English
What is a fronted adverbial?
Quick answer
A fronted adverbial is a word, phrase or clause at the start of a sentence that tells how, when, where or why, followed by a comma, as in Later that night, the owl hooted.
In one sentence
A fronted adverbial is an adverb-like word or group of words moved to the front of a sentence, before the main clause, and followed by a comma.
Explained
An adverbial does the job of an adverb: it adds information about the verb, saying how, when, where, why or how often. It can be one word (Suddenly), a phrase (In the dark forest) or a whole clause (As soon as the bell rang).
Usually adverbials come after the verb: The owl hooted later that night. Move it to the start and it becomes fronted: Later that night, the owl hooted. The meaning is the same, but the emphasis shifts, and the sentence opens with atmosphere instead of a subject.
Fronted adverbials are useful for:
- time: At midnight, Early the next morning, After a while,
- place: Under the stairs, Far away, Behind the curtain,
- manner: Without a sound, As quickly as she could, Carefully,
- frequency: Every Saturday, Once in a while,
- reason or condition: Because of the storm, If it rains,
In schools in England, put a comma after a fronted adverbial: Without warning, the lights went out. Published writers sometimes skip it after a very short one, but the comma is expected in school work and almost always helps.
"Fronted adverbial" is a term from the national curriculum in England (Year 4). In the US the same idea is usually taught as an introductory word, phrase or clause, with the same comma rule.
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clock
Examples
| Fronted adverbial | Rest of the sentence | Tells us |
|---|---|---|
| Yesterday, | we planted beans. | when |
| In the corner of the room, | a spider spun its web. | where |
| With a deep breath, | Nadia stepped onto the stage. | how |
| Because of the snow, | school closed early. | why |
| When the whistle blew, | the players ran. | when (a clause) |
Common mistakes
- Forgetting the comma. Later that day the dog escaped should be Later that day, the dog escaped.
- Starting every sentence with one. Three in a row feels mechanical. Mix them with other openings.
- Using a comma after the subject instead. The dog, barked loudly is wrong; nothing was fronted.
Quick quiz
Fronted adverbials
Check what you know with 4 quick questions.
Question 1 of 4
Find the fronted adverbial: Before breakfast, I fed the cat.
Practise it
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For grown-ups
Related topics
Adverbs
An adverb gives more information about a verb, adjective or another adverb, telling how, when, where or how often, like slowly, tomorrow, outside or always.
Commas
A comma is a punctuation mark that shows a short pause or separates parts of a sentence, such as items in a list, a fronted adverbial, or extra information.
Subordinate clauses
A subordinate clause is a clause that adds extra information to a main clause but cannot stand alone as a sentence, like because it was raining or who lives next door.
Prepositions
A preposition is a word that shows how a noun or pronoun is linked to something else, often by place or time, like in, on, under, behind, before or during.
Adjectives
An adjective is a word that describes a noun, telling you what kind, which one or how many, like a huge elephant, a sour lemon or three red balloons.
Alliteration
Alliteration is when several words close together start with the same sound, like six silly snakes or big brown bear. It makes writing catchy and memorable.