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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 9 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.When is a short sentence the better choice?
  • A.When you want the statement to land hard
  • B.Never
  • C.Only at the start of a paragraph
2.Why does a report avoid the first person?
  • A.Because "I" is informal
  • B.Because it presents events rather than one person's experience of them
  • C.Because reports must be long
3."He would rather not say." Why might a writer report this instead of quoting it?
  • A.To keep the focus on the refusal rather than the words
  • B.To save space
  • C.Because quotations are banned
4.Which sentence uses its punctuation to create a pause for effect?
  • A.She said yes eventually and that was that.
  • B.She, said, yes.
  • C.She said yes. Eventually.
5.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.
6.You are writing dialogue for a character from a particular place. What should guide you?
  • A.Formal written standard, always
  • B.The shortest possible words
  • C.How that person would really speak
7.Which shows a difference between spoken and written English?
  • A.Writing is always formal
  • B.Speech uses more commas
  • C.Speech can trail off; writing usually finishes the thought
8.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

LessonPrint · W.5.4 · Set 9 · free to copy for classroom use

Answer key — Expand and Combine Sentences

Set 9. Prints on its own sheet.

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

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