Linking paragraphs with adverbials
Link ideas across paragraphs using adverbials of time (later, meanwhile, after a while), place (nearby, far away, beyond the wall), and order or addition (secondly, finally, in addition) to guide the reader through a multi-paragraph text
What a learner can do afterwards
- Begin a new paragraph with a time adverbial to show when events happen, including a later time or events happening at the same time, e.g. 'Meanwhile, back at the castle...' or 'Several hours later, the storm finally passed'
- Use adverbials of place to move the reader to a new location between paragraphs, e.g. 'Beyond the forest, the land was flat and dry'
- Use ordering adverbials such as 'firstly', 'secondly' and 'finally' to structure points across report paragraphs, and addition adverbials such as 'in addition' to introduce another point without numbering it
1 · Read
You already link ideas inside a paragraph. An adverbial can also connect a new paragraph by showing time, place, point order or addition. 'Later' and 'after a while' show that time has passed. 'At dawn' and 'by the following morning' name times. A named time does not always mean later: check the events around it. A paragraph does not always need a linking opener.
A knight rides into a forest. The next paragraph begins: 'Meanwhile, back at the castle, the queen paced the halls.' 'Meanwhile' means the events happen at the same time. 'Back at the castle' gives the new place. Place links include 'nearby', meaning close by, and 'far away', meaning distant. 'Beyond the hill' or 'beyond the wall' means on the other side.
'Firstly', 'Secondly' and 'Thirdly' number points in a report. 'Finally' can mark the last point. 'In addition' and 'also' add another point without numbering it. To vary repeated openers, choose another link that keeps the intended meaning. Do not replace an addition link with a time or place link unless the meaning calls for that change. Reports can use headings too; not every paragraph needs a numbering word.
In this punctuation practice, place a comma after the complete opening adverbial: 'Before supper, the children washed their hands.' The comma marks where the opener ends. Find that boundary by identifying the whole phrase. Linking adverbials can also appear later in a sentence or paragraph. Here, you are practising them at paragraph openings.
Match a time opener to the stated gap. 'Moments later' suggests a short gap; 'many years later' suggests a long one. 'Meanwhile' means at the same time. Use the time given in the writing rather than guessing how long an event takes. Within the same day, dawn comes before lunchtime, and night comes later.
A paragraph opener can contain separate time and place links. In 'After lunch, outside the shop, a dog waited', 'after lunch' gives time and 'outside the shop' gives place. To remove the time information but keep the place, write 'Outside the shop, a dog waited.' Check the job of each phrase before removing it.
Use a paragraph opener when it helps show the connection. Match its meaning to time, place, point order or addition.
Original lesson, questions and flashcards written for this dataset about time, place, order and addition links between paragraphs.
2 · Watch
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Where it sits
Learn first
Optional connections
Where this leads
Jobs that lean on this skill. Follow one to see everything it is built on.
24 questions wait behind this lesson, each with its answer explained. Every answer feeds the sky: stars light as they are learned, and dim when it is time to come back.