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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 18 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.Which is most likely to be firsthand?
  • A.An encyclopaedia article
  • B.A diary entry written that night
  • C.A textbook chapter
2.Why does a report avoid "I"?
  • A.Because it presents the events rather than one person's experience
  • B.Because reports must be long
  • C.Because "I" is misspelled easily
3.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
4.When should you choose the shorter word?
  • A.When it says the same thing as clearly
  • B.Only in speech
  • C.Never
5.What makes an account firsthand?
  • A.It is written by somebody who was there
  • B.It is written first
  • C.It is longer
6.Which is most likely to be secondhand?
  • A.A photograph taken at the time
  • B.A report written years later from records
  • C.A letter written the same week
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.Which belongs in dialogue between friends?
  • A.You're making a fuss.
  • B.Your concern is disproportionate.
  • C.You are exhibiting excessive concern.

LessonPrint · SL.4.6 · Set 18 · free to copy for classroom use

Answer key — Formal and Informal English

Set 18. Prints on its own sheet.

  1. 1.A diary entry written that night
  2. 2.Because it presents the events rather than one person's experience
  3. 3.It is the precise term readers of that subject expect
  4. 4.When it says the same thing as clearly
  5. 5.It is written by somebody who was there
  6. 6.A report written years later from records
  7. 7.I was the one who said it was nothing.
  8. 8.You're making a fuss.

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.