Free Year 5 Commas in prepositional phrases Practice | Skillo

Year 5 students preparing for NAPLAN need to be confident with commas in prepositional phrases. Use commas to indicate prepositional phrases set off from the main clause. Skillo has targeted practice questions for this exact skill, mapped to the Australian Curriculum v9.0, free and ready to go.

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What is tested: Commas in prepositional phrases

✓Use commas to indicate prepositional phrases set off from the main clause.
✓Questions test identification and correction of errors
✓Both Australian English conventions and sentence structure are assessed

Sample questions

Question 1 — Easy

Choose the correctly punctuated sentence.

A) Near the old fig tree Priya found a blue-tongue lizard.

B) Near the old fig tree, Priya found a blue-tongue lizard.

C) Near, the old fig tree Priya found a blue-tongue lizard.

D) Near the old, fig tree Priya found a blue-tongue lizard.

Answer: When a prepositional phrase ('Near the old fig tree') opens a sentence and is set off from the main clause, a comma follows it. Option B places the comma correctly after the introductory prepositional phrase. Options A, C, and D either omit the comma or place it incorrectly inside the phrase.

Question 2 — Medium

Which sentence uses commas correctly with the introductory prepositional phrase?

A) During the school, swimming carnival Kofi broke his personal record.

B) During the school swimming, carnival Kofi broke his personal record.

C) During the school swimming carnival, Kofi broke his personal record.

D) During the school swimming carnival Kofi broke his personal record.

Answer: The introductory prepositional phrase 'During the school swimming carnival' must be followed by a comma before the main clause begins. Option C does this correctly. Options A and B place the comma mid-phrase, which is wrong, and Option D omits the comma altogether.

Question 3 — Hard

Where should the comma be placed in this sentence? 'On the long drive to Uluru Tom listened to music the whole way.'

A) On the long, drive to Uluru Tom listened to music the whole way.

B) On the long drive to Uluru, Tom listened to music the whole way.

C) On the long drive to, Uluru Tom listened to music the whole way.

D) On the long drive to Uluru Tom listened, to music the whole way.

Answer: The prepositional phrase 'On the long drive to Uluru' introduces the sentence and must be separated from the main clause by a comma. Option B places the comma correctly at the end of the full phrase. The other options place the comma incorrectly within the phrase or within the main clause.

How to use Skillo for Year 5 Grammar

Select Year 5 and Grammar on the home screen
Use Quick Practice — questions on commas in prepositional phrases will appear as part of the session
Check the Skill Breakdown on your profile to track your accuracy on commas in prepositional phrases specifically
Review explanations after each question to understand the reasoning behind correct answers

Skillo is free, requires no email or account details, and is built specifically for Australian students. Every question is mapped to the Australian Curriculum v9.0 and filtered by skill so your child practises exactly what they need.

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