Adverbial Workshop
Free Years 3–4 grammar practice. Recognise fronted adverbials and punctuate them with commas. No account needed.
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Try the matching worksheet
Using Adverbial Workshop
Practise recognising fronted adverbials in supplied sentences. Choose Spot the adverbial, Time, place or manner, or Place the comma.
How to play
- Start with Spot the adverbial. Read the whole sentence before choosing the words that give extra information about the action.
- Use Time, place or manner to decide whether an opener tells you when, where or how something happens.
- Use Place the comma to recognise punctuation after the supplied fronted adverbial. Practice has no timer. Sprint offers timed practice.
Read the opener and its job
Before lunch, Maya checked the seeds. “Before lunch” tells us when Maya checked them. It is at the front of the sentence, and the comma follows the whole opener.
In “Beside the gate, Maya checked the seeds”, the opener tells us where. Changing the opener changes the information, while the rest of the sentence can stay the same.
A mistake to look out for
An adverbial can contain several words. A comma belongs after the complete fronted adverbial, rather than after its first word.
After a round
The game asks you to recognise supplied choices. After a round, write a sentence of your own and read it aloud. Use the lesson to check what your opener adds.
Learn to use fronted adverbialsTry the matching worksheet
Questions about this game
What is a fronted adverbial?
It is a word or group of words placed before the main clause to add information, such as when, where or how something happens. Read the whole sentence to decide its job.
Does every fronted adverbial end in -ly?
No. “Before lunch” and “Beside the gate” are groups of words. Choose an opener for the information it adds, rather than looking only for a word ending.
Does the game check my own sentences?
It checks supplied recognition and punctuation choices. Use the matching worksheet or your own writing to make and explain sentences.
Curriculum context
England’s Years 3–4 English programme includes fronted adverbials and commas after them. This game practises supplied examples; independent writing needs a separate check. Department for Education programme of study.
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