Year 4 English: What a fronted adverbial is
Part of the Year 4 English fronted adverbials and connecting words chapter. Chapter overview · whole chapter on one page
What a fronted adverbial is
An adverbial tells us more about what happens in a sentence. It tells us when, where or how something happened.
A fronted adverbial is an adverbial at the start of a sentence. A comma comes after it, before the rest of the sentence.
A fronted adverbial can be one word (Suddenly), a phrase of several words (In the park), or a clause with its own verb (When the bell rang). Section 6.5 looks at clauses in more detail.
| Question it answers | Type | Fronted adverbial examples |
|---|---|---|
| When? | time | Yesterday, / After lunch, / Every Friday, |
| Where? | place | In the park, / Behind the shed, / Along the river, |
| How? | manner | Quietly, / With great care, / Like a cat, |
Key ideas
- An adverbial tells when, where or how something happens.
- A fronted adverbial is at the start of the sentence, and a comma comes after it.
- A fronted adverbial can be one word, a phrase or a clause.
- Ask when, where or how to decide which type of adverbial it is.
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.At last the storm passed.
- Find the comma. The words before the comma are the fronted adverbial.At last,
- Copy the words before the comma. Copy only these words, not the main clause after the comma.At last
- Check its type. It answers the question about time, so it tells when.tells when
- Write the answer. At last
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.After lunch,
- 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 park the children sat on the bench.
- Find the comma. The words before the comma are the fronted adverbial.In the park,
- Copy the words before the comma. Copy only these words, not the main clause after the comma.In the park
- Check its type. It answers the question about place, so it tells where.tells where
- Write the answer. In the park
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: the fronted adverbial is the words before the comma, not the main clause after it. In Slowly, they walked past the pond. the fronted adverbial is Slowly, not they walked past the pond.
Exam tip
Grown-up tip. Read the sentence aloud and ask your child: when, where or how? The answer to that question is the fronted adverbial, and it sits before the comma.
Exercise 6A Practice: finding fronted adverbials
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.Suddenly the cat jumped onto the wall.
- Find the comma. The words before the comma are the fronted adverbial.Suddenly,
- Copy the words before the comma. Copy only these words, not the main clause after the comma.Suddenly
- Check its type. It answers the question about manner, so it tells how.tells how
- Write the answer. Suddenly
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 Monday,
- 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.By the window,
- 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.At full time the team cheered.
- Find the comma. The words before the comma are the fronted adverbial.At full time,
- Copy the words before the comma. Copy only these words, not the main clause after the comma.At full time
- Check its type. It answers the question about time, so it tells when.tells when
- Write the answer. At full time
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.Gently the kitten climbed onto my lap.
- Find the comma. The words before the comma are the fronted adverbial.Gently,
- Copy the words before the comma. Copy only these words, not the main clause after the comma.Gently
- Check its type. It answers the question about manner, so it tells how.tells how
- Write the answer. Gently
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.At the top of the hill a windmill stands.
- Find the comma. The words before the comma are the fronted adverbial.At the top of the hill,
- Copy the words before the comma. Copy only these words, not the main clause after the comma.At the top of the hill
- Check its type. It answers the question about place, so it tells where.tells where
- Write the answer. At the top of the hill
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 night the storm stopped.
- Find the comma. The words before the comma are the fronted adverbial.Later that night,
- Copy the words before the comma. Copy only these words, not the main clause after the comma.Later that night
- Check its type. It answers the question about time, so it tells when.tells when
- Write the answer. Later that night
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. Start with a place phrase, then a comma, then a main clause.
- Choose a place phrase. A phrase that tells where, such as in the hall.In the hall
- Add the comma and the main clause. The comma comes after the whole phrase, then the main clause follows.In the hall, Ruby hung up her coat.
- Write the answer. In the hall, Ruby hung up her coat.
Check. The phrase tells where, and a comma follows it. ✓
Watch out. A place phrase at the start tells where, not when.
Method. Move the adverbial to the front, then add its comma.
- Find the adverbial at the end. quietly tells manner, so it can move to the front.quietly
- Move it to the start. A fronted adverbial starts the sentence, with a capital letter.Quietly
- Add the comma and the main clause. The comma goes after the adverbial. The main clause keeps its words.Quietly, the cat crept along the wall.
- Write the answer. Quietly, the cat crept along the wall.
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. The fronted adverbial is at the start, before the comma.
- Find the start of the sentence. The words at the start come before the comma.Every morning,
- Ask when. Every morning answers when Dad makes toast, so it is an adverbial.When? Every morning.
- Write the answer. Every morning
Check. Dad and makes toast are not adverbials at the start. ✓
Watch out. Dad is the subject, and makes toast is the verb with its object. Neither is at the start as an adverbial.
Method. Think about sentences that start in other ways.
- Look at a sentence. Dad makes toast starts with the person who does the action, not with an adverbial.Dad makes toast.
- Decide. Many sentences start with a subject, so a fronted adverbial is optional.optional
- Write the answer. No. A fronted adverbial is optional
Check. Many sentences start with a subject. ✓
Watch out. A fronted adverbial is one choice for the start of a sentence, not a rule for every sentence.
Method. Look at where the phrase sits.
- Find the phrase. In the garden tells where the hens sleep.in the garden
- Check the position. It is at the end of the sentence, so it is not fronted.at the end
- Write the answer. at the end of the sentence, so not fronted
Check. The phrase is at the end. ✓
Watch out. An adverbial at the end does not need a comma before it.
Method. Compare where the adverbial sits.
- Look at the first sentence. Quickly is at the start, followed by a comma. It is fronted.Quickly,
- Look at the second sentence. Quickly is at the end. It is not fronted.home quickly
- Write the answer. the first is fronted at the start; the second has it at the end
Check. Read both aloud. ✓
Watch out. The same word can be fronted or not, depending on where it sits.