Identifying Prepositions Worksheets
A preposition is a connecting word that usually tells where or when: the cat hid under the porch, we read after lunch. Second graders learn the common ones (in, on, at, under, with, by) and find them in sentences. A helpful picture: a preposition is anywhere a squirrel can be compared to a tree.
By grade
What students need to know
A preposition tells where, when, or how something connects: in, on, under, after, with.
This skill runs from 1st grade through 4th grade. Pick a grade above for level-matched sentences, teaching notes, and worksheets.
Identifying Prepositions across the grades
1st Grade
Prepositions are little where-words: in, on, under, by. They tell where something is or where it's going. First graders find the where-word in short sentences, a skill their hands already know from putting toys in boxes and cups on tables.
2nd Grade
A preposition is a connecting word that usually tells where or when: the cat hid under the porch, we read after lunch. Second graders learn the common ones (in, on, at, under, with, by) and find them in sentences. A helpful picture: a preposition is anywhere a squirrel can be compared to a tree.
3rd Grade
A preposition connects a noun to the rest of the sentence, usually telling where, when, or how: across the field, during recess, with a flashlight. Third graders find prepositions quickly once they learn the common set, and they start noticing the whole phrase that follows.
4th Grade
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, per the grade-4 standard, and use those phrases to add detail to their own writing.