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Activities “Conjunctions of time: What are they and how to use them in English?”

By: Lauren Gurteen
Associated Articles

These activities are part of our Grammar series. The skills we are practicing here are covered in our article:

Activity 1: Assemble sentences

Match the two sentence halves to each other and use a conjunction of time to connect them from the list.

She left the party
They have been studying Chinese
I put the cake into the oven
He was singing
The dog kept barking
I promise I will call you back
She added the soap
The children smile
he was in the shower.
I have put the baby to bed.
she saw how late it was.
they started college in 2015.
she turned on the dishwasher.
they see their mom.
I fed her.
I had poured the batter into the tin.

    Note: The answers given below are the best solutions, but in some cases, another solution is technically possible.

  1. after

  2. before

  3. when

    4. → Also acceptable: I promise I’ll call you back when I have put the baby to bed. OR The children smile when they see their mom. But both of these pairs of clauses work better with other conjunctions.

  4. while

  5. as soon as

    6. → Also acceptable: She left the party as soon as she realized how late it was. The first answer is better, because as soon as is a little more emphatic than when.

  6. since

  7. until

  8. whenever

Activity 2: Write your own ending

Now try writing your own! Finish off our sentences with your own ideas. We will provide some suggestions in the answer key for you to compare your answers to.

  • She was talking on the phone while

    e.g. She was talking on the phone while she was cleaning the house.

  • Please put your seatbelt on before

    e.g. Please put your seatbelt on before the airplane takes off.

  • Daddy will be with you as soon as

    e.g. Daddy will be with you as soon as he gets home from work.

  • I would love to see you tonight whenever

    e.g. I would love to see you tonight whenever you have some free time.

  • He was baking a cake when

    e.g. He was baking a cake when the doorbell rang.

  • I have been studying English since

    e.g. I have been studying English since I was ten years old.

  • It is important to study before

    e.g. It is important to revise before you take an exam.

  • They won’t be back until

    e.g. They won’t be back until they have taken the kids to school.

Activity 3: Grammar ID

Part 1:

Can you identify conjunctions of time and prepositions of time? Sort the following sentences and put them into the correct column in the table below:

Sentences:

They stayed out until dawn.
She smiled when she saw he’d brought her flowers.
He arrived after 5 p.m.
I have lived in this house since I was born.
I locked the front door before I left the house.
I’ve been studying English since 2017.
The cat fell asleep after she had eaten her dinner.
I’ll ring you before work.
He smiled at her while dancing.
They kept on singing until they could sing no more.
Conjunctions of time
Prepositions of time

Part 2:

There should be five different conjunctions of time in the sentences we saw above. Now, can you identify the main clause and subordinate clause of each sentence? You can provide the sentences in any order.

  • Main clause:

    Subordinate clause:

  • Main clause:

    Subordinate clause:

  • Main clause:

    Subordinate clause:

  • Main clause:

    Subordinate clause:

  • Main clause:

    Subordinate clause:

The following answers may be listed in any order, but these are the only correct solutions:

Main clause: She smiled
Subordinate clause: when she saw he’d brought her flowers.

Main clause: I have lived in this house
Subordinate clause: since I was born.

Main clause: I locked the front door
Subordinate clause: before I left the house.

Main clause: The cat fell asleep
Subordinate clause: after she had eaten her dinner.

Main clause: They kept on singing
Subordinate clause: until they could sing no more.

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