Year 4 English: Fronted adverbials of time and place
Part of the Year 4 English fronted adverbials and connecting words chapter. Chapter overview · whole chapter on one page
Fronted adverbials of time and place
A time adverbial answers when. Examples are At dawn, After lunch, Every Saturday and Later that day.
A place adverbial answers where. Examples are In the kitchen, Behind the shed, Along the river path and Over the hill.
Many of these phrases start with a preposition, such as at, after, in, behind or along. Some do not, such as Every Saturday or Later that day. Use the question, not the first word, to decide the type.
| Type | Answers | Examples at the start of a sentence |
|---|---|---|
| time | When? | At dawn, the birds sing. / Later that day, the rain stopped. |
| place | Where? | In the kitchen, Mum bakes bread. / Over the hill, the sun rose. |
Key ideas
- A time adverbial answers the question when: at dawn, after lunch, every Saturday.
- A place adverbial answers the question where: in the kitchen, behind the shed, over the hill.
- Use the question the adverbial answers to decide its type.
- A time or place phrase at the start is followed by a comma.
Method. Ask a question about the fronted adverbial.
- Find the fronted adverbial. It is the words before the comma.At noon,
- Ask the question it answers. Ask when, where or how the thing happened.When did it happen?
- Choose the word. The answer is when, so this adverbial tells when, which is a time.when = time
- Write the answer. when
Check. The word when answers the question. ✓
Watch out. Decide from the question the adverbial answers, not from the first word.
Method. Ask a question about the fronted adverbial.
- Find the fronted adverbial. It is the words before the comma.Behind the shed,
- Ask the question it answers. Ask when, where or how the thing happened.Where did it happen?
- Choose the word. The answer is where, so this adverbial tells where, which is a place.where = place
- Write the answer. where
Check. The word where answers the question. ✓
Watch out. Decide from the question the adverbial answers, not from the first word.
Method. Find the words at the start that come before the comma.
- Look at the start of the sentence. A fronted adverbial comes first in the sentence.Later that day the rain stopped.
- Find the comma. The words before the comma are the fronted adverbial.Later that day,
- Copy the words before the comma. Copy only these words, not the main clause after the comma.Later that day
- Check its type. It answers the question about time, so it tells when.tells when
- Write the answer. Later that day
Check. Read the sentence aloud: the words before the comma are the adverbial. ✓
Watch out. Copy only the words before the comma, not the main clause after it.
Watch out
Watch out: In the park tells where, not when. In the morning tells when. Both can be at the start of a sentence, but the question they answer is different.
Exam tip
Grown-up tip. Ask your child: is this a time phrase or a place phrase? Ask the question, "when?" or "where?", and listen to the answer.
Exercise 6B Practice: time and place at the start
Method. Ask a question about the fronted adverbial.
- Find the fronted adverbial. It is the words before the comma.At half past eleven,
- Ask the question it answers. Ask when, where or how the thing happened.When did it happen?
- Choose the word. The answer is when, so this adverbial tells when, which is a time.when = time
- Write the answer. when
Check. The word when answers the question. ✓
Watch out. Decide from the question the adverbial answers, not from the first word.
Method. Find the words at the start that come before the comma.
- Look at the start of the sentence. A fronted adverbial comes first in the sentence.In the field we set up the tent.
- Find the comma. The words before the comma are the fronted adverbial.In the field,
- Copy the words before the comma. Copy only these words, not the main clause after the comma.In the field
- Check its type. It answers the question about place, so it tells where.tells where
- Write the answer. In the field
Check. Read the sentence aloud: the words before the comma are the adverbial. ✓
Watch out. Copy only the words before the comma, not the main clause after it.
Method. Ask a question about the fronted adverbial.
- Find the fronted adverbial. It is the words before the comma.On the hill,
- Ask the question it answers. Ask when, where or how the thing happened.Where did it happen?
- Choose the word. The answer is where, so this adverbial tells where, which is a place.where = place
- Write the answer. where
Check. The word where answers the question. ✓
Watch out. Decide from the question the adverbial answers, not from the first word.
Method. Find the words at the start that come before the comma.
- Look at the start of the sentence. A fronted adverbial comes first in the sentence.Every Saturday we visit Grandad.
- Find the comma. The words before the comma are the fronted adverbial.Every Saturday,
- Copy the words before the comma. Copy only these words, not the main clause after the comma.Every Saturday
- Check its type. It answers the question about time, so it tells when.tells when
- Write the answer. Every Saturday
Check. Read the sentence aloud: the words before the comma are the adverbial. ✓
Watch out. Copy only the words before the comma, not the main clause after it.
Method. Find the words at the start that come before the comma.
- Look at the start of the sentence. A fronted adverbial comes first in the sentence.Before the match the players stretched.
- Find the comma. The words before the comma are the fronted adverbial.Before the match,
- Copy the words before the comma. Copy only these words, not the main clause after the comma.Before the match
- Check its type. It answers the question about time, so it tells when.tells when
- Write the answer. Before the match
Check. Read the sentence aloud: the words before the comma are the adverbial. ✓
Watch out. Copy only the words before the comma, not the main clause after it.
Method. Find the words at the start that come before the comma.
- Look at the start of the sentence. A fronted adverbial comes first in the sentence.Under the table the puppy found a sock.
- Find the comma. The words before the comma are the fronted adverbial.Under the table,
- Copy the words before the comma. Copy only these words, not the main clause after the comma.Under the table
- Check its type. It answers the question about place, so it tells where.tells where
- Write the answer. Under the table
Check. Read the sentence aloud: the words before the comma are the adverbial. ✓
Watch out. Copy only the words before the comma, not the main clause after it.
Method. Find the words at the start that come before the comma.
- Look at the start of the sentence. A fronted adverbial comes first in the sentence.Later that afternoon the sun came out.
- Find the comma. The words before the comma are the fronted adverbial.Later that afternoon,
- Copy the words before the comma. Copy only these words, not the main clause after the comma.Later that afternoon
- Check its type. It answers the question about time, so it tells when.tells when
- Write the answer. Later that afternoon
Check. Read the sentence aloud: the words before the comma are the adverbial. ✓
Watch out. Copy only the words before the comma, not the main clause after it.
Method. Ask a question about each phrase.
- Ask when. At noon answers when, so it is a time adverbial.At noon: when
- Ask where. Over the fence answers where, so it is a place adverbial.Over the fence: where
- Write the answer. Over the fence
Check. Over the fence answers where. ✓
Watch out. At noon is a time, not a place, even though it is short.
Method. Add a time phrase in front of the main clause.
- Choose a time phrase. A phrase that answers when, such as after the bell.After the bell
- Add the comma and the main clause. The comma comes after the phrase, then the main clause.After the bell, the class went outside.
- Write the answer. After the bell, the class went outside.
Check. The phrase answers when. ✓
Watch out. The time phrase goes before the comma, not after the main clause.
Method. Start with a place phrase about the dog.
- Choose a place phrase. A phrase that answers where, such as under the car.Under the car
- Add the comma and the main clause. The comma comes after the phrase, then the main clause.Under the car, the dog found a ball.
- Write the answer. Under the car, the dog found a ball.
Check. The phrase answers where. ✓
Watch out. Check that the phrase tells where the dog was, not when.
Method. Move the adverbial to the front, then add its comma.
- Find the adverbial at the end. at seven tells time, so it can move to the front.at seven
- Move it to the start. A fronted adverbial starts the sentence, with a capital letter.At seven
- Add the comma and the main clause. The comma goes after the adverbial. The main clause keeps its words.At seven, the baker opened the shop.
- Write the answer. At seven, the baker opened the shop.
Check. Read it aloud: the adverbial, a pause, then the main clause. ✓
Watch out. When the adverbial moves to the front, its first letter needs a capital.
Method. Ask the question that the phrase answers.
- Ask a question. Where did we play tag? In the park.In the park
- Choose the type. It answers where, so it is a place adverbial, not a time adverbial.place
- Write the answer. No. In the park tells where, so it is a place adverbial
Check. Where, not when. ✓
Watch out. Only ask when for a time phrase.
Method. Look at where each adverbial sits.
- Find the start. Every day is at the start, before the comma that is needed.Every day
- Find the end. In the morning is at the end of the sentence, so it is not fronted.in the morning
- Write the answer. Every day is fronted; in the morning is not, because it is at the end
Check. Only the phrase at the start is fronted. ✓
Watch out. Position decides whether an adverbial is fronted.