What is a fronted adverbial?
Adverbials are words or phrases that give more information about the verb by explaining when, where, or how something happens.
I discovered fronted adverbials earlier today.
In the sentence above 'earlier today' is the adverbial.
A fronted adverbial is when the adverbial word or phrase is moved to the front of the sentence, before the verb.
Earlier today, I discovered fronted adverbials.
Fronted adverbials are usually followed by a comma.
What are fronted adverbials?
Learn about fronted adverbials by following Robot's escape adventure. Then, put your knowledge to the test with the quiz!
How to use fronted adverbials
Fronted adverbials are words or phrases placed at the beginning of a sentence to tell us when, where or how something happens.
Fronted adverbials add extra detail, help build suspense and make writing more interesting.
After escaping the puzzle room, the robot relaxed with a cup of tea.
A fronted adverbial is usually followed by a comma to separate it from the rest of the sentence.
Using a mix of sentence types helps keep your writing fun and exciting to read.
Example 1
What kind of information does the fronted adverbial give in the sentence below?
On the far wall, the keypad glowed red.
a) When the keypad glowed red.
b) Where the keypad glowed red.
c) How the keypad glowed red.
✓ b) Where the keypad glowed red.
In this sentence, 'on the far wall' tells you where the action takes place.
This phrase helps the reader picture the exact location of the keypad, making the description clearer and more vivid.
Example 2
Which of these sentence starters is a fronted adverbial?
a) When the lights flash, the robot will move.
b) Yes, that’s the correct door code.
c) The robot waited.
✓ a) When the lights flash, the robot will move.
This sentence contains a fronted adverbial because 'When the lights flash' tells you when the robot will move.
Option b) is an injection and not a fronted adverbial.
Option c) is a simple sentence with no fronted element. It starts with the subject (The robot) followed by the verb.
Task
Re-write the programme!
Take a look at this passage:
The robot crept into the control room. It scanned the area for signs of movement.
It activated its infrared scanner. The keypad blinked red. The robot pressed the first button.
The system began to hum. The heavy door slid open. The robot stepped through and continued its mission.
Now, play around and experiment with adding some fronted adverbials to these sentences. Remember, not every sentence needs one!
Think about how fronted adverbials can add excitement, tension or more detail to the story.
Have fun rewriting the passage and making the mission come alive!
Play our fun English game Crystal Explorers! game
Use grammar, punctuation and spelling skills to explore jungles, caves and tombs on your mission.
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