The English it-cleft is noted for its non-standard structure and for its unusual pragmatic and discourse-functional properties. This book presents a constructional account of the English it-cleft which is based on evidence from three main areas: (a) the concept of specificational meaning, (b) the existence of predicational (and proverbial) it-clefts, and (c) the early, historical it-cleft data. Featuring a sizeable diachronic component, the book contributes to the limited (and largely unchallenged) literature on the history of the English it-cleft.