The AAAWWUUBBIS
Grade 5 Language Arts
As
Although
After
While
When
Unless
Until
Before
Because
If
Since
Name: __________________________________
Mrs. Christianson
An AAAWWUUBBIS is the opener to a sentence. In technical
terms, it is a dependent clause.
•
Dependent means it can’t be a sentence on its own.
•
A clause is a related group of words that has its own
subject and predicate, but it doesn’t present a
complete thought and can’t stand alone as a
sentence.
Example:
Since you are not familiar with this, we will have to learn
all about it.
• When an AAAWWUUBBIS starts a sentence, it will need a comma
after it. An AAAWWUUBBIS always starts with an AAAWWUUBBIS
word.
• If the AAAWWUUBBIS occurs later in the sentence, it will not need a
comma.
Although I don’t like homework, I enjoyed reading fantasy novels.
After we finish fantasy, we will read historical fiction.
AAAWWUUBBISes cannot be sentences on their own because they need
another sentence to help complete the thought. An AAAWWUUBBIS
works best when it follows the formula below:
AAAWWUUBBIS + sentence that could stand on its own
Let’s see if we can combine some sentences to create one sentence that
starts with an AAAWWUUBBIS.
He ate dinner.
Then he went to Phil’s house.
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They ate all of the candy.
No one was hungry for dessert.
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Save your money.
You could buy a video game.
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He is a good dog.
Toto got a treat.
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I see the street sign.
I know to turn right.
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The leaves are changing colors.
We know autumn is here.
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His mom was sick.
Will’s dad took him to school.
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