--- title: "Expressing Time, Place and Cause" description: "Use conjunctions (when, before, after, while, so, because), adverbs (then, next, soon, therefore) and prepositions (before, after, during, in, because of) to express time, place and cause within and a" canonical: https://lightmysky.com/learn/english/expressing-time-place-and-cause-mt_uorNrPTh6U source: https://lightmysky.com/learn/english/expressing-time-place-and-cause-mt_uorNrPTh6U.md retrieved: 2026-11-12 --- > **Agent view.** This is the Markdown twin of the page, for tools and assistants. > When to use this site, and the call that answers each job: https://lightmysky.com/agent-instructions.md > API description (OpenAPI 3.1): https://lightmysky.com/openapi.json · Authentication: https://lightmysky.com/auth.md > Pricing: https://lightmysky.com/pricing.md · Catalog: https://lightmysky.com/llms.txt · Full catalog: https://lightmysky.com/llms-full.txt > Every machine-readable file on this domain: https://lightmysky.com/.well-known/ai-catalog.json > Ask for Markdown with `Accept: text/markdown`, a `.md` address, or `?mode=agent`. # Expressing Time, Place and Cause Use conjunctions (when, before, after, while, so, because), adverbs (then, next, soon, therefore) and prepositions (before, after, during, in, because of) to express time, place and cause within and across sentences Subject: English · Area: Grammar & Punctuation · Ages 7 to 8 Page: https://lightmysky.com/learn/english/expressing-time-place-and-cause-mt_uorNrPTh6U ## Ready when they can - Use conjunctions to show time or cause, such as 'After the bell rang, we lined up' and 'We went inside because it was raining' - Use adverbs to show order, a short wait or a result, such as then, next, soon and therefore - Use prepositions to show time, place or cause, such as 'during the lesson', 'before lunch', 'in the classroom' and 'because of the rain' ## Lesson: Showing time, place and cause You have used when and because to join ideas. When tells a time. Before means earlier than; after means later than. 'Before I painted, I covered the table.' 'After the paint dried, I hung the picture.' While can show actions happening together: 'I listened while I painted.' *(drawing: First marks the start, next marks a following step, and finally marks the last step. You do not need all these words in every story.)* A noun names a person, place or thing. A noun group can have several words, like 'the heavy rain'. Prepositions go with noun groups. During the game means within the game's time. Before lunch means earlier than lunch; after lunch means later. In the hall tells where. Because of the rain gives a cause. Because gives a reason: 'I wore boots because the path was muddy.' Verbs tell actions or states: wore tells an action; was tells a state. Because of takes a noun group: 'I wore boots because of the mud.' The mud names a thing, with no verb. Move the whole because part first: 'Because the path was muddy, I wore boots.' Put a comma after this opening part. Then and next show what follows. They do not say that it follows at once. Soon means after a short time. Finally can mark the last event in a story. These words can appear in a new sentence. 'The timer rang. Soon, I took out the cake.' The full stop keeps these as two sentences. Because introduces a reason. So can introduce its result: 'The room was dark, so I switched on a lamp.' Therefore can also show a result: 'The room was dark. Therefore, I switched on a lamp.' Here, therefore begins the second sentence. It does not join the sentences into one. **Recap.** Use time words for order or timing, place phrases for where, and cause words for reasons or results. Soon means after a short time. *Original lesson, practice questions and flashcards written for this learning dataset.* ## Practice 24 questions on this page, each with its working shown. ## Needs first - [Prepositions](https://lightmysky.com/learn/english/prepositions-mt_VY3rBq8RyP) - [Subordinate clauses](https://lightmysky.com/learn/english/subordinate-clauses-mt_wq-1OJ_8s5) ## Opens up - [Fronted Adverbials and Commas](https://lightmysky.com/learn/english/fronted-adverbials-and-commas-mt_0QJoKWABdC) - [Cohesion within paragraphs](https://lightmysky.com/learn/english/cohesion-within-paragraphs-mt_4-vfMgmCVB) - [Prepositional Phrases](https://lightmysky.com/learn/english/prepositional-phrases-mt_7SfQuXgNtd) - [Conjunctions, Prepositions and Interjections](https://lightmysky.com/learn/english/conjunctions-prepositions-and-interjections-mt_LN_g2b3d34)