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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 4 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.A textbook chapter
  • B.An encyclopaedia article
  • C.A diary entry written that night
2.You are writing a diary entry. Which suits it?
  • A.The warning was issued at six.
  • B.I was the one who said it was nothing.
  • C.Eleven households had prepared by midnight.
3.When should you choose the shorter word?
  • A.Only in speech
  • B.When it says the same thing as clearly
  • C.Never
4.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
5.Which is most likely to be secondhand?
  • A.A letter written the same week
  • B.A photograph taken at the time
  • C.A report written years later from records
6.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
7.What does a colon usually signal?
  • A.That an explanation or a list follows
  • B.A change of speaker
  • C.The end of a paragraph
8.What makes an account firsthand?
  • A.It is longer
  • B.It is written by somebody who was there
  • C.It is written first

LessonPrint · SL.4.6 · Set 4 · free to copy for classroom use

Answer key — Formal and Informal English

Set 4. Prints on its own sheet.

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

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.