Home / English / Printables / Grade 5 / Adapt Speech to the Context Adapt Speech to the Context is a free printable Grade 5 English worksheet on choosing the register a task and situation call for, aligned to Common Core standard SL.5.6. 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.
One paper per pupil
Set 1 has all 25 in a single PDF. All 25 sets ask different questions.
Adapt Speech to the Context SL.5.6
Name Date
Tick the right answer.
1. "He would rather not say." Why might a writer report this instead of quoting it?
A. To save space B. Because quotations are banned C. To keep the focus on the refusal rather than the words 2. Why does a report avoid the first person?
A. Because reports must be long B. Because it presents events rather than one person's experience of them C. Because "I" is informal 3. Three accounts of one closure disagree. What is the most likely explanation?
A. The event did not happen B. Two of them are lying C. Each is written from a different position 4. Which account is most likely to give you a total?
A. The owner's account B. The newspaper report C. The worker's account 5. Which is a dialect difference rather than an error?
A. Spelling "their" as "there" B. Leaving out a full stop C. "I were sat there" in some northern English varieties 6. You are writing dialogue for a character from a particular place. What should guide you?
A. How that person would really speak B. Formal written standard, always C. The shortest possible words 7. Which shows a difference between spoken and written English?
A. Speech uses more commas B. Writing is always formal C. Speech can trail off; writing usually finishes the thought 8. A mill owner's account leaves out the wage figures. Why might that be?
A. They are secret B. They were not what he was arguing about C. He did not know them LessonPrint · SL.5.6 · Set 11 · free to copy for classroom use
Answer key — Adapt Speech to the Context Set 11. Prints on its own sheet.
1. To keep the focus on the refusal rather than the words 2. Because it presents events rather than one person's experience of them 3. Each is written from a different position 4. The newspaper report 5. "I were sat there" in some northern English varieties 6. How that person would really speak 7. Speech can trail off; writing usually finishes the thought 8. They were not what he was arguing about Last reviewed 2026-09-05. Aligned to SL.5.6 of the Common Core State Standards for English language arts.