Prepositions Worksheet: Position and Direction, Greek Myths, Grades 3-5

A preposition is a small word that shows how one thing stands next to another. It can show where a thing is. It can show which way a thing moves. It can also show when something happens. Look at this sentence. The hero walked into the maze. The word into is a preposition. It tells you which way the hero went. Take that one small word out and the sentence falls apart.

Here is a test you can use. Take the small word away and leave a gap. The hero walked ___ the maze. Now try words in the gap and read each one out loud. He walked in the maze. He walked into the maze. He walked out of the maze. He walked through the maze. He walked around the maze. He walked past the maze. He walked toward the maze. Every one of those words fits the gap. Every one of them changes where the hero goes. That is the maze test. If a word fits that gap and changes where, the word is a preposition.

Prepositions do three jobs. The first job is position. Position means where a thing sits or stands next to something else. These words show position: in, on, under, over, beside, between, and behind. The owl sat on the wall. Nothing moved at all. The word on only told you where the owl was. The second job is direction. Direction means the way something moves. These words show direction: into, out of, through, toward, past, around, across, down, and to. The ship sailed across the sea. Something moved, and across told you which way. The third job is time. These words show time: before, after, during, and until. The gods met before the storm. That sentence says nothing about place. The word before tells you when.

Long ago on the island of Crete, a king kept a labyrinth. A labyrinth is a huge maze of twisting stone halls. It was easy to enter and almost impossible to leave. A hero carried a ball of thread in his hand. He tied the thread to a post. Then he walked through the gate. He walked down the steps. He walked past a cold pool. He walked around a corner. He walked into the dark heart of the maze. Watch what that thread did. It traced one preposition after another, in order, all the way in. When the hero wanted out, he followed the thread back.

Here is how to name the job a preposition is doing. Step one, find the small word. Step two, ask if it tells where. Step three, if it tells where, ask if anything is moving. Nothing moving means position. Something moving means direction. Step four, if it does not tell where at all, ask if it tells when. If it tells when, the job is time. Now work one. We waited under the porch during the rain. The word under tells where, and nobody is moving, so under shows position. The word during does not tell where. It tells when, so during shows time. One last thing to hold on to. A preposition never stands alone. It always points at a noun a word or two after it, as in under the porch and during the rain.