Cohesion within paragraphs · seed 1 · A4, ink-friendly. The answer key prints on its own page for grown-ups.

Making sentences flow together

English · Grammar & Punctuation · ages 9-11
Name ______________________   Date ____________

  1. Which word could replace 'the birds' in the second sentence? 'The birds built a nest in the oak tree. ___ lined it with soft grass.'

    • It
    • They
    • She

  2. Which word could replace 'the dog' in the second sentence? 'The dog barked at the gate. ___ ran into the garden.'

    • Barked
    • It
    • Gate

  3. Which phrase could replace 'the ship' in the second sentence? 'The ship sailed out of the harbour. ___ disappeared over the horizon.'

    • The huge vessel
    • The ship
    • The harbour

  4. Which word shows the order that ideas happen in a paragraph?

    • Loudly
    • Then
    • Yesterday

  5. 'Tom kicked the ball. It flew past the keeper. Bananas are great. The crowd cheered.' Which sentence breaks the flow of the paragraph?

    • Bananas are great.
    • It flew past the keeper.
    • The crowd cheered.

  6. 'The old lighthouse stood on the cliff.' Which next sentence links to it best?

    • Lighthouses are tall towers.
    • It had warned ships for a hundred years.
    • The lighthouse stood on the cliff.

  7. 'Sam loves painting. Sam paints every weekend. Sam's paintings hang in the hallway.' What best fixes the repetition?

    • Repeat 'Sam' one more time
    • Replace the second and third 'Sam' with 'he' and 'his'
    • Add more sentences about Sam

  8. 'The power went out during the storm. ___, we lit candles and told stories.' Which word fits the blank?

    • Firstly
    • Finally
    • Therefore

  9. 'Firstly, we mixed the flour and sugar. ___ we added the eggs. ___ we baked the cake. ___ we ate every crumb.' Which set of linking words fits the blanks in order?

    • But, Or, So
    • Then, After that, Finally
    • As a result, Therefore, Consequently

  10. Which version best fixes this paragraph? 'The fox crept through the grass. The fox sniffed the air. The fox ran off.'

    • The fox crept. The fox sniffed. The fox.
    • The fox crept through the grass. The fox crept more. The fox ran.
    • The fox crept through the grass. Then the animal sniffed the air. Finally, it ran off.
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Answer key

For grown-ups. Fold this page away before handing over the rest.

Making sentences flow together W1-mt_4-vfMgmCVB-s1

  1. They · 'They' is the pronoun that matches a group like 'the birds'. 'It' and 'She' only fit one thing or one person.
  2. It · 'It' is a pronoun that stands in for 'the dog', so the noun doesn't repeat.
  3. The huge vessel · 'The huge vessel' is a synonym for 'the ship'. It links the sentences without repeating the noun.
  4. Then · 'Then' is an adverbial of sequence, it tells the reader what happens next.
  5. Bananas are great. · The banana sentence changes the topic, so it breaks the link between the football sentences. Every sentence should connect to the one before it.
  6. It had warned ships for a hundred years. · 'It' links straight back to the lighthouse and adds new information. Repeating the sentence adds nothing.
  7. Replace the second and third 'Sam' with 'he' and 'his' · Swapping repeated names for pronouns like 'he' and 'his' keeps the paragraph clear and less repetitive.
  8. Therefore · 'Therefore' is a cause adverbial. The candles were lit because the power went out.
  9. Then, After that, Finally · Baking happens step by step, so sequence words fit. Cause words would say each step caused the next.
  10. The fox crept through the grass. Then the animal sniffed the air. Finally, it ran off. · The fix swaps in the synonym 'the animal' and the pronoun 'it', and adds 'Then' and 'Finally' to show order.
Worksheet · LightMySky