← SSAT® Upper Level

Verbal: Analogies

The 30 analogy questions and the bridge sentence that solves them, with one topic for each of the ten official relationship types.

18 topics · 67 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.

Relationship, Not Subject Matter

  1. How it worksHow does an analogy test the connector between two words rather than the two words themselves?
  2. Common mistakeWhy isn't the choice that stays on the same subject as the opening pair usually the right one?
  3. Worked exampleFind the match for ship is to ocean among plane and sky, sailor and crew, harbor and dock, and fish and fin.
  4. Going furtherWhat happens when two different choices both fit the relationship and the connector has to get stricter?
Your turneasy1 of 3
Question 21 reads: SHIP is to OCEAN as

Building a Bridge Sentence

  1. How it worksHow do you turn a word pair into a bridge sentence using X and Y in place of the two words?
  2. Worked exampleWalk me through the bridge to X something is to Y it on a large scale for devastate is to damage.
  3. Worked exampleFind the answer to coward is to brave using the bridge an X is not Y, tested against fool and wise.
  4. Common mistakeWhy doesn't a bridge like X and Y are both about water ever narrow a question down to one choice?
  5. Going furtherWhat happens when a relationship has no short bridge sentence, only a long clumsy one?
Your turnmedium1 of 3
Question 21 reads: DEVASTATE is to DAMAGE as

Testing Every Choice Against the Bridge

  1. How it worksHow do you substitute each answer pair into the same bridge and watch the wrong ones buckle?
  2. Worked exampleWalk me through testing an X is used to Y against broom and sweep, pencil and write, and chalk and board.
  3. Going furtherWhat changes when none of the five pairs fits your bridge and you have to rewrite it from scratch?
Your turneasy1 of 3
Item 21 reads: BROOM is to SWEEP as

When a Vague Bridge Leaves Three Choices Standing

  1. How it worksHow does a loose connector let three unrelated pairs slide underneath it at the same time?
  2. Worked exampleWalk me through tightening X is related to Y into a bridge that kills three of five choices for stem is to flower.
  3. Common mistakeWhy isn't a bridge that fits the opening pair good enough if it also fits half the answer choices?
  4. Going furtherWhat happens to a bridge so tight that it fits the opening pair and nothing else on the page?
Your turnmedium1 of 3
A student writes X has something to do with Y on item 16 and finds all five choices still standing. Why?

Tightening and Loosening the Bridge

  1. How it worksHow do you add one qualifier to a bridge to cut the survivors from three down to one?
  2. Worked exampleWalk me through moving from X is a kind of Y to X is a small Y that lives in trees, and back again.
  3. Worked exampleFind the right bridge width for snow is to blizzard when two choices both involve bad weather.
  4. Common mistakeWhy doesn't an ever-tighter bridge always help, if it eventually excludes the correct answer too?
Your turnmedium1 of 3
A strong solver on item 16 writes a bridge, tests it, then rewrites it before answering. Why the second pass?

Why the Order of the Pair Matters

  1. How it worksHow does reversing a pair reverse the bridge sentence, and why is the reversal always planted?
  2. Worked exampleFind the match for trunk is to tree between flower is to stem and stem is to flower.
  3. Common mistakeWhy isn't close enough good enough when a choice has the right relationship pointing the wrong way?
Your turneasy1 of 3
Item 21 reads: TRUNK is to TREE as

Relationship: Opposites

  1. How it worksHow do you write an opposites bridge that separates true antonyms from words that are merely different?
  2. Worked exampleWalk me through matching up is to down against short and tall, big and huge, and left and forward.
  3. Going furtherWhat happens when a word has two opposites, the way hot runs against both cold and mild?
Your turneasy1 of 3
Item 21 reads: UP is to DOWN as

Relationship: Synonyms

  1. How it worksHow does the bridge X means almost the same as Y still leave room for intensity to decide?
  2. Worked exampleFind the match for big is to large among little and small, cold and freezing, and wet and water.
  3. Common mistakeWhy isn't the pair holding the strongest word the right match when the opening pair is mild?
  4. Going furtherWhat changes when the opening pair are synonyms that differ in formality rather than in strength?
Your turneasy1 of 3
Item 21 reads: BIG is to LARGE as

Relationship: Characteristic

  1. How it worksHow do you write a characteristic bridge, and how does it differ from a part-to-whole bridge?
  2. Worked exampleWalk me through matching pillow is to soft against blanket and warm, and against blanket and bed.
  3. Common mistakeWhy isn't every adjective beside a noun a characteristic analogy, as with broken is to window?
Your turneasy1 of 3
Item 21 reads: PILLOW is to SOFT as

Relationship: Part to Whole

  1. How it worksHow do you separate a part-to-whole bridge from a category bridge when both link a small thing to a big one?
  2. Worked exampleFind the match for trunk is to tree among stem and flower, oak and tree, and forest and tree.
  3. Going furtherWhat happens when the part can exist alone, as brick is to wall does but petal is to flower does not?
  4. Common mistakeWhy isn't wheel is to car reversible into car is to wheel without breaking the analogy?
Your turneasy1 of 3
Item 21 reads: TRUNK is to TREE as

Relationship: Uses

  1. How it worksHow does a uses bridge like an X is the tool for Y-ing filter out a tool paired with its owner?
  2. Worked exampleWalk me through broom is to sweep against pencil and write, pencil and writer, and pen and paper.
  3. Common mistakeWhy isn't knife is to cut the same bridge as knife is to sharp when both describe a knife?
Your turneasy1 of 3
Item 21 reads: BROOM is to SWEEP as

Relationship: Users

  1. How it worksHow do you keep a users bridge from collapsing into a uses bridge when both involve a tool?
  2. Common mistakeWhy isn't every person-and-object pair a users analogy, as with crown is to king?
  3. Worked exampleFind the match for hammer is to carpenter among brush and painter, brush and paint, and carpenter and wood.
  4. Going furtherWhat happens when the user is defined by the tool, as with scalpel is to surgeon read in reverse?
Your turneasy1 of 3
Item 21 reads: HAMMER is to CARPENTER as

Relationship: Category

  1. How it worksHow does a category bridge, an X is a type of Y, reject a pair that is merely part of a whole?
  2. Worked exampleWalk me through robin is to bird against shark and fish, fin and shark, and bird and feather.
  3. Worked exampleFind the match for sonnet is to poem among novel and book, book and library, and poem and stanza.
  4. Going furtherWhat changes when the category sits two levels up, as in robin is to animal rather than robin is to bird?
Your turneasy1 of 3
Item 21 reads: ROBIN is to BIRD as

Relationship: Product to Producer

  1. How it worksHow do you write a product-to-producer bridge that a users pair cannot sneak past?
  2. Worked exampleFind the match for poem is to poet among statue and sculptor, chisel and sculptor, and poet and pen.
  3. Common mistakeWhy isn't bread is to oven a product-to-producer analogy when an oven plainly makes bread?
Your turneasy1 of 3
Item 21 reads: POEM is to POET as

Relationship: Degree

  1. How it worksHow do you place both opening words on one intensity scale and read the size of the gap between them?
  2. Worked exampleWalk me through snow is to blizzard against rain and hurricane, rain and cloud, and warm and hot.
  3. Worked exampleFind the match for annoyed is to furious among damp and soaked, wet and water, and cold and cool.
  4. Common mistakeWhy isn't every pair of related weather words a degree analogy, as with cloud is to rain?
  5. Going furtherWhat happens when the opening pair runs from strong down to mild instead of mild up to strong?
Your turneasy1 of 3
Item 21 reads: ANNOYED is to FURIOUS as

Relationship: Homonyms

  1. How it worksHow does a homonym bridge work on sound alone while ignoring meaning entirely?
  2. Worked exampleFind the match for four is to for among see and sea, see and look, and four and fourth.
  3. Common mistakeWhy isn't bear is to bear a homonym analogy when one spelling carries two unrelated meanings?
Your turneasy1 of 3
Item 21 reads: FOUR is to FOR as

The Trap That Shares the Subject, Not the Relationship

  1. How it worksHow does a test writer build a decoy by keeping the subject and quietly swapping the connector?
  2. Worked exampleWalk me through why stem is to flower beats oak is to acorn for the opening pair trunk is to tree.
  3. Common mistakeWhy isn't staying inside the same subject a point in a choice's favour on an analogy?
  4. Going furtherWhat happens when the correct answer is about a subject with no link at all to the opening pair?
Your turnmedium1 of 3
Item 21 reads: TRUNK is to TREE as

Pacing 60 Verbal Questions in 30 Minutes

  1. How it worksHow do you split 30 minutes between 30 synonyms and 30 analogies so neither half runs dry?
  2. Worked exampleFind how many seconds are left per analogy if the 30 synonyms eat 8 minutes of a 30-minute section.
  3. Going furtherWhat changes about pacing on a test its maker calls virtually unspeeded, where nearly everyone finishes?
  4. Ties togetherHow does the quarter-point penalty change which questions you should skip when the clock gets short?
Your turneasy1 of 3
The verbal section gives 60 questions in 30 minutes: 30 synonyms and 30 analogies. If the synonyms take 12 minutes, how many seconds are left for each analogy?

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.