Fronted adverbials: Sally Lightfoot crab
The Grammar Bit!
Read the three sentences opposite. They each have a fronted adverbial at the beginning of the sentence (bold).
A fronted adverbial can describe any of the following:
- when the action took place
- how the action took place
- where the action took place
- how often 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) As the moray eel lurked in the shallow rock pool, the crabs looked longingly at their distant feeding ground.
2) Nervously, the light-footed crab scanned the rock pool that was filled with hidden danger.
3) Somewhere along a craggy Brazilian coastline, a fortunate Lightfoot was making a miraculous escape.
“I can’t say I blame him for feeling a bit crabby!”