The first step in simplifying this expression is to identify which, if any, terms are like terms. Recall that two or more terms in an algebraic expression are like terms if they have the same variable(s) with the same exponent(s).
x^2 + x + 4x - 1
In this case, we have an x^2-term, two x-terms, and a constant. Only the x-terms can be combined.