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Varieties of English is a free printable Grade 5 English worksheet on recognizing dialect and register differences, 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 14 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.

Varieties of English

L.5.3

NameDate

Circle the right answer.

1.Which sentence is in a formal register?
  • A.I would be grateful if you could reply soon.
  • B.Write back soon, OK?
  • C.Get back to me!
2.Why might an author write a character's speech in dialect?
  • A.To show where the character comes from and make them sound real
  • B.Because dialect is the only correct way to write
  • C.To make the story harder to read
3.The narrator writes in standard English, but the characters speak in dialect. Why?
  • A.Because the narrator is not allowed to speak
  • B.The author changed their mind halfway
  • C.So the characters' voices sound different from the narrator's
4.What is a dialect?
  • A.A kind of poem
  • B.A form of a language spoken in one place or by one group
  • C.A mistake in spelling
5.In a story, a farmer says, "We're fixing to plant the corn." What does the way he speaks show?
  • A.That the farmer is not telling the truth
  • B.A spelling mistake by the author
  • C.How people talk in his part of the country
6.In a poem, the speaker says "I ain't got no fear of the dark." Why might the poet write it this way?
  • A.To show the poem is a list
  • B.To give the speaker a real, local voice
  • C.Because the poet does not know grammar
7.When you write a school report, which variety of English should you use?
  • A.Text-message shorthand
  • B.Standard English in a formal register
  • C.The dialect you use with friends
8.Which word names how formal or informal language is for a situation?
  • A.dialect
  • B.rhyme
  • C.register

LessonPrint · L.5.3 · Set 14 · free to copy for classroom use

Answer key — Varieties of English

Set 14. Prints on its own sheet.

  1. 1.I would be grateful if you could reply soon.
  2. 2.To show where the character comes from and make them sound real
  3. 3.So the characters' voices sound different from the narrator's
  4. 4.A form of a language spoken in one place or by one group
  5. 5.How people talk in his part of the country
  6. 6.To give the speaker a real, local voice
  7. 7.Standard English in a formal register
  8. 8.register

Last reviewed 2026-09-05. Aligned to L.5.3 of the Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts.