Lesson video

Hi, I'm Mr. Buckingham and I'm really glad you've chosen to join me today for our lesson on fronted adverbials.

I'm really looking forward to teaching you today, and I think you're gonna find this learning really useful.

So let's make a start.

Today's lesson is called single words, phrases, and clauses in fronted adverbials.

And it comes from my unit called key terminology, including determinants, fronted adverbials, and parenthesis.

By the end of today's lesson, we'll be able to write a paragraph with a variety of fronted adverbials, including single words, fronted adverbial phrases, and fronted adverbial clauses.

Now, fronted adverbials are so useful to us in our writing because they allow us to express a huge variety of different ideas and to introduce a massive amount of variety into our writing.

So I'm hoping you'll really find some good ideas for your next piece of writing in this lesson.

Let's get to work.

Here are our keywords.

My turn, your turn.

Fronted adverbial, comma, phrase, clause, and adverbial clause.

Well done.

Now, a fronted adverbial, as you might know, is a sentence starter followed by a comma.

A comma is a punctuation mark that is used after any fronted adverbial.

And we know that a comma has lots of other uses as well.

A phrase is a group of words with no verb, and a clause is a group of words that contains a verb.

And an adverbial clause is a type of subordinate clause that starts with a subordinating conjunction.

Here's our lesson outline for today's lesson.

We're going to start off by identifying different fronted adverbials, and then we're going to be using fronted adverbial words, phrases, and clauses to write our own paragraph.

Now we know that sentences can start in different ways.

Here are some examples.

We could say, "Reluctantly, we joined the long, winding queue." That means we didn't really want to.

"With a sigh, we joined the long, winding queue." Or, "As soon as the shop opened, we joined the long, winding queue." So you can see here we've got different types of sentence starter.

We had a word, a single word, reluctantly.

We had a phrase which is a group of words with no verb.

"With a sigh." And we had a clause, a group of words that contains a verb, which was, "As soon as the shop opened," with the verb opened.

Now fronted adverbials are words, phrases, or clauses that act as sentence starters like we just saw.

So we could start with that basic sentence, "We joined the long, winding queue," and then we could add those fronted adverbials at the start.

These are all fronted adverbials.

Reluctantly, with a sigh, and as soon as the shop opened are all fronted adverbials.

Now, the front adverbial gives us more information about the action in the sentence that follows it, and it's always followed by a comma.

So which of these are true for fronted adverbials? They're sentence starters, they can be words, clauses, or phrases, they're followed by a comma, or they always contain a verb.

Pause the video and decide.

Well done.

Great effort.

It is true to say they're all sentence starters and they can be words, phrases, or clauses.

We saw that in the last few examples.

They are always followed by a comma, but it's not true they always contain a verb.

For instance, phrases never contain a verb.

That's what makes them phrases and not clauses.

Great job if you've got those three.

Now we can tell a fronted adverbial is a sentence starter because if it's removed, the sentence still makes sense.

Here's a sentence with a fronted adverbial.

"With a sneer, she interrupted my explanation." With a sneer must be a fronted adverbial phrase because it doesn't contain a verb.

Now, if we remove that fronted adverbial, we would have, "She interrupted my explanation," which makes complete sense.

So when we remove the fronted adverbial, the sentence should still make sense.

And the fronted adverbial, as we've seen, is always followed by a comma.

And the section after the comma is the part which is the complete sentence, which would make sense without the fronted adverbial.

For example, "Before long, the sun rose and the temperature began to increase." We've got that fronted adverbial there, before long, followed by the comma.

The section after the comma is the sun rose and the temperature began to increase, which as we can see could be a complete sentence on its own.

Now we've seen fronted adverbial words, phrases, and clauses so far.

Let's zoom in now on those single words and phrases.

They can be fronted adverbials in lots of different ways.

So we have some fronted adverbial single words here.

"Now, let's move to the pulse as we listen to this song.

"Carefully, Mum added her signature to the document and she sealed it in an envelope.

Exhausted, we trudged through the snow." And then we've got some fronted adverbial phrases.

These must be more than one word, but they mustn't contain a verb 'cause otherwise they would be clauses.

Say for example, "With gritted teeth, I examined my bruises.

At that moment, the competition began and we were determined to win.

On the bright waves, a small yacht bobbed lazily." And each time we can see whether it's a single word or a phrase, the fronted adverbial is followed by a comma.

And remember, we could remove that fronted adverbial and the sentence would still make sense.

So if we look at that first example in the single words, the sentence would be, "Let's move to the pulse as we listen to this song," which makes perfect sense.

So true or false.

The sentence, "When you get the opportunity, you should visit Rome," begins with a fronted adverbial phrase.

Pause the video and decide.

Well done.

You're right, it's false.

Now I wonder which is the best justification for that.

Pause the video and decide what explains why that is false.

Well done.

You're right, the answer is b.

We know that fronted adverbial phrases don't contain a verb, and the word get is a verb.

And we can see the word get is inside this fronted adverbial, "When you get the opportunity." a said that we were worried about that word visit, but that is not inside the fronted adverbial.

It's in the part of the sentence after the comma, which is not in the fronted adverbial.

So b is the best answer.

Well done.

Now, an adverbial clause can also be used as a fronted adverbial.

So what is an adverbial clause? Well, an adverbial clause is a group of words that contains a verb, is a type of subordinate clause so it doesn't make complete sense on its own, and begins with a subordinating conjunction.

Those are those words like as, while, when, and because which starts an adverbial clause.

Here are some examples.

Even though it is difficult and once you have done sufficient work.

So each of these couldn't be a sentence on its own.

It doesn't make complete sense, so they're subordinate clauses.

And they contain a verb, so we've got is and have done are verbs, and then they've got a subordinating conjunction at the start.

And that's the most important feature.

An adverbial clause always begins with a subordinating conjunction.

Here we've got even though and once as our subordinating conjunctions, so these must be adverbial clauses.

Now, when an adverbial clause starts a sentence, it's a type of fronted adverbial, a fronted adverbial clause.

For example, "Even though it is difficult, I need you to keep trying your best." And, "Once you have done sufficient work, you may take a break outside." In each of these sentences, we have a subordinating conjunction starting an adverbial clause.

That adverbial clause is at the start of the sentence, so we call it a fronted adverbial clause.

"Even though it is difficult," and, "Once you have done sufficient work." And we can see those here.

So we must identify the fronted adverbial in a sentence first in order to know where to place the comma.

For example, let's look at this sentence, which should have a comma in but doesn't.

"Unless you check your work thoroughly you will make mistakes." Now we can see here we've got a part which would make complete sense.

It's a main clause.

"You will make mistakes." So this part here must be the fronted adverbial.

And I know it's a fronted adverbial clause because it starts with a subordinating conjunction, unless, and it contains this verb check.

So that means the comma must go there at the end of the fronted adverbial clause before the part that makes complete sense on its own, in this case the main clause.

Here's another example.

"All of a sudden I became conscious of a quiet noise behind me." So here we can see this part would make complete sense on its own.

It's the main clause.

"I became conscious of a quiet noise behind me." So this must be the fronted adverbial.

And this time it's a phrase, all of a sudden, which does not contain a verb, so it cannot be a fronted adverbial clause.

It must be a fronted adverbial phrase.

And we put the comma right after it.

So where should the commas be placed to show the fronted adverbials in these examples? Pause the video and identify the part of the sentence that makes complete sense and the part which must be the fronted adverbial, and the comma goes in between the two.

Pause the video and have a try.

Well done.

Let's take a look.

So in a, the part of the sentence that would make complete sense would be, "I still pulled a muscle," so the comma must go after that fronted adverbial clause, "Although I stretched carefully." In b, we could put it here.

We've got that complete sentence, "The lightning struck once again," a main clause, and then the fronted adverbial phrase, "After a few moments," followed by the comma.

In c, we've got the comma going here.

We've got the main clause, "The walls of the cemetery loomed darkly." And then our front adverbial phrase, "In the distance." No verb, so it must be a fronted adverbial phrase.

And finally in d, I think we've got a fronted adverbial clause here, "Once you have washed the vegetables." That contains that verb wash and that subordinating conjunction once, and then we've got the main clause, "Please peel them." Really good job if you've managed to get this.

Now we've seen that a fronted adverbial clause contains a verb and starts with a subordinating conjunction, and a fronted adverbial phrase contains no verb.

Unfortunately for us in English, some words can start both fronted adverbial phrases and fronted adverbials clauses.

Let me show you.

We could say, for instance, "Since 2020, the temperature has risen 0.

2 degrees." So we've got that fronted adverbial there, "Since 2020." But we could start another sentence with the same word, since.

And let's spot the difference.

"Since you started sitting here, things have been a bit awkward." Hmm.

Maybe you've spotted it already.

Here's another example.

"As a team, we won the competition easily.

As we got further into the competition, we began to develop as a team." So what are the differences here? Well, in these first two sentences, we've got no verb inside that fronted adverbial, so these must be fronted adverbial phrases, since 2020 and as a team.

No verb, so they must be fronted adverbial phrases.

But here with the same word starting the sentence, we've got verbs, "Since you started sitting here.

As we got further into the competition." So because we've got a verb, these must be fronted adverbial clauses.

So in these two sentences, since and as are acting as subordinating conjunctions, starting those fronted adverbial clauses.

So true or false, the sentence, "Until 7pm, the leisure center's swimming pool is open to everyone" begins with a fronted adverbial clause.

Pause the video and decide.

Well done, you're absolutely right.

That is false.

Now let's see if you can justify that.

What tells us that this must be false? Pause the video and choose the best answer.

Well done, you're right.

The answer is b.

Until 7pm is a phrase because it does not contain a verb.

Now, until could start an adverbial clause.

We could say, "Until the clock strikes 7pm," with that verb strikes.

And that would work as an adverbial clause at the start of our sentence.

But in this case, we've got a fronted adverbial phrase, starting with that word until.

Really good job.

So do these sentences start with a fronted adverbial phrase or a fronted adverbial clause? Pause the video and see if you can decide for each case.

Well done.

Let's take a look.

So in a, that is a clause because we've got once you've eaten.

There's a verb.

And then in b, it's a phrase.

Since then contains no verb.

For c, it's a phrase again.

Before long has no verb in it.

And for d, we've got a clause because rebooted is a verb there.

Really good job if you spotted thodr.

So let's do our first task for this lesson.

I'm going to show you some sentences and they won't have commas in them.

I want each to decide if each sentence begins with a fronted adverbial clause, a fronted adverbial phrase, or a fronted adverbial single word, and then add a comma in the appropriate place when you write it out.

Here are the sentences.

Pause the video and have a go.

Great.

So let's have a look.

So you can see here, I've shown you the sentences with the commas in the correct place to show the fronted adverbials.

So for a, I've got, "When you recognise him," which is a clause 'cause it's got that verb recognise.

For the second one I've got, "After a sleepless night." There's no verb there, so it must be a phrase.

For the third I've got immediately, which is just a single word.

"After Parliament changed the law." Change is a verb, so we've got a clause there.

"Unless you stop causing a nuisance." Stop is a verb, so we've got a clause again.

And, "As a reward for your sacrifice," has no verb in it, so that is a phrase.

Really well done if you've managed to spot those differences.

Okay, in the second part of our lesson, we are going to move on to using these fronted adverbial words, phrases, and clauses, and we're gonna end up writing a paragraph of our own using a variety of fronted adverbials.

So fronted adverbial words and phrases can have different purposes.

They do different things.

They all tell us more about the action that happens after that comma.

Here are some examples of the different purposes fronted adverbials might have.

We have fronted adverbials of time.

And we're focusing here just on words and phrases for now.

So we could have fronted adverbial words and phrases of time like then, at that very moment, before long, and soon.

And these all show us when something happened, when the thing after the comma happened.

We also have fronted adverbials of place.

In the distance, on the edge of town, here, and at the top of the hill.

And these show us where something happened.

And finally we have fronted adverbials of manner.

Things like full of shame, horrified, with a sneer, without a backward glance, which show us how something happened.

So we can see we've got a huge range of different fronted adverbials here of different types that we can use to add loads of detail about the action after that comma.

So can you decide here whether each fronted adverbial is showing time or place or manner? Pause the video and decide.

Great job.

Let's have a look.

So a has full of exhaustion.

That would show manner.

That's how I'm going about finding that accommodation.

In b, I've got, "At the very top of the mountain." That shows me place.

With a sigh is telling me how I'm listening to that gurgling.

That sounds like manner to me.

And then d has in the blink of an eye, which is showing us something to do with speed, isn't it? So that one is showing us time.

Really good job if you got all four.

So we can learn several useful ways of creating fronted adverbials of manner.

And these are so useful to us in showing how things were done.

For example, we can use full of.

Full of sadness, full of fear, full of desperation, full of anger.

These are all emotions, aren't they? So we're saying we did the thing after the comma full of this emotion.

We can say with a something or without a something.

With a sigh, with a tear in my eye, without a thought, without looking back.

Those are really helpful in our narrative, our story writing to show those emotions someone is feeling.

We could also use ed ended words, for instance, exhausted, devastated, horrified, and disgusted.

And another great type of fronted adverbial of manner is an ly word.

Cautiously, sadly, angrily, or hopefully are brilliant kinds of words to use in our writing.

Now here's a really important rule we need to remember.

The person experiencing these feelings, the person who's exhausted, the person who's full of sadness, the person who's doing something cautiously must come after the comma after our fronted adverbial.

Let me show you.

Here's a bad example and a good example.

"Terrified, the door creaked open.

Terrified, I watched as the door creaked open." So which of those is right? Well, the first one says, "Terrified, the door creaked open." That suggests the door is terrified.

That's not right, is it? I'm the person who's terrified in this instance, so I have to be the person after that fronted adverbial, so, "Terrified, I watched as the door creaked open." So whoever is experiencing the emotion in the fronted adverbial must be the person who comes after the comma in my sentence.

So let's see if we can apply that rule.

Can you take all the sentences that use a fronted adverbial of manner correctly? Which ones do it right with the person experiencing the emotion appearing after that comma? Pause the video and see if you can work it out.

Well done.

Great job.

So a is correct.

"Horrified, we watched." We are the ones watching.

We are the ones feeling horrified.

That works.

b does not work.

The lightning isn't horrified, so we can't say, "Horrified, the lightning came closer." c is correct.

I'm the one who's full of determination and I'm the one pushing, so that can correctly say, "Full of determination, I pushed my shoulder against the door." And then for d, that one doesn't work.

The door is not full of determination, so we cannot put, "Full of determination, the rotten, wooden door," because it's not feeling that.

We are the ones feeling it, not the door.

Great job if you spotted those.

Now we've talked a lot about fronted adverbial words and phrases and the different functions they can have for us to show time and place and manner.

Now let's talk about fronted adverbial clauses and the functions they have.

Fronted adverbial clauses often, but not always, give more detail about when the action after the comma happened.

I'm gonna show you some examples with different subordinating conjunctions starting off that fronted adverbial clause.

We could say, "When you learn the rhythm, you'll be able to play the song.

As my neighbour knocked on the door, Mum rolled her eyes." So that fronted adverbial clause is telling me more about when Mum rolled her eyes.

"While we queued outside the stadium, the game had already begun.

Since we arrived in the village, the community has really looked after us." And, "Until the shops open, we will have to queue out in the cold." So each time the fronted adverbial clause is telling us more about time, about when the action after the comma is happening or will happen.

And remember that each fronted adverbial clause will begin with a subordinating conjunction, we have when, as, while, since, and until, and it will contain a verb.

That's what makes it a clause.

So we've got learn and knocked and queued and arrived and open.

All of these are fronted adverbial clauses because they've got the subordinating conjunction and the verb.

So can you use that list of subordinating conjunctions on the right to think of different fronted adverbial clauses of time, showing us when, that could come before this main clause, "The temperature rose." So pause the video and use the subordinating conjunctions to create fronted adverbial clauses in front of this main clause.

Have a go.

Well done, now yours are going to look different to mine, but here are some examples I came up with using each of these subordinating conjunctions.

I could say, "When the sun came out, the temperature rose." I could say, "As the year went on, the temperature rose.

Before we could play in the snow, the temperature rose.

While the shadows grew shorter, the temperature rose." And finally after we'd endured, that means got through, a long, cold winter, the temperature rose.

So each time I've used a fronted adverbial clause to say more about when the temperature rose.

So these are all fronted adverbial clauses of time.

Really well done if you came up with something similar.

Now fronted adverbial clauses can also help to show a contrast, a difference between two things.

Let me show you.

I could say, "Even though it's awkward, we'll have to keep going." I could say, "Although I had the opportunity to go, I chose not to attend." So here we've got a contrast in each of these sentences.

We've got a contrast between the fronted adverbial clause and the main clause.

And they also help us to show cause and effect.

Here are some examples.

We could say, "Because the temperature was so low, we had to huddle under our blankets." We've got a cause, the temperature's low, and an effect, we had to huddle under our blankets.

Here's another example.

"Unless you get a signature on this form, you won't be able to attend." So here we've got what is happening, the cause, and then we've got what will happen next, the effect.

So if you don't get the signature, the effect will be that you won't be able to come on this trip.

Okay, so let's see if we can match these fronted adverbial clauses to their type, to their function.

What are they doing? Which one is a fronted adverbial of cause and effect? Which is a fronted adverbial of time? And which is a fronted adverbial of contrast? Pause the video and have a go.

Great job.

Let's have a look.

For a, the fronted adverbial clause is, "Once lunchtime has ended." That's showing me time.

For b, it's, "Unless you stop causing a nuisance, you will lose all your privileges." This is showing us a cause and effect.

It's saying if you don't stop, this will be the effect, this will happen.

So c must be a fronted adverbial of contrast.

Let's have a look.

"Even though I hate to interfere, I can't stand by and watch this happen." We are setting up a contrast between the fronted adverbial clause and the main clause.

Really good job if you made those connections.

Now we've learned about a lot of different fronted adverbials now.

We've learned about different structures for a fronted adverbial, a word, a phrase, or a clause, and different functions like manner, place, time, cause and effect, and contrast.

So we can use a variety of fronted adverbials to link our sentences together to make really interesting and varied writing.

Here's an example.

"Full of trepidation." That kind of means anxiety.

"We tread carefully into the dark trees.

With pounding hearts, we look left and right for any danger.

Even though we know we must press on, we long to go back.

To our left, a shadow bursts from the trees.

As it approaches, we freeze in terror." So you might have seen there, they've used a wide variety of different fronted adverbials.

I've got fronted adverbials of manner, full of trepidation and with pounding hearts.

I've got fronted adverbials of time.

I've got, "As it approaches." That's a fronted adverbial clause of time because you have that verb approaches.

I've got fronted adverbials of place.

I've got, "To our left." And I've got a fronted adverbial, in this case, of contrast.

I've got, "Even though we know we must press on." So I've got a wide range of fronted adverbials here.

And what this does is it adds to our cohesion of our text, of our writing, which means it makes it flow together and it all fits together well and that it adds interest to our reader that makes them want to read on as well.

So let's see if you can identify the different types of fronted adverbial that I've used in this passage.

I've got my types of fronted adverbial down here.

And for now we're focusing on their function.

What are they doing? Are they showing manner, time, place, contrast, cause and effect? Pause the video and see if you can spot those different types of fronted adverbial in the passage.

Great job.

Let's have a look.

So hopefully you spotted some fronted adverbials of manner.

We've got, "Without looking back." You might have also seen some fronted adverbials of time.

We've got, "While we remain frozen in place," and finally.

You might have seen a fronted adverbial of place.

We've got, "Beneath our feet" here.

And finally this time we've got a fronted adverbial of cause and effect, which is, "Because it is so dark." Really well done if you spotted all those different types of fronted adverbial there.

Can you see how they've really added to our cohesion? They've made the writing flow beautifully so that it's exciting and interesting to read.

So how many different fronted adverbials can you think of to add more detail in front of this main clause? I've got, "We sprinted out of the forest." I have given you some examples here of fronted adverbials of time, of manner, and of contrast and cause and effect.

So pause the video and see which ones you can make that could go in front of my main clause here.

Have a go.

Great job.

Let's take a look.

So here are some ideas I came up with.

Yours will be different, but hopefully you've managed to use a variety of these to make some really interesting sentences.

I could say, "Full of fear, we sprinted out of the forest." That's a fronted adverbial of manner.

I could say, "With pounding hearts, we sprinted out of the forest." Another manner one.

I could say, "As the shadow grew closer, we sprinted out of the forest." I've got a time fronted adverbial there, as.

And I've got, "Although we knew we should stand our ground, we sprinted out of the forest." And that one is, yeah, I bet you spotted it.

It's a fronted adverbial of contrast there.

I really hope you came up with some really interesting ones as well.

I bet yours are even more imaginative than mine.

Well done.

So let's do our second task for this lesson.

I've written here a very basic paragraph where all the sentences actually start with the same word.

They all start with I.

And this is not a paragraph with very good cohesion.

Let me read it to you and you'll see what I mean.

"I pushed over the creaking door.

I stepped into the old house.

I saw cobwebs draped over furniture.

I wanted to leave.

I heard another creak coming from a room above.

I froze." Did you spot how there wasn't much cohesion there? It wasn't flowing very well, and there certainly isn't very much variety of interest here either.

So I wonder if you can rewrite this paragraph, this passage, using appropriate fronted adverbials to give it cohesion.

So for instance, you might use some fronted adverbials of time, of manner, of place, and of contrast and cause and effect.

And I've given you some ideas there, but you might be able to think of your own ones which are different to these.

So this one's gonna take you a little while.

Let's see if you can pause the video and have a go at rewriting this paragraph, using those fronted adverbials to add much more cohesion to make this flow, to give it variety and interest as well.

Have a go.

Okay, let's take a look at an example paragraph I've written, which I think uses a nice range of fronted adverbials to add to that cohesion.

Now yours of course will look different to mine, but hopefully you've got some similar ideas.

I said, "With my pulse racing, I pushed open the creaking door.

As I held my breath, I stepped into the old house.

To my right, I saw cobwebs draped over furniture.

Although I wanted to leave, I took a step further into the stale, dank house.

All of a sudden, I heard another creak coming from a room above.

Instantly, I froze." So here I've got some fronted adverbials of manner, "With my pulse racing." I've got front adverbials of time, as I held my breath, all of a sudden, and instantly.

I've got fronted adverbials of place.

I've got, "To my right." And I've got fronted adverbials, in this case, contrast.

I've got, "Although I wanted to leave." I really hope you've managed to get a similar variety of fronted adverbials, and I think you'll agree that built so much more cohesion into my writing, giving it so much more flow and interest and detail.

Really well done if you've managed something similar.

Okay, let's summarise our learning from this lesson.

We've done an awful lot.

We've learned that a fronted adverbial is a sentence starter followed by a comma that tells us more about the action taking place after the comma.

We've learned that our fronted adverbial can be a single word, a phrase, or a clause, and that a fronted adverbial clause contains a verb, but a fronted adverbial phrase does not.

The part of the sentence after the comma must make complete sense on its own.

And we can use a variety of fronted adverbials to add cohesion so that the text flows and it's interesting to our reader.

You've done so well in this lesson.

I've really enjoyed teaching you today.

I really hope to see you again in a future lesson.

Goodbye.