Complete the dramatic chef's explanation of a culinary disaster by choosing the correct word for each blank.

"It was because the main oven suddenly malfunctioned that the delicate cheese soufflé collapsed. Furthermore, it was to my senior assistant that I had explicitly handed the timer, so he is entirely to blame!"

"It was because the main oven suddenly malfunctioned that the delicate cheese soufflé collapsed. Furthermore, it was to my senior assistant that I had explicitly handed the timer, so he is entirely to blame!"

was: This forms the standard "It was... that" cleft structure in the past tense.

that: When focusing on an entire "because" clause in an it-cleft, the clause must be followed by "that". Many learners incorrectly use "why" here.

to: We "hand something to someone." In a cleft sentence, the preposition stays with the noun phrase when it is moved into the focus position (It was to my assistant that...).