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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 20 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.How can you tell a text's structure quickly?
  • A.Look at what each paragraph does, not what it is about
  • B.Count the paragraphs
  • C.Read the last line
2.Which sentence is expanded most usefully?
  • A.The mill closed on Friday, and it was a Friday.
  • B.The mill, which was a mill, closed.
  • C.The mill, which had run since 1868, closed on Friday.
3.Why combine two short sentences into one?
  • A.To use fewer full stops
  • B.To show how the ideas relate rather than just listing them
  • C.To make the writing longer
4.Can one text use more than one structure?
  • A.No, never
  • B.Yes — a chronological text can contain a comparison
  • C.Only in fiction
5.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
6.Which shows a difference between spoken and written English?
  • A.Speech can trail off; writing usually finishes the thought
  • B.Speech uses more commas
  • C.Writing is always formal
7.Two texts describe the same closure, one chronologically and one by cause. What does that change for the reader?
  • A.Nothing at all
  • B.Only the length
  • C.What the reader ends up understanding — the sequence, or the reasons
8.Combine: "The bell hung in a barn. It was green with damp." Which is best?
  • A.The bell hung in a barn and it was green with damp and it was there a long time.
  • B.The bell, green with damp, hung in a barn.
  • C.Green with damp the bell hung in a barn.

LessonPrint · L.5.3 · Set 20 · free to copy for classroom use

Answer key — Expand, Combine and Reduce

Set 20. Prints on its own sheet.

  1. 1.Look at what each paragraph does, not what it is about
  2. 2.The mill, which had run since 1868, closed on Friday.
  3. 3.To show how the ideas relate rather than just listing them
  4. 4.Yes — a chronological text can contain a comparison
  5. 5.When you want the statement to land hard
  6. 6.Speech can trail off; writing usually finishes the thought
  7. 7.What the reader ends up understanding — the sequence, or the reasons
  8. 8.The bell, green with damp, hung in a barn.

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.