What does the 4th grade standard ask about prepositions?

Common Core L.4.1.e asks students to form and use prepositional phrases, not just spot single words. That's why our 4th grade sheets use longer sentences with fuller phrases: the goal is recognizing "through the crowded hallway" as one unit of meaning.

Can a sentence have more than one prepositional phrase?

Constantly. "Before school, Marcus waited by the gate with his cousin" has three. Fourth graders should find them all, which is exactly the kind of full-sentence sweep these generated worksheets are built for.

4th grade identifying prepositions

4th grade identifying prepositions worksheets

A preposition starts a prepositional phrase: through the tunnel, before the storm, against the wall. Fourth graders identify the preposition and the phrase it begins, and use those phrases to add detail to their own writing.

Free printable PDF worksheet, aligned to Common Core L.4.1.e.

Each print is a different sheet with its own answer key. You don't need to sign up.

The kind of sentences you'll get

Underline every preposition in each sentence.

Meteorologists at the station track powerful hurricanes with their radar and weather balloons.
Answer: at and with
Wolves howled across the frozen valley under a pale moon.
The data looked promising despite the small sample.

Every print pulls a new set of sentences at this level, so a make-up test or a second sibling gets a different mix.

What's on a 4th grade sheet

4th grade sheets draw from 253 sentences, 12 to a page. 100 of the 253 aren't on 3rd grade sheets. The other 153 are.

Some of the words to find:

abovetowardpastbetweenbelowbesideinsideupthanwithin

Identify. Underline every preposition in each sentence. 12 questions per page.
Multiple choice. Circle the letter of the word that is a preposition. 10 questions per page.

Every version prints on US Letter or A4, with its answer key on the last page.

How to teach this

At this level the phrase is the point. Ask students to find the preposition, mark the phrase, and then say what question it answers: where, when, or how. Sentences with two phrases ("After the game, we walked along the river") are worth extra practice, and they preview how prepositional phrases will show up in writing instruction.

Watch for: Many prepositions are tiny words (in, on, at, of), so students read past them. Small doesn't mean unimportant. A preposition always has a partner noun after it: under the porch, with my friend. If there's no partner, it's working as a different part of speech.

Common questions about 4th grade identifying prepositions

What does the 4th grade standard ask about prepositions?: Common Core L.4.1.e asks students to form and use prepositional phrases, not just spot single words. That's why our 4th grade sheets use longer sentences with fuller phrases: the goal is recognizing "through the crowded hallway" as one unit of meaning.
Can a sentence have more than one prepositional phrase?: Constantly. "Before school, Marcus waited by the gate with his cousin" has three. Fourth graders should find them all, which is exactly the kind of full-sentence sweep these generated worksheets are built for.

Related worksheets

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Aligned to Common Core L.4.1.e. Reviewed by the One more sheet team. Content version 240, updated July 2026.

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