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Formal and Informal English is a free printable Grade 4 English worksheet on choosing the register a situation calls for, aligned to Common Core standard SL.4.6. It prints 8 questions with an answer key on its own sheet of paper, in 25 versions that each ask different questions, so no two pupils in the class work from the same page. Print it from the browser or download it as a PDF — no account, no email.

Set 16 of 25 · the same problems every time you open this link.

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Set 1 has all 25 in a single PDF. All 25 sets ask different questions.

Formal and Informal English

SL.4.6

NameDate

Tick the right answer.

1.What makes an account firsthand?
  • A.It is written by somebody who was there
  • B.It is longer
  • C.It is written first
2.Why choose "expel" rather than "push out" in a science text?
  • A.It is the precise term readers of that subject expect
  • B.It sounds friendlier
  • C.It is longer
3.When should you choose the shorter word?
  • A.Never
  • B.When it says the same thing as clearly
  • C.Only in speech
4.Which is most likely to be firsthand?
  • A.A diary entry written that night
  • B.An encyclopaedia article
  • C.A textbook chapter
5.Which is most likely to be secondhand?
  • A.A photograph taken at the time
  • B.A letter written the same week
  • C.A report written years later from records
6.Which belongs in dialogue between friends?
  • A.You are exhibiting excessive concern.
  • B.You're making a fuss.
  • C.Your concern is disproportionate.
7.Why does a report avoid "I"?
  • A.Because reports must be long
  • B.Because it presents the events rather than one person's experience
  • C.Because "I" is misspelled easily
8.Which belongs in a formal report?
  • A.Most people, like, moved stuff.
  • B.Loads of them had sorted it.
  • C.Eleven of fourteen households had prepared.

LessonPrint · SL.4.6 · Set 16 · free to copy for classroom use

Answer key — Formal and Informal English

Set 16. Prints on its own sheet.

  1. 1.It is written by somebody who was there
  2. 2.It is the precise term readers of that subject expect
  3. 3.When it says the same thing as clearly
  4. 4.A diary entry written that night
  5. 5.A report written years later from records
  6. 6.You're making a fuss.
  7. 7.Because it presents the events rather than one person's experience
  8. 8.Eleven of fourteen households had prepared.

More practice for SL.4.6

Tell when to use formal English and when informal is fine.

Teaching this next? Formal and Informal Situations is the 40-minute plan for it, with the misconceptions to expect.

All Grade 4 worksheets

Last reviewed 2026-09-05. Aligned to SL.4.6 of the Common Core State Standards for English language arts.