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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 7 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, a ship, sailed.
  • B.At dawn, the ship sailed out of the bay.
  • C.The ship sailed and sailed.
2.Combine: "The fox was hungry. The fox looked for food." Which is best?
  • A.The fox was hungry and the fox looked and looked for food.
  • B.The fox looked. Hungry for food.
  • C.The hungry fox looked for food.
3.When is a short sentence the better choice?
  • A.When you want the statement to land hard
  • B.Only at the start of a paragraph
  • C.Never
4.Which sentence is wordy and needs reducing?
  • A.In my opinion, I think that the play was good.
  • B.I think the play was good.
  • C.The play was good.
5.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.The reason why we were late was the reason the bus was late.
  • C.We were late. Because the bus. It was late.
6.Reduce: "The big, large, huge elephant walked slowly and not fast." Which is best?
  • A.The big large elephant walked.
  • B.The huge elephant walked slowly.
  • C.The elephant, which was huge and large, walked slowly and not fast.
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 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.
8.Expand "The dog barked." to tell why. Which is best?
  • A.The dog barked and barked.
  • B.The dog barked because a stranger was at the gate.
  • C.The dog, a dog, barked.

LessonPrint · L.5.3 · Set 7 · free to copy for classroom use

Answer key — Expand, Combine and Reduce

Set 7. Prints on its own sheet.

  1. 1.At dawn, the ship sailed out of the bay.
  2. 2.The hungry fox looked for food.
  3. 3.When you want the statement to land hard
  4. 4.In my opinion, I think that the play was good.
  5. 5.We were late because the bus was late.
  6. 6.The huge elephant walked slowly.
  7. 7.The bell, green with damp, hung in a barn.
  8. 8.The dog barked because a stranger was at the gate.

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.