4th Grade English worksheets - Edform - Free Printable

Let’s go step by step through each question.

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Question 1:
> The city of Troy was destroyed about ______ years ago.

We know from history that the Trojan War (and the fall of Troy) is traditionally dated to around 1200 BCE.
Current year = 2026
So, time elapsed = 1200 + 2026 = 3226 years ago

But looking at the options:
- in his country ✔ → This doesn’t make sense — “in his country” isn’t a time phrase.
- in the 19th century → That’s 1800s — too recent.
- in the 20th century ✘ → 1900s — even more recent.
- since the Stone Age ✘ → Too vague and not accurate for Troy’s destruction.

Wait — none of these seem right? Let me re-read.

Actually, maybe this is testing *grammar* or *context*, not exact history? But the instruction says: “Circle the correct answer to each statement.” So it must be factual.

Hold on — perhaps there's a trick. Maybe “about” allows approximation?

Troy fell ~1200 BCE → 3226 years ago → closest option might be... but none say “over 3000 years ago”.

Wait — let’s check if I misread the options.

Looking again:

Options are:
- in his country
- in the 19th century
- in the 20th century
- since the Stone Age

None fit historically. Unless… is this a grammar exercise where we pick the only grammatically possible one? But “in his country” doesn’t complete “destroyed about ___ years ago”.

Ah! Wait — maybe the blank is NOT for a number, but for a phrase that completes the sentence logically?

Original sentence:
“The city of Troy was destroyed about ______ years ago.”

That requires a NUMBER or TIME EXPRESSION like “3000”, “two thousand”, etc.

But all given options are phrases that don’t fit numerically.

This suggests either:
- There’s a typo in the worksheet
- Or we’re supposed to choose the least wrong?

Alternatively — maybe “since the Stone Age” is meant to imply “a very long time ago”? But Stone Age ended ~3000 BCE, so Troy (~1200 BCE) is AFTER Stone Age — so “since the Stone Age” would mean “from Stone Age until now” — which includes Troy’s destruction, but it’s not precise.

Actually, “since the Stone Age” means “starting from the Stone Age up to now” — so yes, Troy was destroyed during that period. But the sentence says “about ______ years ago” — which needs a duration, not a starting point.

This is confusing.

Perhaps the intended answer is “in the 19th century”? No — that’s when archaeologists discovered Troy, not when it was destroyed.

Wait — Heinrich Schliemann excavated Troy in the 1870s — 19th century. But the question says “was destroyed”, not “was discovered”.

I think there may be an error in the worksheet. But since we have to choose, let’s look at other questions first.

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Question 2:
> Most ancient civilizations began ______.

Options:
- in cities built along rivers ✔
- in the mountains
- in the deserts
- near the poles

Historical fact: Early civilizations (Egypt/Nile, Mesopotamia/Tigris-Euphrates, Indus/Indus River, China/Yellow River) all started near rivers for water, farming, transport.

So correct answer: in cities built along rivers

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Question 3:
> In most early societies, people worked ______.

Options:
- wherever they wanted to work ✘ — no, roles were assigned
- who chose what job they wanted to do ✘ — same issue
- in jobs passed down in their families ✔ — yes, hereditary occupations common
- that could not change their social class ✘ — irrelevant to “worked”

Correct: in jobs passed down in their families

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Question 4:
> Hammurabi is famous today mainly because he created ______.

Options:
- laws written on stone tablets ✔ — Code of Hammurabi, inscribed on stele
- a new religion ✘
- a powerful army ✘ — he had one, but not why he’s famous today
- the first writing system ✘ — Sumerians did cuneiform earlier

Correct: laws written on stone tablets

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Question 5:
> One reason Egypt was called the “Black Land” was because ______.

Options:
- its soil was rich and dark ✔ — Nile floods deposited black silt
- builders used dark-colored stone ✘ — pyramids are limestone (light)
- people wore dark clothes ✘ — no evidence
- the sky was often cloudy ✘ — Egypt is sunny

Correct: its soil was rich and dark

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Now back to Question 1.

Given that all other questions have clear historical answers, and Q1 seems flawed, perhaps the intended answer is “since the Stone Age” as a way to say “very long ago”, even though it’s not technically accurate for “years ago”.

But wait — let’s calculate again:

If Troy fell ~1200 BCE, and current year is 2026, then:

1200 + 2026 = 3226 years ago.

Is any option close to that?

“Since the Stone Age” — Stone Age ended roughly 3000 BCE in Near East, so from 3000 BCE to 2026 CE is 5026 years — too long.

“In the 19th century” — 1800s — only ~200 years ago — no.

Unless… is “in his country” a mistranslation? Maybe it should be “in his time”? Still doesn’t help.

Another thought: Perhaps the blank is not for a number, but for a clause? Like:

“The city of Troy was destroyed about [the time] when...”

But the sentence structure is “about ______ years ago” — so it must be a quantity.

Given that, and since no option fits, but we must choose, perhaps the best available is “since the Stone Age” as implying antiquity.

But I recall that some textbooks say Troy was destroyed “over 3000 years ago”, and “since the Stone Age” might be loosely used.

Wait — actually, the Bronze Age followed the Stone Age, and Troy was destroyed in Late Bronze Age (~1200 BCE), so it’s after Stone Age.

“Since the Stone Age” means “from the end of Stone Age until now” — which includes 1200 BCE, so technically true, but awkward.

Perhaps the worksheet has a mistake, but among the choices, “since the Stone Age” is the only one that implies great age.

Alternatively, maybe “in the 19th century” refers to when it was rediscovered? But the verb is “was destroyed”, not “was found”.

I think there’s an error, but since we have to pick, and based on elimination:

- “in his country” — nonsense
- “in the 19th century” — too recent
- “in the 20th century” — even worse
- “since the Stone Age” — at least implies ancient times

So reluctantly, I’ll go with since the Stone Age for Q1, though it’s imperfect.

But let me double-check online knowledge: Troy’s destruction is dated to circa 1184 BCE by tradition, or 1200 BCE by historians. 2026 + 1200 = 3226 years ago. None of the options match. However, in some educational contexts, they might accept “since the Stone Age” as meaning “in ancient times”.

Perhaps the intended answer is missing, but since we must choose, and others are clearly wrong, I'll select "since the Stone Age".

Wait — another idea: Maybe “about” modifies the whole phrase? Like “about since the Stone Age” — but that’s ungrammatical.

I think the best course is to note that Q1 is problematic, but for the sake of completing, choose the least incorrect.

Final decision for Q1: since the Stone Age

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Now compiling final answers:

1. since the Stone Age
2. in cities built along rivers
3. in jobs passed down in their families
4. laws written on stone tablets
5. its soil was rich and dark

But let me verify Q1 once more.

Upon second thought — perhaps the worksheet meant to say “The city of Troy was rediscovered about ______” — then “in the 19th century” would be correct (Schliemann, 1870s).

Given that, and since “destroyed” vs “rediscovered” is a common mix-up, and “in the 19th century” is a plausible distractor for discovery, but the text says “destroyed”, I think it's likely a typo in the worksheet.

However, as per instructions, I must solve based on what's given.

Given that, and since no option fits "destroyed", but "since the Stone Age" is the only one indicating ancient times, I'll stick with it.

Alternatively, maybe "in his country" is meant to be "in ancient times"? But it's written as "in his country".

I think there's an error, but for the purpose of this task, I'll proceed with the selections above.

Final Answer:

1. since the Stone Age
2. in cities built along rivers
3. in jobs passed down in their families
4. laws written on stone tablets
5. its soil was rich and dark