fronted adverbials that you might actually find in good writing

[FloppyHoldsNoTruckWithFrontedA]

I've found two!

"Fortunately......"
"Unfortunately...."

I'm trying to be positive rather than critical as our teachers have no choice but to teach these Gove-created monstrosities. So we might as well find a way to make them tools for good writing (as opposed to what we see in classrooms/the less good impact on our children's writing,etc).

I know there will be others.....

However...

Happily...

I don't know about good writing - they're things I write! - but I have just used "given the circumstances" and "later on that evening".

I can see "Happily..." being used in Jane Austen but I struggle to imagine good primary school writing including it. "Open to correction though". And of course by secondary school they never talk about/never are taught these things any more.

Re "However" - I think that fronted adverbials are just a made- up-thing but if we accept they are real I don't think "However" would be one because it doesn't answer the questions "how?" or "in what way"? as an adverby thing surely should. Ditto "Given the circumstances" and "Later on that evening". Open to correction of course.

Reluctantly, ...
Frustratingly, ...

I’m a secondary English teacher. We definitely do teach students to vary the opening of sentences using adverbs. We just don’t refer to them in the same way primary schools do.

For creative writing, primary students could describe the way a character does something e.g.

Slowly, Jim made his way to the door.
Angrily, Jim stomped up the stairs.
Furiously, Jim threw his rucksack on his bed.

Obviously, there are lots of useful examples!

Gently, Tom picked the puppy up.

Last week Tom had found a puppy.

Never before had Tom seen such a sweet puppy.

Behind the shed Tom found a puppy.

Fronted adverbials are used all the time by lots of people in writing.
I find it a bit odd that you are searching for them.
But the label and the laboured teaching of them is the problem, not the words themselves.

Suddenly...
Thankfully...
Wistfully...
Reluctantly...

It’s total bollocks all round. Most fiction editors spend their time telling aspiring writers to seriously limit their adverbs.

I’m with Stephen King on this.

Primary-wise, an example might be the irritating recorder tune 'merrily we roll along'.

This has some useful examples . I'm thinking of buying one for the staff room.

Horrifyingly, Mr Gove was allowed to interfere in education policy.

Tragically, Mr Cameron let him.

Unforgiveably, this situation was never adequately corrected.

@NoSquirrels

It’s total bollocks all round. Most fiction editors spend their time telling aspiring writers to seriously limit their adverbs.

I’m with Stephen King on this.

Yes! I always tell my students to look at the JK Rowling adjective-noun, verb-adverb (and if you want a change, stick the adverb at the front) as an example of what not to do.

Not that it's done her any harm, obvs but boy does it grate after the 500th page following the same pattern.

@SpindleWhorl

Horrifyingly, Mr Gove was allowed to interfere in education policy.

Tragically, Mr Cameron let him.

Unforgiveably, this situation was never adequately corrected.

this one is the example that should be taught in all schools.

@SpindleWhorl

Horrifyingly, Mr Gove was allowed to interfere in education policy.

Tragically, Mr Cameron let him.

Unforgiveably, this situation was never adequately corrected.

I think this may be the best set of fronted adverbials I've ever come across. It could be a SPaG tshirt.

Why do they have to have a poncy name? Why do they have to be taught or mentioned as 'special'? It's just an adverb/adverbial clause at the beginning of the sentence. Why not just mention that they can be used at the beginning of the sentence or elsewhere?

Do we also have centralised adverbials and rear-ended adverbials?

@amicissimma

Why do they have to have a poncy name? Why do they have to be taught or mentioned as 'special'? It's just an adverb/adverbial clause at the beginning of the sentence. Why not just mention that they can be used at the beginning of the sentence or elsewhere?

Do we also have centralised adverbials and rear-ended adverbials?

Yes, this. It's the convoluted naming and teaching that grates, not the grammar. The wording and rules are meaningless to the kids, which makes for awkward writing. In my first language grammar is taught with words that are native and express the word type's function in the sentence. They are also taught after the children have learned to use the grammatical construct. So it becomes simply an easy to understand description of something they already know. I don't understand why they didn't do similar here.

:)

I think the teaching of FA as if they were a thing results in the kinds of problems shown before.
Nowt adverbial about these other than first one.

"Gently, Tom picked the puppy up.
Last week Tom had found a puppy.
Never before had Tom seen such a sweet puppy.
Behind the shed Tom found a puppy."

@FloppyHoldsNoTruckWithFrontedA

I can see "Happily..." being used in Jane Austen but I struggle to imagine good primary school writing including it. "Open to correction though". And of course by secondary school they never talk about/never are taught these things any more.

Re "However" - I think that fronted adverbials are just a made- up-thing but if we accept they are real I don't think "However" would be one because it doesn't answer the questions "how?" or "in what way"? as an adverby thing surely should. Ditto "Given the circumstances" and "Later on that evening". Open to correction of course.

Adverbs can give more info about verbs/adjectives/sentences by manner, time or place, not just how/in what way. A fronted adverbial is just when the adverb or adverbial phrase is placed at the start of the sentence rather than at the middle or the end.

Teaching it doesn’t necessarily mean that every sentence has to start with one. It just gives children another tool to vary some of their sentences. Not all children will pick this up just from reading.

"Adverbs can give more info about verbs/adjectives/sentences by manner, time or place, not just how/in what way."

really? so "tomorrow" is an adverb?
crikey (again) :)

‘Tomorrow’ can function as an adverb, yes. It’s a clunky one to put at the front of a sentence though.

Tomorrow, I am going to work.

The adverb ‘tomorrow’ modifies the verb ‘going’.

The first line of L'Etranger.... Yesterday, mother died.

Re "however" I was taught not to use it at the beginning of a sentence.

Inevitably, I gave up on an otherwise good story teller, CJ Samson, because of his chronic use of these monstrosities