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KS2 English textbook

Chapter 6: Fronted adverbials and connecting words

  • Strand Grammar
  • Level Year 4
  • Practice 92 questions with step-by-step solutions

National Curriculum for England, Key Stage 2 English, Year 4. Content: Use fronted adverbials of time, place and manner, and know what each one tells the reader, Put a comma after a fronted adverbial at the start of a sentence, after the whole adverbial, Use conjunctions to join a subordinate clause to a main clause: when, before, after, while, because, although, if, Choose a connective that fits the meaning: time, reason, contrast or condition, Use connecting words that link one sentence to the next, with a full stop before and a comma after: however, meanwhile, therefore, as a result, Use the terms fronted adverbial, connective, clause (main and subordinate) and comma.

Open Year 4 chapter

By the end of this chapter you will be able to

  • Find the fronted adverbial at the start of a sentence, and say whether it tells when, where or how
  • Put a comma after the whole fronted adverbial, and no comma before an adverbial at the end of a sentence
  • Name the connective in a sentence, and choose one that fits the meaning
  • Tell a main clause, which makes sense alone, from a subordinate clause, which needs a main clause
  • Link two sentences with a connecting word, and punctuate it with a full stop and a comma
  • Explain why a comma is needed, and check a sentence for its marks one by one

You should already know

  • Adverbs and prepositions, and the -ly adverb (Year 3, Chapter 3)
  • Clauses and conjunctions: when, before, after, while, because, although, if (Year 3, Chapter 4)
  • Commas after fronted adverbials (Year 3, Chapter 5)
  • Possessive apostrophes and plurals (Chapter 4 of this book)

Where this leads

  • Noun phrases, pronouns and standard verb forms (Chapter 7)
  • Writing stories and non-fiction that use connectives for cohesion (Chapters 11 and 12)

Lessons in this chapter

  1. 6.1 What a fronted adverbial is
  2. 6.2 Fronted adverbials of time and place
  3. 6.3 Fronted adverbials of manner: how
  4. 6.4 The comma after a fronted adverbial
  5. 6.5 Clauses and connectives: when, before, after, while, because, although, if
  6. 6.6 Connecting words between sentences: however, meanwhile, therefore, as a result
  7. Summary and key words
  8. Check-up and practice test questions

Read the whole chapter on one page (good for printing).

Practise with real exam questions

The DfE publishes every past KS2 test, with mark schemes, for free.

KS2 English past papers