a strange sound coming from behind the door. (有個奇怪的聲音從門後傳來) － 強調 “a strange sound coming from behind the door”。
<試比較：A strange sound is coming from behind the door.> - There were many people attending his wedding. (有許多人參加他的婚禮) － 強調 “many people attending his wedding”。
<試比較：Many people were attending his wedding. >