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Common Core ELA5th GradeLanguage

L.5.1: Use Standard English Grammar

Also written as CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.L.5.1 · Cluster: Conventions of Standard English.

Make a Grammar ScrambleAll 43 5th Grade ELA Standards

The Official Wording

Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English grammar and usage when writing or speaking.

Common Core State Standards, Grade 5, Language · Read it at the source · Checked October 14, 2026

What L.5.1 Means in Plain English

Fifth graders use the perfect tenses (I had walked, I have walked, I will have walked), keep a sentence from sliding between past and present, pair either with or and neither with nor, and explain what a conjunction, preposition or interjection is doing in a sentence.

Fourth graders (L.4.1) worked on the progressive tenses, relative pronouns, modal verbs and fixing fragments and run-ons. Fifth grade turns to time and order in verbs, showing which action finished first. Sixth grade (L.6.1) moves on to pronouns: case, intensive pronouns and vague references.

L.5.1 I Can Statements

  • I can form and use perfect tenses like had walked and will have walked.
  • I can keep verb tenses consistent and fix shifts that don’t belong.
  • I can explain what conjunctions, prepositions and interjections do, and use either/or pairs.

L.5.1 Worked Example

One sentence with three slips in it. The fix is a tense that shows order, a tense that stays put and a pair that matches.

Prompt

Fix the verb tenses and the conjunction pair in this sentence.

Not YetBy the time the bus came, we already walk to school, and neither Mr. Ruiz or the principal is surprised.The sentence starts in the past (came), then slides into the present (walk, is), so it’s unclear that the walking came first. And neither is paired with or instead of nor.
Meets the StandardBy the time the bus came, we had already walked to school, and neither Mr. Ruiz nor the principal was surprised.Had walked, the past perfect, puts the walking before the bus came. Was keeps the end of the sentence in the past, and neither now has its partner, nor.
Moves to Use
Pick the time frame (here, the past) and keep every verb in it.Use had plus a past participle for an action finished before another past action.Pair correlatives: either with or, neither with nor.Name each small word’s job: and joins two clauses, to shows where we walked.

Common Mistakes with L.5.1

Sliding into the present mid-story

“We walked to the gym, and then Coach says to line up.”

Try this: Have students underline every verb in a paragraph and mark it past or present, then fix any that break the pattern.

Mixing up correlative pairs

“Neither the map or the compass helped.”

Try this: Teach the pairs as locked sets on an anchor chart: either/or, neither/nor, both/and, not only/but also, whether/or.

Skipping the perfect tense

“By Friday I finish the book” instead of “By Friday I will have finished the book”

Try this: Draw a timeline with two marks, ask which action finishes first, and give that action had, have or will have.

Where L.5.1 Fits

Comes BeforeL.4.1Use progressive tenses, relative pronouns and modal verbs, and fix fragments and run-ons.
AlongsideL.5.3Expand, combine and shorten sentences, where conjunctions and tenses do the joining.W.5.3Write narratives, where keeping one tense across a whole story is the real test.
Comes NextL.6.1Put pronouns in the right case and fix vague pronouns and shifts in number and person.

Practice L.5.1

Sentence Scramble GeneratorFree ToolMixed-up sentences that use had walked, will have finished and neither…nor, so students rebuild each one and see where the verb and the pair belong.Perfect tensesCorrelative pairsGrade 5
Make a Scramble

Quick Check

  1. Which verb in the strong sentence is in the past perfect tense, and why is it needed?
  2. Which correlative conjunction pair does the strong sentence use?
  3. Fix the tense shift: “Yesterday Maya opens the box and found a puppy.”

L.5.1: Other Names

L.5.1CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.L.5.1

Common Core State Standards © Copyright 2010. National Governors Association Center for Best Practices and Council of Chief State School Officers. All rights reserved. Official wording from the Common Core State Standards PDFs at corestandards.org, last checked October 14, 2026. The explanation, I can statements, example, mistakes and practice on this page are EMStudio’s own, written beside the official wording. They are not part of the standard.