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.
A worked example
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.
Watch out
You tap only the last word before the comma.
Tap the whole opener, from the first word of the sentence up to and including the comma.
Tips
- Ask when, where or how about the main clause. The opener is the answer that stands at the front.
Why it works
An adverbial is a group of words that works like an adverb. When it moves to the front of the sentence, it is a fronted adverbial, and a comma follows it.