Demystifying Fronted Adverbials: A Parent’s Guide to Helping Your Child Master Grammar

If your child has come home waving a worksheet covered in colourful highlighter and the phrase “fronted adverbial” is staring back at you, you’re not alone! This topic often features in the UK primary curriculum (usually Years 3-6) and can sound more intimidating than it really is. Below you’ll find a clear explanation, practical tips, and a handy resource to make supporting your child a breeze.

1. What is a fronted adverbial?

An adverbial is any word, phrase or clause that adds more information about when, where, how, or why something happens. When that adverbial is moved to the front of the sentence—before the main clause—it becomes a fronted adverbial.

Standard order: The dog barked loudly in the garden.

Fronted adverbial: In the garden, the dog barked loudly.

Moving the adverbial to the front highlights that information and often adds variety or emphasis to writing. Fronted adverbials are usually followed by a comma to show the reader that the main clause is about to begin.

2. Why do schools focus on them?

• Variety – Children learn to start sentences in different ways, avoiding repetitive “I… I… I…” patterns.

• Clarity & Emphasis – Leading with the “when” or “where” can make descriptions more vivid.

• Assessment – National curriculum objectives specifically reference fronted adverbials, so they appear in tests and teacher assessments.

3. Simple ways to practise at home

Focus	Quick Activity	Example
When	Ask your child to describe their day using time starters.	Before breakfast, I fed the cat.
Where	Label favourite toys’ locations and turn them into sentences.	Under the sofa, the Lego piece was hiding.
How	Play “adverb charades” and write sentences about the action.	With a grin, she solved the puzzle.
Why	Brainstorm reasons for everyday actions.	Because it was raining, we stayed inside.

Tip: Encourage your child to read the sentence aloud with and without the fronted adverbial—the comma naturally signals a pause, helping them “hear” why the punctuation is needed.

4. Super-charge practice with EnglishFun.co.uk

To move from “I get it” to “I can use it confidently,” children need lots of varied practice—and that’s where EnglishFun.co.uk shines. Their dedicated page on fronted adverbials offers:

1. Kid-friendly and age appropriate explanations in plain language.

2. Interactive practice questions that give instant feedback.

3. Differentiated levels so children can start simple and progress to trickier examples.

Dive straight into the activities here.

5. Final encouragement

Grammar terms can feel daunting, but remember: a fronted adverbial is just a handy way to shuffle sentence parts for style and impact. With a clear explanation, some playful practice, and supportive resources like EnglishFun.co.uk, your child will soon be sprinkling fronted adverbials into their writing with confidence.

Happy learning—and happy sentence-shuffling!