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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 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

Tick the right answer.

1.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
2.Which sentence is expanded most usefully?
  • A.The mill closed on Friday, and it was a Friday.
  • B.The mill, which had run since 1868, closed on Friday.
  • C.The mill, which was a mill, closed.
3.Two texts describe the same closure, one chronologically and one by cause. What does that change for the reader?
  • A.Only the length
  • B.What the reader ends up understanding — the sequence, or the reasons
  • C.Nothing at all
4.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
5.How can you tell a text's structure quickly?
  • A.Read the last line
  • B.Look at what each paragraph does, not what it is about
  • C.Count the paragraphs
6.Why combine two short sentences into one?
  • A.To make the writing longer
  • B.To use fewer full stops
  • C.To show how the ideas relate rather than just listing them
7.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.
8."He would rather not say." Why might a writer report this instead of quoting it?
  • A.To keep the focus on the refusal rather than the words
  • B.To save space
  • C.Because quotations are banned

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

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.