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Expand, Combine and Reduce is a free printable Grade 5 English worksheet on reshaping sentences for meaning and interest, aligned to Common Core standard L.5.3. 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 students in the class work from the same page. Print it from the browser or download it as a PDF — no account, no email.

Set 11 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, Combine and Reduce

L.5.3

NameDate

Circle the right answer.

1.Which sentence is wordy and needs reducing?
  • A.I think the play was good.
  • B.In my opinion, I think that the play was good.
  • C.The play was good.
2.Reduce: "The big, large, huge elephant walked slowly and not fast." Which is best?
  • A.The big large elephant walked.
  • B.The elephant, which was huge and large, walked slowly and not fast.
  • C.The huge elephant walked slowly.
3.Expand "The dog barked." to tell why. Which is best?
  • A.The dog, a dog, barked.
  • B.The dog barked because a stranger was at the gate.
  • C.The dog barked and barked.
4.When is a short sentence the better choice?
  • A.Only at the start of a paragraph
  • B.Never
  • C.When you want the statement to land hard
5.Expand "The ship sailed." to tell when and where. Which is best?
  • A.At dawn, the ship sailed out of the bay.
  • B.The ship sailed and sailed.
  • C.The ship, a ship, sailed.
6.Combine: "Maya won the race. She had trained for months." Which is best?
  • A.Maya had trained for months and won and the race.
  • B.Maya won the race, she had trained for months.
  • C.Maya won the race because she had trained for months.
7.Reduce: "The reason why we were late was because the bus was late." Which is best?
  • A.We were late because the bus was late.
  • B.The reason why we were late was the reason the bus was late.
  • C.We were late. Because the bus. It was late.
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.Because short sentences are always wrong

LessonPrint · L.5.3 · Set 11 · free to copy for classroom use

Answer key — Expand, Combine and Reduce

Set 11. Prints on its own sheet.

  1. 1.In my opinion, I think that the play was good.
  2. 2.The huge elephant walked slowly.
  3. 3.The dog barked because a stranger was at the gate.
  4. 4.When you want the statement to land hard
  5. 5.At dawn, the ship sailed out of the bay.
  6. 6.Maya won the race because she had trained for months.
  7. 7.We were late because the bus was late.
  8. 8.To show how the ideas relate rather than just listing them

More practice for L.5.3

Expand and combine sentences for meaning, and compare varieties of English.

Teaching this next? Combining Sentences for Style is the 40-minute plan for it, with the misconceptions to expect.

All Grade 5 worksheets

Last reviewed 2026-09-05. Aligned to L.5.3 of the Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts.