To simplify the expression \((3x - 8) + (2x + 5) - (4x - 8)\), we can follow these steps:
- Remove the parentheses, being careful to distribute any negative signs:
\[ (3x - 8) + (2x + 5) - (4x - 8) = 3x - 8 + 2x + 5 - 4x + 8 \]
- Combine like terms for the \(x\) terms and the constant terms:
- For the \(x\) terms: \(3x + 2x - 4x = (3 + 2 - 4)x = 1x\) or simply \(x\).
- For the constant terms: \(-8 + 5 + 8 = (-8 + 8) + 5 = 0 + 5 = 5\).
- Putting it all together, we get:
\[ x + 5 \]
Thus, the simplified expression is:
\[ \boxed{x + 5} \]