Year 5 English: Adverbials of time, place and cause
Part of the Year 5 English relative clauses and adverbials of time, place and cause chapter. Chapter overview · whole chapter on one page
Adverbials of time, place and cause
Key pattern
An adverbial tells us when, where or why something happens.
Time: after the lunch, later, yesterday, when the bell rang.
Place: under the tree, here, near the gate.
Cause: because of the rain, since it was late, as a result, so.
Key ideas
- Conjunctions join two clauses: because, since, when, while, until.
- Adverbs describe a verb and can stand alone: later, here, yesterday.
- Prepositions are followed by a noun phrase: under the tree, during the play.
- A cause adverbial can be a prepositional phrase, such as because of the rain.
Method. Look for the word or phrase that tells us when.
- Find the time. After lunch tells us when we went.When?
- Write it. The adverbial is After lunch.After lunch
- Write the answer. After lunch
Check. After lunch. ✓
Method. Find the phrase that tells us where.
- Find the place. Under the oak tree tells us where we sat.Where?
- Write it. The place adverbial is under the oak tree.under the oak tree
- Write the answer. under the oak tree
Check. Under the oak tree. ✓
Method. Find the phrase that tells us why.
- Find the reason. The rain is the reason the match was cancelled.Why?
- Write it. The cause is because of the rain.because of the rain
- Write the answer. because of the rain
Check. Because of the rain. ✓
Exercise 4D Practice: time, place and cause
Method. Look for the word that tells us when.
- Check each word. Under tells where; because gives a reason; later tells when.later tells when
- Choose the word. Later is a time adverbial.later
- Write the answer. later
Check. Later. ✓
Method. Look for the word that tells us where.
- Check each word. Here tells where; yesterday tells when; quickly tells how.here tells where
- Choose the word. Here is an adverb of place.here
- Write the answer. here
Check. Here. ✓
Method. During means at the same time as.
- Look at the meanings. During the play tells when; in the box tells where.when
- Choose the phrase. During the play is a time phrase.during the play
- Write the answer. during the play
Check. During the play. ✓
Method. Find the part that gives the reason.
- Find the reason. We stayed inside for this reason.reason
- Write it. The cause is since it was raining.since it was raining
- Write the answer. since it was raining
Check. Since it was raining. ✓
Method. Look for the word that gives a reason.
- Check each word. Since can give a reason; after shows time; under shows place.since gives a reason
- Choose the word. Since is a conjunction of cause.since
- Write the answer. since
Check. Since. ✓
Method. Look for the conjunction of time.
- Check each word. When shows time; where shows place; because shows a reason.when shows time
- Choose the word. When joins a clause of time.when
- Write the answer. when
Check. When. ✓
Method. Choose a word that gives the reason.
- Read the sentence. The boots were worn for a reason.reason
- Choose the conjunction. Because gives the reason.because
- Write the answer. because
Check. Because. ✓
Method. The phrase must show when the walk happened.
- Read the sentence. We walked while the storm was happening.at the same time
- Choose the preposition. During shows the time.during
- Write the answer. during
Check. During. ✓
Method. Look for a phrase that gives the reason.
- Check each phrase. As a result shows a reason; under the table shows place; every morning shows time.reason
- Choose the phrase. As a result is a cause phrase.as a result
- Write the answer. as a result
Check. As a result. ✓
Method. Choose a time phrase and put it at the start.
- Choose the time. Later that day tells when.Later that day
- Write the sentence. Later that day, we painted the fence.Later that day, we painted the fence.
- Write the answer. Later that day, we painted the fence.
Check. The sentence has a time adverbial. ✓
Method. Think about the order of the cause and the result.
- Look at because. We stayed home because it rained: the rain is the reason.reason
- Look at so. It rained, so we stayed home: staying home is the result.result
- Write the answer. No; because gives the reason, while so gives the result
Check. Ali is not right. ✓
Method. Find a reason and a place.
- Write the cause. Because of the rain tells why.because of the rain
- Write the place. Under the table tells where.under the table
- Write the answer. We stayed inside because of the rain. The cat slept under the table.
Check. Both adverbials are used. ✓