1. **State the problem:** Subtract the polynomial $(a - 5)$ from $(4a^3 - 3a - 8)$ and express the result in standard polynomial form. 2. **Write the expression:** $$ (4a^3 - 3a - 8) - (a - 5) $$ 3. **Apply the subtraction:** Subtract each term inside the second parentheses, remembering to distribute the minus sign: $$ 4a^3 - 3a - 8 - a + 5 $$ 4. **Combine like terms:** Group terms with the same powers of $a$: $$ 4a^3 + (-3a - a) + (-8 + 5) $$ 5. **Simplify the coefficients:** $$ 4a^3 - 4a - 3 $$ 6. **Final answer:** The polynomial in standard form is: $$ 4a^3 - 4a - 3 $$