KS2 English · Grammar · Year 4
Fronted adverbials
Start sentences with when, where or how — and remember the comma.
About 15 minutes
Step 1 · Wonder why it matters
Hook
Same, same, same
“I woke up. I ate breakfast. I went to school.” Every sentence starts the same way — it sounds like a robot!
Fronted adverbials give your writing variety by starting sentences in different ways.
Step 2 · See it
Picture
See it move to the front
The adverbial tells us more about the verb. When we move it to the front, we add a comma after it.
- The owl hooted after midnight.
- Move “after midnight” to the front
- After midnight, the owl hooted.
Step 3 · Understand how it works
Logic
When, where, how
An adverbial is a word or phrase that works like an adverb. It tells you when, where, how or how often something happens.
When it comes at the start of a sentence, it is fronted, and it is followed by a comma.
| Type | Examples |
|---|---|
| When | Later that day, · As the sun rose, · Suddenly, |
| Where | Under the bridge, · In the distance, · Nearby, |
| How | Without a sound, · Carefully, · As fast as he could, |
- Adverbial
- A word or phrase that tells you more about a verb.
- Fronted
- Moved to the front of the sentence.
Step 4 · Have a go
Do
Have a go
Rewrite these sentences with the adverbial at the front, and remember the comma.
- 1The cat crept along the wall silently.
- 2We ate our picnic beside the river.
- 3The children cheered when the bell rang.
- 4Now write three sentences of your own about a storm, each starting with a different type of fronted adverbial.
Step 5 · Remember it
Recall
Quick quiz
Find the fronted adverbial and check the comma.
0 of 4 answered
1.Which sentence is punctuated correctly?
2.In “Under the old oak tree, the fox slept”, the fronted adverbial tells us…
3.Which of these could be a fronted adverbial?
4.What punctuation follows a fronted adverbial?
Step 6 · Link it to your world
Reflect
Think about it
Fronted adverbials help build atmosphere in stories.
Write the first sentence of a spooky story beginning with a fronted adverbial.
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Finished all six steps?
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