Verbal: Analogies (15 Questions)
A format no other test hands an eight year old. The answer copies the LINK between the first two words, never the subject — and the bridge sentence finds it.
15 topics · 55 questions
Each topic is a path, not a menu: work down it in order and every question builds on the one above. Click any of them to watch the answer draw itself.
What an Analogy Question Really Asks
- How it worksHow do you draw the link between two words as a connector you can lift off and carry away?
- Worked exampleWalk me through solving big is to large as little is to what, out of small, loud, heavy and old.
- Common mistakeWhy doesn't an answer about the same subject as the first two words ever win on its own?
- Going furtherWhat happens when two answers both fit your link and you have to make the link fussier?
Your turneasy1 of 3
A teacher writes 10 analogies on the board. The first one says: big is to large as little is to which word?The Bridge Sentence
- How it worksHow do you build a bridge sentence that uses both words and says exactly how they connect?
- Worked exampleShow me the bridge sentence for broom is to sweep, then run it over pencil, chair, cup and door.
- Worked exampleFind the answer to kitten is to cat as puppy is to what by saying your bridge sentence twice.
- Going furtherWhat happens to your bridge sentence when you carry it over five answers one after another?
Your turneasy1 of 3
On question 10 a student says her bridge sentence out loud: a broom is used to sweep. Broom is to sweep as pencil is to which word?Making the Bridge Sentence Exact
- How it worksHow does adding one fussy word to your sentence knock out the answers that only nearly fit?
- Common mistakeWhy isn't a tree has a trunk a good enough sentence when a forest has trees in it too?
- Worked exampleShow me a sloppy sentence and a tight sentence for petal is to flower, and which one settles it.
- Common mistakeWhy doesn't a sentence about what a thing is made of work for a pair about what it does?
Your turnmedium1 of 3
A student still has 3 answers standing after the sentence a petal and a flower go together. Which tighter sentence settles it?The Order of the Two Words Matters
- How it worksHow does the arrow joining the first two words have to point the same way over the answer?
- Worked exampleFind what goes wrong when hammer is to carpenter gets answered with paint is to brush.
- Common mistakeWhy doesn't an answer count when it carries the right link running backwards?
Your turneasy1 of 3
Two of the 12 questions on a page look almost the same: poem is to poet, and poet is to poem. Why are they different questions?Relationship 1: Opposites
- How it worksHow do you draw an opposites link as two arrows shooting away from each other?
- Worked exampleShow me up is to down as short is to tall, then lay the same link over hot, warm and cold.
- Going furtherWhat happens to an opposites link when a word has no real opposite, like the word chair?
Your turneasy1 of 3
Question 15 reads: up is to down as short is to which word?Relationship 2: Synonyms
- How it worksHow is a same-meaning link drawn as two words dropping into one single circle?
- Worked exampleFind the partner for big is to large as little is to small, and say why tiny is risky.
- Common mistakeWhy isn't a word that merely sounds like the first word joined to it by meaning?
Your turneasy1 of 3
On item 12: big is to large as little is to which word?Relationship 3: Characteristic
- How it worksHow does a characteristic link hang a describing word off a thing like a luggage label?
- Worked exampleShow me pillow is to soft as blanket is to warm, then try warm on a fridge and watch it fail.
- Common mistakeWhy isn't every describing word a characteristic, when a pillow could be red or blue or green?
- Going furtherWhat happens to a characteristic link when the word only fits sometimes, like a wet dog?
Your turneasy1 of 3
Item 9 reads: pillow is to soft as blanket is to which word?Relationship 4: Part to Whole
- How it worksHow does a part-to-whole link look like a small box drawn inside a much bigger box?
- Worked exampleFind the partner in trunk is to tree as stem is to flower, testing leaf and garden as well.
- Worked exampleFind out whether finger is to hand travels in the same direction as hand is to finger.
- Common mistakeWhy isn't a piece-of link the same as a kind-of link, when a robin sits inside birds too?
Your turneasy1 of 3
Item 11 reads: trunk is to tree as stem is to which word?Relationship 5: Uses
- How it worksHow do you draw a uses link as a tool with its job written on the arrow leaving it?
- Worked exampleShow me broom is to sweep as pencil is to write, and why pencil is to school will not fit.
- Going furtherWhat happens to a uses link when one object has two jobs, like a knife that cuts and spreads?
Your turneasy1 of 3
Item 12 reads: broom is to sweep as pencil is to which word?Relationship 6: Users
- How it worksHow does a users link put a tool on one side and the person gripping it on the other?
- Worked exampleFind the partner in hammer is to carpenter as brush is to painter, and test wall and paint too.
- Common mistakeWhy isn't a users link the same as a job link, when a carpenter also builds whole houses?
- Going furtherWhat happens to a users link when two very different people pick up the very same tool?
Your turneasy1 of 3
Item 12 reads: hammer is to carpenter as brush is to which word?Relationship 7: Category
- How it worksHow does a kind-of link check that every robin is a bird while not every bird is a robin?
- Common mistakeWhy isn't bird is to robin asking the same thing as robin is to bird?
- Worked exampleShow me robin is to bird as shark is to fish, and why shark is to ocean snaps the link.
- Going furtherWhat happens to a kind-of link when the group has smaller groups inside it, like fish in animals?
Your turneasy1 of 3
Item 12 reads: robin is to bird as shark is to which word?Relationship 8: Product to Producer
- How it worksHow does a made-by link draw a finished object with its maker standing right behind it?
- Worked exampleFind the partner in poem is to poet as statue is to sculptor, and test stone and museum too.
- Going furtherWhat happens to a made-by link when the maker is an animal, like honey and a bee?
Your turneasy1 of 3
Item 12 reads: poem is to poet as statue is to which word?Relationship 9: Degree
- How it worksHow does a degree link draw a small thing swelling into a much bigger version of itself?
- Worked exampleShow me snow is to blizzard as rain is to hurricane, and why rain is to cloud is a different link.
- Common mistakeWhy isn't warm is to hot an opposites link when those two words feel so far apart?
- Worked exampleFind the partner in breeze is to gale as shower is to what, out of storm, cloud, umbrella and damp.
- Going furtherWhat happens to a degree link when you spin the dial backwards from enormous down to tiny?
Your turneasy1 of 3
Item 12 reads: snow is to blizzard as rain is to which word?Relationship 10: Homonyms
- How it worksHow does a sound-alike link listen to a word and completely ignore how it is spelled?
- Worked exampleShow me four is to for as see is to sea, and why see is to look belongs to another link.
- Going furtherWhat happens to a sound-alike link when a word has three twins, like to, too and two?
Your turneasy1 of 3
Item 12 reads: four is to for as see is to which word?The Trap: The Answer About the Same Topic
- How it worksHow does laying your connector over a same-topic answer show it snapping instead of fitting?
- Common mistakeWhy isn't an answer a match when both pairs are about animals but the links are different?
- Worked exampleFind the trap answer in pencil is to write as fork is to kitchen, and name what went wrong.
- Ties togetherHow do all ten kinds of link share one habit of saying your sentence before reading answers?
Your turneasy1 of 3
Item 9 reads: pencil is to write as fork is to which word? A student picks kitchen. What went wrong?AP®, SAT® and PSAT/NMSQT® are trademarks registered by the College Board (PSAT/NMSQT® jointly with the National Merit Scholarship Corporation). ACT® is a registered trademark of ACT Education Corp. GRE® is a registered trademark of ETS. LSAT® is a registered trademark of the Law School Admission Council. MCAT® is a registered trademark of the Association of American Medical Colleges. ISEE® and SSAT® are registered trademarks of their owners. None of these organizations is affiliated with, or endorses, Jentoo.