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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 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 17 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

Tick 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.Why combine two short sentences into one?
  • A.To show how the ideas relate rather than just listing them
  • B.To use fewer full stops
  • C.To make the writing longer
3.Which shows a difference between spoken and written English?
  • A.Writing is always formal
  • B.Speech can trail off; writing usually finishes the thought
  • C.Speech uses more commas
4.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.
5.Two texts describe the same closure, one chronologically and one by cause. What does that change for the reader?
  • A.Nothing at all
  • B.What the reader ends up understanding — the sequence, or the reasons
  • C.Only the length
6.How can you tell a text's structure quickly?
  • A.Count the paragraphs
  • B.Look at what each paragraph does, not what it is about
  • C.Read the last line
7."He would rather not say." Why might a writer report this instead of quoting it?
  • A.To save space
  • B.To keep the focus on the refusal rather than the words
  • C.Because quotations are banned
8.When is a short sentence the better choice?
  • A.Never
  • B.When you want the statement to land hard
  • C.Only at the start of a paragraph

LessonPrint · L.5.3 · Set 17 · free to copy for classroom use

Answer key — Expand, Combine and Reduce

Set 17. Prints on its own sheet.

  1. 1.The bell, green with damp, hung in a barn.
  2. 2.To show how the ideas relate rather than just listing them
  3. 3.Speech can trail off; writing usually finishes the thought
  4. 4.The mill, which had run since 1868, closed on Friday.
  5. 5.What the reader ends up understanding — the sequence, or the reasons
  6. 6.Look at what each paragraph does, not what it is about
  7. 7.To keep the focus on the refusal rather than the words
  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.