Prepositions Worksheets
About Our Prepositions Worksheets
Prepositions are the tiny map pins of English-they tell us where and when things happen, and how ideas connect. Add a short phrase like on the shelf, after lunch, or with a grin, and suddenly a plain sentence becomes helpful and vivid. These worksheets turn that little-word magic into easy habits students can use in every subject.
Why does it matter? Because readers crave context: time, place, manner, and purpose. When students place prepositional phrases accurately, their writing stops feeling vague and starts guiding the reader like turn-by-turn directions. Clarity improves, confusion drops, and even short sentences feel complete.
This collection mixes quick identifications, picture prompts, tiny edits, and sentence makeovers so the skill sticks without getting stale. Students learn to spot the preposition, find its object, and park the phrase exactly where it belongs. By the end, "where/when/how" details show up naturally-precise, readable, and confident.
A Look At Each Worksheet
Basket Buddies
A sporty scene invites students to describe action using prepositions of place and movement. They'll place players under the hoop, near the line, or into position with crisp phrases. Game on, grammar sharp.
Beach View
Postcard-style images push learners to add location and time details: on the sand, at sunrise, by the pier. It's summer vibes with structure. Descriptions turn clear without getting wordy.
Choose and Use
Students pick the best preposition for each sentence, then rewrite to show the full phrase in context. Quick choices become confident sentences. Decision → application → mastery.
Near and Dear
This sheet spotlights prepositions that show proximity-near, next to, beside, by-and when each feels right. Subtle differences click through side-by-side practice. Small words, big clarity.
Picture Perfect
Photos cue sentence starters, and students finish them with tidy prepositional phrases. Visuals make the target obvious; writing makes it stick. Ideal for multilingual learners.
Picture Prep
A second round of image-based prompts focuses on movement vs. location-into vs. in, onto vs. on. Learners choose precisely and hear the difference. The right word lands the meaning.
Poetic Preps
Students try prepositional phrases in short, image-rich lines-under the silver moon, beyond the ridge. It's style practice with solid grammar bones. Sound good, read better.
Preposition Hunt
A short passage hides prepositional phrases for students to circle and label as adjective or adverb. Reading and grammar team up. Detect, describe, done.
Preposition Pick
Multiple-choice items zoom in on tricky pairs like at/in/on for time and place. Explanations right after the choice cement understanding. Accuracy rises fast.
Preposition Placement
Learners move phrases to fix awkward or ambiguous sentences. Put each phrase next to what it describes and watch meaning snap into place. Goodbye, accidental comedy.
Preposition Puzzle
Jumbled words become clean phrases and sentences once students arrange them correctly. It's puzzle-solving with a grammar payoff. Satisfying clicks guaranteed.
Prompted Places
Context prompts (school, park, kitchen) ask for precise location phrases. Students supply just enough detail-no more, no less. Real-world writing, clearer and quicker.
School Scene
Hallway, classroom, playground-every setting begs for a well-placed phrase. Learners practice in the cafeteria, between classes, after recess. Everyday English, polished.
Single Sentence
One sentence; three revisions-front, middle, and end placement of a prepositional phrase. Students hear how position changes rhythm and emphasis. Same idea, better flow.
Winter Words
Cold-weather images spark phrases like under the blanket, by the fire, during the storm. Seasonal context makes practice memorable. Grammar gets cozy.
What Are Prepositions?
Prepositions are short words (like in, on, at, by, with, from, to, into, onto, under, over, between, during, after) that begin a prepositional phrase and show relationships of time, place, manner, cause, purpose, and more. A complete phrase includes the preposition and its object-usually a noun or pronoun, possibly with modifiers: in the old library, with her best friend. These little bundles add precision without adding clutter.
Prepositional phrases work either as adjectives (describing nouns: the book on the shelf ) or as adverbs (modifying verbs/adjectives/adverbs: She ran with confidence ). Knowing which role a phrase plays helps students place it correctly and avoid accidental ambiguity. If a meaning feels fuzzy, check what the phrase is actually modifying.
Some prepositions come in pairs that signal movement vs. location. Use into/onto for motion (He jumped into the pool; she climbed onto the stage), and in/on when something is stationary (He's in the pool; the trophy is on the stage). Choosing the motion word eliminates common "Wait, did it move or not?" confusion.
Time and place have their own favorites. In general usage, we say at 3:00, on Monday, in July; at the corner, on the street, in the city. These patterns sound natural because readers expect them; teaching them as mini-idioms helps the habit form quickly.
Prepositions always need an object when they're functioning as prepositions: not "She sat next to," but "She sat next to me." After a preposition, pronouns take object case (me, him, her, us, them), not subject case (I, he, she, we, they). Keeping those two rules front and center prevents a lot of tiny, distracting errors.
Finally, placement is power. Put a prepositional phrase next to what it modifies to prevent misfires: Using binoculars, she spotted the eagle (not the eagle using binoculars!). Trim redundant pairings like off of in formal writing, and don't overpack sentences-one right phrase beats three fuzzy ones. Read aloud; the natural-sounding version is usually the correct one.
Common Mistakes with Prepositions
Sentence - "She sat next to."
Corrected Sentence - "She sat next to her friend."
Why Is That Correct? - Prepositions take objects; "next to" must be followed by a noun or pronoun. Adding the object completes the phrase and the meaning.
Sentence - "He jumped in the pool." (movement is intended)
Corrected Sentence - "He jumped into the pool."
Why Is That Correct? - Use into for motion toward the inside and in for location. Switching to into makes the action unambiguous.
Sentence - "Please take your shoes off of the couch."
Corrected Sentence - "Please take your shoes off the couch."
Why Is That Correct? - In standard formal usage, off of is redundant. Off + object is concise and correct.