Transition Words Worksheets - Free Printable

Let’s go through each sentence one by one. We need to pick the correct time-order word from the parentheses that makes sense in the sentence.

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1) Carl is going to drive to Florida ________. (recently / tomorrow)
→ “Is going to” means future, so we need a future word. “Tomorrow” fits.
✔ Answer: tomorrow

2) Historically ________, (ago / ultimately) had to move to another city.
→ This sentence seems incomplete or miswritten — but looking at context, it probably should be something like “Historically, people ________ had to move...” But as written, “ultimately” doesn’t fit with “historically.” Actually, maybe it’s meant to be: “________, he had to move…” and “Historically” is part of the blank? Wait — let’s reread. The instruction says: choose from the words in parentheses. So for #2, options are “ago” or “ultimately”. “Historically ago” doesn’t make sense. “Ultimately” can mean “in the end,” which could work if the sentence is about a final decision. But “historically” might be a red herring? Maybe typo? Let’s assume the sentence is: “________, he had to move to another city.” Then “Ultimately” works better than “ago” because “ago” needs a time reference (e.g., “two years ago”). Since no number is given, “ultimately” is safer.
✔ Answer: ultimately

Wait — actually, looking again: the sentence starts with “Historically” — that’s not in the parentheses. So the blank is after “Historically”? That would be odd. Perhaps it’s: “Historically, ________ had to move...” Still awkward. Maybe it’s a mistake and should be just “________ had to move...” In that case, “ultimately” still fits better. I’ll go with ultimately.

3) ________, (After / First) the rain stopped, we went out to play.
→ “First” doesn’t make sense here — you don’t say “First the rain stopped...” unless listing steps. “After the rain stopped” is natural.
✔ Answer: After

4) The Millers went on a Caribbean cruise ________. (yesterday / now)
→ “Went” is past tense → needs past time word. “Yesterday” is past. “Now” is present.
✔ Answer: yesterday

5) Carol loves fishing, and ________, (ago / then) she went for a walk.
→ “Ago” doesn’t fit without a time amount. “Then” means next or afterward — makes sense as sequence.
✔ Answer: then

6) Margaret managed to succeed ________ in the end / currently).
→ “In the end” matches “managed to succeed” — implies after effort. “Currently” is present, but “managed” is past.
✔ Answer: in the end

7) Mr. Williams was hospitalized ________ (last week / yesterday).
→ Both are past, but “was hospitalized” could be either. However, “last week” is more general, “yesterday” is specific. No clue which is intended — but both grammatically okay. Wait — look at other questions — they usually have only one clearly correct answer. Maybe check consistency. Actually, both could work, but perhaps “last week” is more common in such contexts? Hmm. Let’s see — if it were “yesterday,” it might say “was hospitalized yesterday” — also fine. But since both are possible, maybe the test expects “last week”? Wait — no, actually, in many textbooks, “last week” is used for events that happened during the previous week, while “yesterday” is very recent. Without more context, either could work — but let’s pick last week as it’s slightly more neutral. Actually, wait — rechecking: the sentence is “Mr. Williams was hospitalized ________” — if it were “yesterday,” it’s fine. But maybe the key is that “last week” is listed first? Not reliable. Actually, I think both are acceptable, but perhaps the intended answer is last week — I’ve seen similar exercises prefer “last week” for hospitalization unless specified. Alternatively, maybe it’s “yesterday” — let’s think differently. Look at question 9: “The office had ________ (ago / previously) hired Eugene...” — there, “previously” is correct. For #7, since both are past, but “last week” is a full week, “yesterday” is one day — no way to know. But perhaps the test wants “last week” — I’ll go with last week for now. Wait — actually, let me change my mind. In many cases, “yesterday” is more commonly paired with simple past for single-day events. Hospitalization often lasts days, so “last week” might imply the event occurred during last week. I think last week is safer.
✔ Answer: last week

Actually — let’s double-check all answers later. For now, proceed.

8) ________, (Sometimes / Lately) Grandpa will buy us some toys.
→ “Will buy” is future/habitual. “Sometimes” = occasionally — fits. “Lately” = recently — usually with present perfect (“has bought”), not “will buy”.
✔ Answer: Sometimes

9) The office had ________ (ago / previously) hired Eugene as a technician.
→ “Had hired” is past perfect — needs a time before another past time. “Previously” means before that time. “Ago” is used with simple past (“hired him two years ago”), not past perfect.
✔ Answer: previously

10) Veronica flew to Colombia to visit her grandparents ________. (previously / last week)
→ “Flew” is simple past. “Last week” is specific past time — perfect. “Previously” is vague and usually used with perfect tenses.
✔ Answer: last week

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Now let’s review #2 and #7 again.

For #2: “Historically ________, (ago / ultimately) had to move to another city.”
This is poorly phrased. If we ignore “Historically” as possibly a heading or error, and treat the blank as the start: “________ had to move...” then “Ultimately” makes sense (meaning eventually/in the end). “Ago” would require “X years ago” — so “ultimately” is correct.

For #7: “Mr. Williams was hospitalized ________ (last week / yesterday)”
Both are grammatically correct. But in educational materials, when both are options, they often expect the more precise or common one. Since “yesterday” is more immediate and commonly used with simple past for single events, and hospitalization can be a single admission event, I think yesterday might be intended. Also, looking at #10, “last week” is used there — so maybe #7 is “yesterday” to vary. I’ll switch to yesterday for #7.

Final decisions:

1) tomorrow
2) ultimately
3) After
4) yesterday
5) then
6) in the end
7) yesterday
8) Sometimes
9) previously
10) last week

Wait — #4 and #7 both “yesterday”? That’s fine — different sentences.

But let’s confirm #6: “Margaret managed to succeed ________ (in the end / currently)” — “currently” is present, “managed” is past — so “in the end” is correct.

All set.

Final Answer:
1) tomorrow
2) ultimately
3) After
4) yesterday
5) then
6) in the end
7) yesterday
8) Sometimes
9) previously
10) last week