Prepositions of Place: Where Is the Cat? Free KS2 Worksheet

What your child practises on this worksheet

This sheet focuses on prepositions of place — words that show the position of one thing relative to another. By describing exactly where the cat is in the picture, children learn to choose the most precise preposition rather than relying on a vague answer like ‘there’. The task moves them from recognising prepositions to using them confidently in writing, which is the step the national curriculum expects in Year 3. A preposition is always followed by a noun or noun phrase (under the table, on the sofa). Without one, the same word is working as an adverb: in ‘The cat ran under’, under is an adverb. Writing complete sentences (rather than single words) also reinforces capital letters, full stops and clear subject-verb structure, so a grammar activity quietly doubles as sentence-writing practice.

How to use it at home or in the classroom

Begin with the colouring: it settles children and gives them time to study the scene before they write. Once the room is coloured, talk through the picture together — ‘Where is the cat? What is it next to? What is above it?’ — before any writing begins. Encourage children to point to the objects as they describe them, as physical gesture helps fix the meaning of each preposition. For the writing task, remind them to start each sentence with a capital letter and end with a full stop, and to choose a preposition from the word bank that matches the picture exactly. Pairs or small groups can compare their sentences afterwards; there is often more than one correct way to describe a position, which makes for good discussion.

Why prepositions of place matter

Accurate prepositions make writing clear. Without them, a description can leave the reader guessing — ‘the cat is the table’ tells us nothing useful. Mastering position words supports children far beyond English lessons: they describe diagrams in science, give directions in geography and explain their methods in maths. Prepositions are also among the words most easily confused by children learning English as an additional language, so deliberate, picture-based practice is valuable. Because the meaning is anchored to a clear image, this worksheet suits a wide range of confidence levels within the 7-to-9 age band.

Extending the activity

The first two gaps on the sheet show that position is relative: the cat is under the table, so the table is above the cat. Once the sheet is complete, stretch confident writers by asking them to do the same with another pair, such as ‘The cushions are on the sofa’ and ‘The sofa is under the cushions’. You might also play a quick spoken game: one person describes where an object is in the real room and the other has to find it using only the preposition clue. To link the work to wider grammar, point out that prepositions also express time and cause (‘before tea’, ‘because of the rain’), so children begin to see that one small group of words does several jobs in English.

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