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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 20 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."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
2.Combine: "The bell hung in a barn. It was green with damp." Which is best?
  • A.The bell, green with damp, hung in a barn.
  • B.Green with damp the bell hung in a barn.
  • C.The bell hung in a barn and it was green with damp and it was there a long time.
3.Which is a dialect difference rather than an error?
  • A.Spelling "their" as "there"
  • B."I were sat there" in some northern English varieties
  • C.Leaving out a full stop
4.Which sentence is expanded most usefully?
  • A.The mill, which was a mill, closed.
  • B.The mill closed on Friday, and it was a Friday.
  • C.The mill, which had run since 1868, closed on Friday.
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.Why does a report avoid the first person?
  • A.Because it presents events rather than one person's experience of them
  • B.Because reports must be long
  • C.Because "I" is informal
7.Which sentence uses its punctuation to create a pause for effect?
  • A.She, said, yes.
  • B.She said yes. Eventually.
  • C.She said yes eventually and that was that.
8.When is a short sentence the better choice?
  • A.When you want the statement to land hard
  • B.Only at the start of a paragraph
  • C.Never

LessonPrint · W.5.4 · Set 20 · free to copy for classroom use

Answer key — Expand and Combine Sentences

Set 20. Prints on its own sheet.

  1. 1.To keep the focus on the refusal rather than the words
  2. 2.The bell, green with damp, hung in a barn.
  3. 3."I were sat there" in some northern English varieties
  4. 4.The mill, which had run since 1868, closed on Friday.
  5. 5.How that person would really speak
  6. 6.Because it presents events rather than one person's experience of them
  7. 7.She said yes. Eventually.
  8. 8.When you want the statement to land hard

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