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

One paper per pupil

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25

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.Which belongs in dialogue between friends?

A.You are exhibiting excessive concern.
B.Your concern is disproportionate.
C.You're making a fuss.

2.What makes an account firsthand?

A.It is written by somebody who was there
B.It is written first
C.It is longer

3.What does a colon usually signal?

A.The end of a paragraph
B.A change of speaker
C.That an explanation or a list follows

4.Why does a report avoid "I"?

A.Because "I" is misspelled easily
B.Because reports must be long
C.Because it presents the events rather than one person's experience

5.Which belongs in a formal report?

A.Loads of them had sorted it.
B.Eleven of fourteen households had prepared.
C.Most people, like, moved stuff.

6.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

7.You are writing a diary entry. Which suits it?

A.I was the one who said it was nothing.
B.The warning was issued at six.
C.Eleven households had prepared by midnight.

8.Why choose "expel" rather than "push out" in a science text?

A.It is longer
B.It is the precise term readers of that subject expect
C.It sounds friendlier

LessonPrint · SL.4.6 · Set 17 · free to copy for classroom use

Answer key — Formal and Informal English

Set 17. Prints on its own sheet.

1.You're making a fuss.
2.It is written by somebody who was there
3.That an explanation or a list follows
4.Because it presents the events rather than one person's experience
5.Eleven of fourteen households had prepared.
6.A report written years later from records
7.I was the one who said it was nothing.
8.It is the precise term readers of that subject expect

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.