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Expand and Combine Sentences is a free printable Grade 5 English worksheet on building sentences that show how ideas relate, aligned to Common Core standard W.5.4. 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 14 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.

Expand and Combine Sentences

W.5.4

NameDate

Tick the right answer.

1.Which is a dialect difference rather than an error?
  • A."I were sat there" in some northern English varieties
  • B.Leaving out a full stop
  • C.Spelling "their" as "there"
2.Why does a report avoid the first person?
  • A.Because "I" is informal
  • B.Because reports must be long
  • C.Because it presents events rather than one person's experience of them
3.Why combine two short sentences into one?
  • A.To make the writing longer
  • B.To show how the ideas relate rather than just listing them
  • C.To use fewer full stops
4.Which shows a difference between spoken and written English?
  • A.Speech uses more commas
  • B.Speech can trail off; writing usually finishes the thought
  • C.Writing is always formal
5.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
6.Which sentence is expanded most usefully?
  • A.The mill, which was a mill, closed.
  • B.The mill, which had run since 1868, closed on Friday.
  • C.The mill closed on Friday, and it was a Friday.
7.When is a short sentence the better choice?
  • A.Only at the start of a paragraph
  • B.When you want the statement to land hard
  • C.Never
8."He would rather not say." Why might a writer report this instead of quoting it?
  • A.To save space
  • B.To keep the focus on the refusal rather than the words
  • C.Because quotations are banned

LessonPrint · W.5.4 · Set 14 · free to copy for classroom use

Answer key — Expand and Combine Sentences

Set 14. Prints on its own sheet.

  1. 1."I were sat there" in some northern English varieties
  2. 2.Because it presents events rather than one person's experience of them
  3. 3.To show how the ideas relate rather than just listing them
  4. 4.Speech can trail off; writing usually finishes the thought
  5. 5.How that person would really speak
  6. 6.The mill, which had run since 1868, closed on Friday.
  7. 7.When you want the statement to land hard
  8. 8.To keep the focus on the refusal rather than the words

Last reviewed 2026-09-05. Aligned to W.5.4 of the Common Core State Standards for English language arts.