Prepositions, despite seeming confusing and complex to students, are actually some of the most commonly used words in the English language and are an important steppingstone in developing students’ descriptive writing!

Prepositions have a lot of different functions, such as describing movement, time, place, manner, means, or possession. Prepositional phrases expand the job of prepositions into modifying verbs, nouns, or adjectives in greater detail. Once students understand the function and importance of prepositions and prepositional phrases, their writing fluency will increase, and they’ll be able to write more descriptively and in more detail.

Examples of Prepositions
The basic prepositions that we use most often are:

• to
• of
• in
• for
• on
• with
• at
• by
• from
• above

The main function of these prepositions is to show the relationship between two words in a sentence. For example:

• The table by the window. By, in this sentence, describes the table in relation to the window. It connects the window and the table and adds direction and detail to the sentence.

The words listed above are used in many of our sentences without us realizing it. Notice how many prepositions are used in the previous sentence! They’re everywhere in our language, but how do we teach that to students? Check out some of the activities below.

Beginning Prepositional Phrases

A prepositional phrase is a preposition followed by a noun, pronoun, or noun group. Some examples of this are:

• I went to the store. “To” is the preposition, and “to the store” is the prepositional phrase.

In addition to the prepositions listed above, some other beginning prepositions are:

• across
• behind
• below
• beneath
• near

These prepositions describe position and movement, which is an easy way for students to remember them.

• The plane is below the clouds.
• The river is beneath the bridge.

Evan-Moor’s Language Fundamentals (grades 1–6) is a resource that focuses on teaching the basics of the English language, such as nouns, pronouns, adjectives, and prepositions! Using practice pages, students will learn about each concept and then put it to practice.

Here are some examples of the beginning preposition workbook pages:

 

Download this free introduction to prepositions worksheet from Language Fundamentals.

Advanced Prepositional Phrases

There are other prepositions that can sometimes be more difficult for students to remember. Though they are more advanced, they still function the same as beginning prepositions and serve similar purposes like movement, means, or manner. Here are some examples:

• against
• according
• between
• during
• except
• past
• since
• through
• toward

More advanced prepositions also sometimes use multiple prepositions in one phrase. This is called a complex prepositional phrase. For example:

• The store is across from the gas station.
• According to the news, it will snow today.

There are also adjectival and adverbial prepositional phrases, which use nouns, prepositions, objects, and adjectives to add more detail and description to a sentence. Here is an example:

• The car across the street is purple.

The car is the noun, across the street is the prepositional phrase, and purple is the adjective. Prepositions are often used in a sentence like this to help modify nouns.

Language Fundamentals also covers more advanced prepositions, as well as adjectival and adverbial prepositional phrases. Here are some examples of the lessons students use to practice advanced prepositions:

5 Hands-on Preposition Activities

In addition to worksheets and practice sentences, there are many hands-on activities to help students understand prepositions! These can be done in the classroom, at home, or during online learning!

Simon Says Prepositions Game

• Each student needs a cup (plastic or one from home) and a small toy, like a car or plastic bear.
• Using directional prepositional phrases (below, next to, under, on top of, etc.) call out commands Simon Says style.
• For example: “Simon Says the toy is behind the cup.” Students must follow suit until you have a winner!
• You can also practice writing sentences by having students place the toy and then write a sentence describing its position.

Preposition Scavenger Hunt

• Hide an object in the classroom or at home, then give clues (or have your students give you clues), but they can only use prepositions.
• For example: The object is under the desk. The desk is next to the window.
• Challenge your students to give descriptive clues or make it a rule that the searchers can’t move unless they get a clue. This activity is fun for students and practices prepositional phrases.

Preposition Pictionary

• All you need for this simple and fun activity is drawing paper and pens or a whiteboard and markers.
• Read a prepositional phrase, like “The dog is next to the cat.”
• Have students draw the picture to match the sentence.
• Now reverse it! Draw a picture for the class, like a car on top of a bridge.
• Students must write a sentence describing the picture!

Preposition Board Games

• Adapt one of your favorite board games to use prepositions for movement! This can be done with a variety of board games, but the easiest may be Candy Land.
• Instead of pulling color block cards for movement, write a series of cards that have directional prepositions on them (before, after, between, in front of, behind, across, below, above).
• Students will pull a preposition card, for example, behind, and then a color card! If they pull behind and purple, they move to whatever color is behind the nearest purple. If they pull a between card, they pull two color cards and move to a space between those two cards.

Square Movement Game

• Using an outdoor space (this is a great activity for in-person, distanced learning) mark out squares using tape or chalk. Model it after a chess or checkerboard.
• Have students each pick a square.
• Call out prepositional commands, for example: Move to the square in front of you! Skip to the square across from you.
• To make this more fun and active, label each square with an exercise, like jumping jacks, star jumps, or toe touches.

Using the activities, workbooks, and resources provided, prepositions can be easy and fun for students. Mastering prepositions is the next step in improving writing fluency and allows students to be more descriptive in their writing for all subjects!

For more grammar and punctuation tips check out: How to Teach Grammar and Punctuation: Commas.

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Christine Wooler has experience working with children as a youth soccer coach and summer camp counselor. She is currently studying English Literature and journalism in college. She enjoys exploring educational topics that help students have fun while learning.