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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 2 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: "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 won the race, she had trained for months.
  • C.Maya had trained for months and won and the race.
2.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 hung in a barn and it was green with damp and it was there a long time.
  • C.The bell, green with damp, hung in a barn.
3.Combine using a word that shows contrast: "It was sunny. It was cold."
  • A.It was sunny but cold.
  • B.It was sunny, it was cold.
  • C.It was sunny so cold.
4.Why combine two short sentences into one?
  • A.Because short sentences are always wrong
  • B.To show how the ideas relate rather than just listing them
  • C.To make the writing longer
5.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.
6.Combine: "The fox was hungry. The fox looked for food." Which is best?
  • A.The fox looked. Hungry for food.
  • B.The hungry fox looked for food.
  • C.The fox was hungry and the fox looked and looked for food.
7.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
8.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.

LessonPrint · L.5.3 · Set 2 · free to copy for classroom use

Answer key — Expand, Combine and Reduce

Set 2. Prints on its own sheet.

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

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.