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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 24 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.Leaving out a full stop
  • B.Spelling "their" as "there"
  • C."I were sat there" in some northern English varieties
2.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
3.Which sentence uses its punctuation to create a pause for effect?
  • A.She said yes. Eventually.
  • B.She, said, yes.
  • C.She said yes eventually and that was that.
4.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.
5.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
6.Why combine two short sentences into one?
  • A.To make the writing longer
  • B.To use fewer full stops
  • C.To show how the ideas relate rather than just listing them
7."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
8.Why does a report avoid the first person?
  • A.Because reports must be long
  • B.Because "I" is informal
  • C.Because it presents events rather than one person's experience of them

LessonPrint · W.5.4 · Set 24 · free to copy for classroom use

Answer key — Expand and Combine Sentences

Set 24. Prints on its own sheet.

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

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