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 24 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.What does a colon usually signal?

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

2.Which is most likely to be firsthand?

A.An encyclopaedia article
B.A textbook chapter
C.A diary entry written that night

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

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

4.Which is most likely to be secondhand?

A.A report written years later from records
B.A letter written the same week
C.A photograph taken at the time

5.Why does a report avoid "I"?

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

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

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

7.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.

8.Which belongs in dialogue between friends?

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

LessonPrint · SL.4.6 · Set 24 · free to copy for classroom use

Answer key — Formal and Informal English

Set 24. Prints on its own sheet.

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