This document discusses various types of adverbial clauses of time in English. It describes temporal subordinators like when, whenever, while, as, as long as, till/until, since, after, and before and how they introduce adverbial clauses that indicate the time of the situation in the main clause. It also discusses non-finite adverbial clauses of time introduced by gerunds, present and past participles, and perfect participles, and the use of when and while with participial clauses.

1. ADVERBIAL CLAUSES
Adverbial Clauses of Time

2. ADVERBIAL CLAUSES
Same function as adverbial phrases in a simple
sentence
Adverbial clauses = Adjuncts
Modify the verb of the main clause
Subordinators – connect the main clause with
the adverbial clause
E.g. Her goldfish died when she was young.

3. Adverbial Clauses of Time
Relate the time of the situation denoted in the
main clause
Can be FINITE and NON-FINITE
Express time of the action
Time can be: FIXED_TIME, DURATION OR
FREQUENCY.
Time relations – can be simultaneous, one action
may follow or precede the other, etc.

5. The subordinator WHEN
• Very frequent
• Actions - Either simultaneous or follow each
other
Simultaneous, e.g. You seem very happy when you
help other people.
Follow, e.g. She felt happy when she saw her
friend.

6. • My father was shaving
when the doorbell ran.
• The children screamed
when they saw a snake in
the classroom.

7. a. When – a coordinator
When = and then
e.g. I approached the car when I saw its door
broken.
b. When introducing a noun clause
e.g. When the bus arrives is not known yet.
c. The subordinator when can introduce a clause
in an NP – postM function; The case when the
headword denotes time
e.g. The moment when I saw you will never be
forgotten.

8. Adverbs of time
Directly, immediately, instantly, once – may function as
subordinators of time when the subordinator WHEN
is dropped,
e.g. We will go out to dinner once the movie ends.
e.g. Directly he was paid, he went out shopping.
e.g. She returned immediately she heard the news.

9. The subordinator WHenever
“At whatever time”, “no matter when”, etc.
e.g. Whenever I study Math, I get confused and
upset.

10. The subordinator while
“During the time that”, “at the same time that” –
denotes a continuous activity
e.g. While you wait, we will detail your car.
o Sometimes While equal to though
e.g. While I fully understand your point of view, I
also have some sympathy with Michael’s.
o While can sometimes be equal to the coordinator
BUT
e.g. Tom is very extrovert and confident while
Katy’s shy and quiet.

11. The subordinator AS
Introduces a clause – the action in progress
a) The action in the main clause – simultaneous
as = when = while
e.g. He gets more attractive as he gets older.
b) Gradual development of a process,
e.g. As she was growing up, she became more and
more beautiful.
c) The action of the main clause can follow the action
in the subordinate clause. AS is usually premodified
by the adverb just.
e.g. The building collapsed just as he arrived.

12. The subordinator as long as
Almost equal to while
e.g. We can sit here as long as we wait.

13. The subordinators till and until
“up to the time when”
e.g. Fry the onions till they start to color.
e.g. I can’t pay my bills until my paycheck comes.

14. The subordinator since
“from the time that”, “after the time that”
e.g. John has been a student in college since he
was 17 years old.

15. The subordinator after
The action of the subordinate clause precedes
the action of the main clause
e.g. After I ate dinner, I took a walk.

16. The subordinator before
The action of the main clause precedes the
action of the subordinate clause of time
e.g. Before Melissa went to class, she studied
for the quiz.

17. NON-FINITE CLAUSES AS ADVERBIAL
CLAUSES
Gerundial Clauses
Participial Clauses
Perfect Participles
The subordinators when and while – used with
participial clauses of time

18. Gerundial Clauses of time
Introduced by the prepositions:
on – Emphasize an idea on an immediate
succession, e.g. On arriving home, everybody
surprised him.
in - show the time of the action in the main
clause, e. g. I enjoy myself in driving too fast.

19. Participial Clauses of time
Present Participle, e.g. Spending all the
money, he came back home.
Past Participle, e.g. That done, he moved on
with the household chores.

20. Perfect Participles
Adverbial clauses of time can be performed by
perfect participles, e.g. Having said that, he
continued presenting the winners of the
competition.

21. The subordinators WHEN and While used
with participial clauses
e.g. While eating, I choked on a bone.
e.g. When doing my homework, I prefer listening
to music.

22. The subordinator When
Obligatory in these cases:
 When = whenever
E.g. When driving on slippery roads, don’t use
brakes at all.
If the subordinate clause follows the main clause
E.g. When playing chess, he always smoked cigars.

23. The subordinator WHILE
Obligatory in the following cases:
 When it is equivalent to a finite adverbial clause
e.g. While cleaning the car, I found this under the
seat.
When the participial clause of time follows the main
clause
e.g. I noticed a cute baby while looking out of the
window.
When the time relation between the subordinate
and the main clause must not change
e.g. While finishing her research paper, she worked
as a teacher.

24. Past participial clauses of time
Can be:
• Related participial structures
e.g. Asked why she cried, she said she didn’t
know.
• Absolute participial structures
e.g. The letter finished, he took it to the post
office.

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