Year 3 English: Conjunctions for time: when, before, after and while
Part of the Year 3 English clauses and sentences chapter. Chapter overview · whole chapter on one page
Conjunctions for time: when, before, after and while
Some conjunctions tell us when something happens. They start a subordinate clause, and that clause goes with a main clause.
| Conjunction | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| when | at the time that | Ben waved when the bus arrived. |
| before | earlier than | We ate lunch before we played outside. |
| after | later than | We washed the cups after we ate. |
| while | during the time that | Mia read her book while Dad cooked dinner. |
After and before can also be prepositions, when a noun follows them: after lunch, before school. What follows the word decides its class. If a noun follows, the word is a preposition. If a clause with a verb follows, the word is a conjunction.
Key ideas
- When, before, after and while tell us the time.
- They start a subordinate clause, which needs a main clause.
- Before and after are prepositions when a noun follows: before school, after lunch.
- Before and after are conjunctions when a clause with a verb follows: before we left.
Method. Find the words that make the subordinate clause.
- Find the verbs. Each clause has one verb. A fronted adverbial has none.felt, won
- Find the words in the subordinate clause. A subordinate clause starts with a conjunction such as when or because. It needs a main clause and does not make sense alone.Ali felt happy when he won the race.
- Write the answer. when he won the race
Check. Read the subordinate clause aloud: it has only the words above. ✓
Watch out. The subordinate clause starts with its conjunction, such as when, because or although.
Method. Find the job of After in the sentence.
- Read the word in its sentence. Look at its job in the sentence, not only at its spelling.After lunch, we played outside.
- Test the word. A preposition is followed by a noun or a pronoun, such as after lunch.After is a preposition here
- Write the answer. preposition
Check. After does the job of a preposition here. ✓
Watch out. A preposition is followed by a noun or a pronoun.
Method. Find the conjunction that joins the clauses.
- Find the verbs, one for each clause. Each clause has its own verb.ate, played
- Find the joining word. It starts the subordinate clause and joins it to the main clause.We ate lunch before we played outside.
- Write the answer. before
Check. before sits between the two parts. ✓
Watch out. The clause that starts with this word cannot stand alone.
Watch out
Watch out: after lunch has no verb, so after is a preposition. after we ate has a verb, so after is a conjunction. The same word can have two different word classes.
Exam tip
Grown-up tip. Ask your child to finish these: We wash our hands ___ we eat. Ask which word tells the time, and whether a noun or a clause follows it.
Exercise 4C Practice: time conjunctions
Method. Find the conjunction that joins the clauses.
- Find the verbs, one for each clause. Each clause has its own verb.waved, arrived
- Find the joining word. It starts the subordinate clause and joins it to the main clause.Ben waved when the bus arrived.
- Write the answer. when
Check. when sits between the two parts. ✓
Watch out. The clause that starts with this word cannot stand alone.
Method. Find the words that make the subordinate clause.
- Find the verbs. Each clause has one verb. A fronted adverbial has none.read, cooked
- Find the words in the subordinate clause. A subordinate clause starts with a conjunction such as when or because. It needs a main clause and does not make sense alone.Mia read her book while Dad cooked dinner.
- Write the answer. while Dad cooked dinner
Check. Read the subordinate clause aloud: it has only the words above. ✓
Watch out. The subordinate clause starts with its conjunction, such as when, because or although.
Method. Find the words that make the subordinate clause.
- Find the verbs. Each clause has one verb. A fronted adverbial has none.slept, ate
- Find the words in the subordinate clause. A subordinate clause starts with a conjunction such as when or because. It needs a main clause and does not make sense alone.The dog slept while we ate.
- Write the answer. while we ate
Check. Read the subordinate clause aloud: it has only the words above. ✓
Watch out. The subordinate clause starts with its conjunction, such as when, because or although.
Method. Find the job of after in the sentence.
- Read the word in its sentence. Look at its job in the sentence, not only at its spelling.We walk to school after breakfast.
- Test the word. A preposition is followed by a noun or a pronoun, such as after lunch.after is a preposition here
- Write the answer. preposition
Check. after does the job of a preposition here. ✓
Watch out. A preposition is followed by a noun or a pronoun.
Method. Find the word that shows which happened first.
- Read the sentence. Ella brushed her teeth first, and then she went to bed.brushed, then went
- Choose the word. Before means earlier than, so Ella brushed her teeth earlier than she went to bed.before
- Write the answer. before
Check. After would mean later, which does not fit. ✓
Watch out. Check which action comes first.
Method. Choose the conjunction that tells the time of the waving.
- Read the sentence. Mia waved at a time: the time when her dad arrived.waved at the time
- Write the conjunction. When joins the time to the main clause.when
- Write the answer. when
Check. Mia waved at the time her dad arrived. ✓
Watch out. When is used for the time something happens.
Method. Find the words that make the subordinate clause.
- Find the verbs. Each clause has one verb. A fronted adverbial has none.rang, lined
- Find the words in the subordinate clause. A subordinate clause starts with a conjunction such as when or because. It needs a main clause and does not make sense alone.After the bell rang, the children lined up.
- Write the answer. After the bell rang
Check. Read the subordinate clause aloud: it has only the words above. ✓
Watch out. The subordinate clause starts with its conjunction, such as when, because or although.
Method. Find the job of Before in the sentence.
- Read the word in its sentence. Look at its job in the sentence, not only at its spelling.Before school, we read a story.
- Test the word. A preposition is followed by a noun or a pronoun, such as after lunch.Before is a preposition here
- Write the answer. preposition
Check. Before does the job of a preposition here. ✓
Watch out. A preposition is followed by a noun or a pronoun.
Method. Move the subordinate clause to the front, and keep the same meaning.
- Find the subordinate clause. A subordinate clause starts with a conjunction such as when or because. It needs a main clause and does not make sense alone.We washed the cups after we ate.
- Find the main clause. A main clause makes sense on its own, so it could be a sentence on its own.We washed the cups after we ate.
- Move the subordinate clause to the front. The meaning stays the same. Start with a capital letter and put a comma after the clause.After we ate, we washed the cups.
- Write the answer. After we ate, we washed the cups.
Check. The new sentence means the same as the old one. ✓
Watch out. Only the order changes. The clause still starts with its conjunction.
Method. Check what follows the word after.
- Look at after the bell rang. A noun follows after in after lunch, but a clause with a verb follows it here.after the bell rang
- Check the verb. The bell rang has the verb rang, so after is a conjunction here.after: conjunction
- Write the answer. No. After is a conjunction here, because a clause with a verb (the bell rang) follows it.
Check. After is a preposition only when a noun follows. ✓
Watch out. The same word can be a preposition in one sentence and a conjunction in another.
Method. Use after once before a noun, and once before a clause with a verb.
- Preposition. After lunch: a noun follows after.We play after lunch.
- Conjunction. After we eat: a clause with a verb follows after.We play after we eat.
- Write the answer. Any correct answer, for example: We play after lunch. and We play after we eat.
Check. Each sentence makes sense. ✓
Watch out. Check whether a noun or a clause follows the word.