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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 15 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.Combine: "The bell hung in a barn. It was green with damp." Which is best?
  • A.Green with damp the bell hung in a barn.
  • B.The bell, green with damp, hung in a barn.
  • C.The bell hung in a barn and it was green with damp and it was there a long time.
2.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.
3.Expand "The dog barked." to tell why. Which is best?
  • A.The dog barked and barked.
  • B.The dog barked because a stranger was at the gate.
  • C.The dog, a dog, barked.
4.Reduce: "The reason why we were late was because the bus was late." Which is best?
  • A.We were late. Because the bus. It was late.
  • B.The reason why we were late was the reason the bus was late.
  • C.We were late because the bus was late.
5.Combine: "The fox was hungry. The fox looked for food." Which is best?
  • A.The hungry fox looked for food.
  • B.The fox was hungry and the fox looked and looked for food.
  • C.The fox looked. Hungry for food.
6.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.
7.Why combine two short sentences into one?
  • A.Because short sentences are always wrong
  • B.To make the writing longer
  • C.To show how the ideas relate rather than just listing them
8.Which sentence is expanded most usefully?
  • A.The mill, which had run since 1868, closed on Friday.
  • B.The mill, which was a mill, closed.
  • C.The mill closed on Friday, and it was a Friday.

LessonPrint · L.5.3 · Set 15 · free to copy for classroom use

Answer key — Expand, Combine and Reduce

Set 15. Prints on its own sheet.

  1. 1.The bell, green with damp, hung in a barn.
  2. 2.At dawn, the ship sailed out of the bay.
  3. 3.The dog barked because a stranger was at the gate.
  4. 4.We were late because the bus was late.
  5. 5.The hungry fox looked for food.
  6. 6.In my opinion, I think that the play was good.
  7. 7.To show how the ideas relate rather than just listing them
  8. 8.The mill, which had run since 1868, closed on Friday.

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.