Skip to content
LessonPrint

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 19 of 25 · the same problems every time you open this link.

Next set

One paper per student

12345678910111213141516171819202122232425

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.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
2.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.Because the poet does not know grammar
  • C.To give the speaker a real, local voice
3.Why might an author write a character's speech in dialect?
  • A.Because dialect is the only correct way to write
  • B.To make the story harder to read
  • C.To show where the character comes from and make them sound real
4.Which is a dialect difference rather than an error?
  • A.Spelling "their" as "there"
  • B."I might could help" in some Southern US varieties
  • C.Forgetting the capital letter at the start of a sentence
5.Which word names how formal or informal language is for a situation?
  • A.dialect
  • B.rhyme
  • C.register
6.What is a dialect?
  • A.A mistake in spelling
  • B.A form of a language spoken in one place or by one group
  • C.A kind of poem
7.Which sentence is in a formal register?
  • A.Write back soon, OK?
  • B.I would be grateful if you could reply soon.
  • C.Get back to me!
8.You are writing dialogue for a character from a particular place. What should guide you?
  • A.Formal written standard, always
  • B.The shortest possible words
  • C.How that person would really speak

LessonPrint · L.5.3 · Set 19 · free to copy for classroom use

Answer key — Varieties of English

Set 19. Prints on its own sheet.

  1. 1.Standard English in a formal register
  2. 2.To give the speaker a real, local voice
  3. 3.To show where the character comes from and make them sound real
  4. 4."I might could help" in some Southern US varieties
  5. 5.register
  6. 6.A form of a language spoken in one place or by one group
  7. 7.I would be grateful if you could reply soon.
  8. 8.How that person would really speak

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