Fronted adverbials: puffin
The Grammar Bit!
Read the three scintillating sentences opposite. They each begin with a fronted adverbial (bold).
A fronted adverbial can be a single word, a phrase or a clause. It appears at the front of a sentence and can describe the following:
- when the action took place
- where the action took place
- how the action took place
Notice how a comma is normally placed after a fronted adverbial to separate it from the rest of the sentence.
With your talk partner, take turns saying each sentence aloud with the adverbial at the end. Does this alter the meaning of the sentence?
Scintillating Sentences
1) With beaks full of sand eels, the puffins disappeared into their burrows.
2) On the grassy cliff top, the puffins struggled to find a burrow to call their own.
3) After the female’s arrival, the puffins greeted each other with affectionate bill tapping.
Did you know?
Puffins are amazing flyers. Beating their wings 400 times a minute, they can travel up to speeds of roughly 50 miles an hour. They are also expert swimmers, diving to depths of 60 metres.