Understanding the comma rule in adverbial complex sentences
You can understand the comma rule in an adverbial complex sentence.
Understanding the comma rule in adverbial complex sentences
You can understand the comma rule in an adverbial complex sentence.
These resources will be removed by end of Summer Term 2025.
Lesson details
Key learning points
- The position of an adverbial clause can move in an adverbial complex sentence.
- The adverbial clause can come first in the sentence followed by the main clause.
- If the adverbial clause comes first in the sentence, it is followed by a comma to separate it from the main clause.
- The main clause can come first in the sentence followed by the adverbial clause.
- If the main clause comes first in the sentence, no comma is used.
Keywords
Adverbial clause - a type of subordinate clause that starts with a subordinating conjunction
Main clause - a group of words that contains a verb and makes complete sense
Comma - a punctuation mark used to separate the first adverbial clause from the second main clause in an adverbial complex sentence
Adverbial complex sentence - a sentence formed of a main clause and an adverbial clause
Common misconception
Pupils think the adverbial clause always comes second in an adverbial complex sentence.
The position of the adverbial clause can swap. The adverbial clause can come first or second in an adverbial complex sentence.
Licence
This content is © Oak National Academy Limited (2024), licensed on Open Government Licence version 3.0 except where otherwise stated. See Oak's terms & conditions (Collection 2).
Lesson video
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