Varying Sentence Structure · seed 1 · A4, ink-friendly. The answer key prints on its own page for grown-ups.

Mixing Up Your Sentences

English · Grammar & Punctuation · ages 10-11
Name ______________________   Date ____________

  1. Which sentence has repeated words that could be cut?

    • The two twins both arrived together at the same time.
    • The twins arrived just before the film started.
    • My brother met the twins at the bus stop.

  2. A writer changed 'The wind howled. The shutters banged.' into 'When the wind howled, the shutters banged.' Which move is that?

    • Expanding a plain sentence with extra detail.
    • Reducing a sentence by cutting repeated words.
    • Combining two short sentences into one.

  3. Which sentence combines two ideas using subordination?

    • The rain fell. The game stopped.
    • Because the rain fell, the game stopped.
    • The rain fell, the game stopped, and everyone left.

  4. Reducing a wordy sentence means removing words that repeat the same meaning, while keeping the sentence's meaning the same.

    Circle one:   True   False

  5. A story ends: 'The final ending of the story was a happy and cheerful ending.' Which move does this sentence need?

    • Reduce it, because words repeat an idea it already said.
    • Expand it, because it needs more detail.
    • Combine it with the sentence before it.

  6. Reduce this sentence without losing any real information: 'The very tiny little mouse ran quickly and fast under the door.'

    • The mouse ran.
    • The very tiny mouse ran quickly and fast.
    • The tiny mouse ran quickly under the door.

  7. Which appositive correctly renames the noun? 'My neighbor, ___, waters my plants when I'm away.'

    • a friendly retired teacher,
    • she waters plants every day,
    • who is very nice and also

  8. Which version expands 'The gate opened.' with real detail instead of just more words?

    • The gate opened, and the gate opened wide open.
    • The gate opened slowly, with a long metal groan.
    • The gate, which was a gate, opened.

  9. A writer expanded 'The house was old.' into 'The house, which was old, which had a red door, which creaked, was old.' What went wrong?

    • It repeats 'which' and 'old,' making it clunky instead of descriptive.
    • It doesn't have any descriptive detail.
    • It is too short to expand more.

  10. Join these three ideas into one smooth sentence: 'The lights went out. The music stopped. Everyone cheered.'

    • The lights went out, and the music stopped, and everyone cheered.
    • The lights went out the music stopped everyone cheered.
    • When the lights went out and the music stopped, everyone cheered.
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Answer key

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

Mixing Up Your Sentences W1-mt_ZO2iP89cld-s1

  1. The two twins both arrived together at the same time. · 'Two', 'both' and 'together at the same time' all repeat what 'twins' already tells you.
  2. Combining two short sentences into one. · Two short sentences went in and one sentence came out, joined by 'when'. That is the combine move.
  3. Because the rain fell, the game stopped. · The word 'because' subordinates one idea to the other, joining two sentences into one.
  4. True · Reducing cuts redundant words, not the meaning itself.
  5. Reduce it, because words repeat an idea it already said. · 'Final ending' and the second 'ending' do the same job, and 'happy' and 'cheerful' are the same feeling.
  6. The tiny mouse ran quickly under the door. · 'Tiny' and 'little' are one pair that repeats, and 'quickly' and 'fast' are another. Cutting one word from each pair keeps the size, the speed and the door.
  7. a friendly retired teacher, · 'A friendly retired teacher' renames 'my neighbor' and is set off by commas. The other choices are clauses, not appositives.
  8. The gate opened slowly, with a long metal groan. · 'Slowly, with a long metal groan' tells you how the gate opened and what it sounded like. The others only repeat 'gate' and 'opened'.
  9. It repeats 'which' and 'old,' making it clunky instead of descriptive. · Stacking too many 'which' clauses and repeating 'old' makes the sentence awkward. Better: 'The old house had a red door that creaked.'
  10. When the lights went out and the music stopped, everyone cheered. · 'When' packs the first two ideas into the part that sets the moment, and the cheer becomes the main news.
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