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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 12 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.The play was good.
  • B.I think the play was good.
  • C.In my opinion, I think that the play was good.
2.Expand "The dog barked." to tell why. Which is best?
  • A.The dog barked because a stranger was at the gate.
  • B.The dog barked and barked.
  • C.The dog, a dog, barked.
3.Combine: "The fox was hungry. The fox looked for food." Which is best?
  • A.The fox was hungry and the fox looked and looked for food.
  • B.The hungry fox looked for food.
  • C.The fox looked. Hungry for food.
4.Combine: "Maya won the race. She had trained for months." Which is best?
  • A.Maya won the race because she had trained for months.
  • B.Maya had trained for months and won and the race.
  • C.Maya won the race, she had trained for months.
5.Combine using a word that shows contrast: "It was sunny. It was cold."
  • A.It was sunny so cold.
  • B.It was sunny, it was cold.
  • C.It was sunny but cold.
6.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.
7.Why combine two short sentences into one?
  • A.To show how the ideas relate rather than just listing them
  • B.To make the writing longer
  • C.Because short sentences are always wrong
8.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

LessonPrint · L.5.3 · Set 12 · free to copy for classroom use

Answer key — Expand, Combine and Reduce

Set 12. Prints on its own sheet.

  1. 1.In my opinion, I think that the play was good.
  2. 2.The dog barked because a stranger was at the gate.
  3. 3.The hungry fox looked for food.
  4. 4.Maya won the race because she had trained for months.
  5. 5.It was sunny but cold.
  6. 6.The huge elephant walked slowly.
  7. 7.To show how the ideas relate rather than just listing them
  8. 8.When you want the statement to land hard

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.