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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 5 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 secondhand?
  • A.A letter written the same week
  • B.A photograph taken at the time
  • C.A report written years later from records
2.When should you choose the shorter word?
  • A.When it says the same thing as clearly
  • B.Never
  • C.Only in speech
3.Which is most likely to be firsthand?
  • A.A textbook chapter
  • B.An encyclopaedia article
  • C.A diary entry written that night
4.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
5.You are writing a diary entry. Which suits it?
  • A.I was the one who said it was nothing.
  • B.Eleven households had prepared by midnight.
  • C.The warning was issued at six.
6.Which belongs in a formal report?
  • A.Loads of them had sorted it.
  • B.Most people, like, moved stuff.
  • C.Eleven of fourteen households had prepared.
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 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 5 · free to copy for classroom use

Answer key — Formal and Informal English

Set 5. Prints on its own sheet.

  1. 1.A report written years later from records
  2. 2.When it says the same thing as clearly
  3. 3.A diary entry written that night
  4. 4.It is the precise term readers of that subject expect
  5. 5.I was the one who said it was nothing.
  6. 6.Eleven of fourteen households had prepared.
  7. 7.Because it presents the events rather than one person's experience
  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.