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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 5 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.Expand "The ship sailed." to tell when and where. Which is best?
  • A.The ship sailed and sailed.
  • B.The ship, a ship, sailed.
  • C.At dawn, the ship sailed out of the bay.
2.Reduce: "The big, large, huge elephant walked slowly and not fast." Which is best?
  • A.The elephant, which was huge and large, walked slowly and not fast.
  • B.The big large elephant walked.
  • C.The huge elephant walked slowly.
3.Combine: "The bell hung in a barn. It was green with damp." Which is best?
  • A.The bell, green with damp, 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.Green with damp the bell hung in a barn.
4.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
5.Why combine two short sentences into one?
  • A.To make the writing longer
  • B.To show how the ideas relate rather than just listing them
  • C.Because short sentences are always wrong
6.Reduce: "The reason why we were late was because the bus was late." Which is best?
  • A.We were late because the bus was late.
  • B.We were late. Because the bus. It was late.
  • C.The reason why we were late was the reason the bus was late.
7.Combine: "Maya won the race. She had trained for months." Which is best?
  • A.Maya won the race, she had trained for months.
  • B.Maya won the race because she had trained for months.
  • C.Maya had trained for months and won and the race.
8.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.

LessonPrint · L.5.3 · Set 5 · free to copy for classroom use

Answer key — Expand, Combine and Reduce

Set 5. Prints on its own sheet.

  1. 1.At dawn, the ship sailed out of the bay.
  2. 2.The huge elephant walked slowly.
  3. 3.The bell, green with damp, hung in a barn.
  4. 4.When you want the statement to land hard
  5. 5.To show how the ideas relate rather than just listing them
  6. 6.We were late because the bus was late.
  7. 7.Maya won the race because she had trained for months.
  8. 8.It was sunny but cold.

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.