Year 6 · SPaG · Autumn: Commas
Year 6 commas after fronted adverbials and clauses worksheet and PowerPoint
To use commas after fronted adverbials and after a subordinate clause that begins a sentence.
Commas at the front
When a sentence starts with a fronted adverbial (a word or phrase that says when, where or how) or a subordinate clause, put a comma after it, before the main clause.
| fronted adverbial | In the morning, we walked to the park. |
|---|---|
| subordinate clause first | Although it was raining, we went out. |
| subordinate clause second | We went out although it was raining. (usually no comma) |
Examples
- After lunch, the children played outside.
- When the bell rang, everyone lined up.
Key words
- fronted adverbial
- a word or phrase at the start of a sentence that says when, where or how
- subordinate clause
- a clause that depends on a main clause
- main clause
- the part that makes sense on its own
- comma
- marks the end of the fronted part
What is on the worksheet
Every sheet for this lesson has a short teaching box and 12 questions that get gradually harder: 8 fluency questions, then 4 reasoning questions that ask pupils to explain or choose. A writing challenge follows. The questions use the same styles as the key stage 2 grammar and punctuation test (circle, underline, tick, fill the gap, add punctuation, rewrite, explain). They are written for this website, not copied from past papers.
All the answers are on the last page of the same editable Word file. New questions are made every time, so you can print a different sheet for every group or for homework. The same sheet code always gives the same sheet.
Writing challenge: Write six sentences about a day trip. Begin three with a fronted adverbial and three with a subordinate clause. Use a comma each time.
Pupil target: I can put a comma after a fronted adverbial or clause.
The PowerPoint
A 20-slide lesson deck for the same lesson: a starter that revisits earlier learning, key words, an I do and a You do question on each slide with a countdown timer, answers that appear one click at a time, and a challenge. Download the commas after fronted adverbials and clauses PowerPoint.
Where this lesson fits
This is lesson 25 of 72 in the Year 6 SPaG scheme, in the Autumn term, block “Commas”. It is taught before the SATs grammar test in May.
Other lessons in this block
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