Fronted adverbials
You learn to find the fronted adverbial: the opener that tells you when, where or how.
How to do the test
- Look at the start of the sentence.
- Find the group of words before the first comma.
- If it tells you when, where or how, it is a fronted adverbial.
Tap the fronted adverbial. Before breakfast, Dad walked the dog.
- It comes at the front, before the main clause.
- It tells you when.
- A comma follows it.
- Before breakfast is the fronted adverbial.
More examples
Tap the fronted adverbial. After the storm, the sun came out.
- It comes at the front, before the main clause.
- It tells you when.
- A comma follows it.
- After the storm is the fronted adverbial.
Tap the fronted adverbial. Under the old bridge, a troll was sleeping.
- It comes at the front, before the main clause.
- It tells you where.
- A comma follows it.
- Under the old bridge is the fronted adverbial.