How does the verbal analogy test work?
Each item shows two words that are linked in some way, then a third word. Pick, from four choices, the word that links to the third in the same way: wheel is to car as page is to book, because each is part of the other. After every answer the link is spelled out, so you learn the pattern as you go.
A game is 12 items from a bank of 48 written for the site, covering 8 kinds of link, with every kind in every game. Keys 1 to 4 pick a choice.
How is your Verbal Analogy Test result calculated?
Your result is how many of the 12 you got right, with your time. With four choices, guessing gets about 3 right. There is no rating, because no published average exists for this set of items; the result lists a few you missed, with the reason for each.
What kinds of analogy are there?
Most verbal analogies rest on a handful of links between words. These are the 8 this test uses, with one of its items for each.
| Link | Example |
|---|---|
| Part and whole | wheel : car :: page : book |
| Thing and what it does | knife : cut :: pen : write |
| Member and group | rose : flower :: oak : tree |
| Opposites | hot : cold :: early : late |
| Stronger form | warm : hot :: cool : cold |
| Young and adult | puppy : dog :: kitten : cat |
| Worker and tool | painter : brush :: surgeon : scalpel |
| Who or what, and where | teacher : school :: doctor : hospital |
The colons are the usual shorthand: “wheel : car :: page : book” reads “wheel is to car as page is to book”.
How do you solve verbal analogies?
Put the first pair into a short sentence, then try that sentence on the third word. “A puppy grows into a dog” turns kitten into cat at once. If two choices fit, make the sentence more exact; if none fits, the first sentence was too narrow.
- Keep the order. Puppy is to dog is not dog is to puppy; the answer must sit in the same place.
- Watch for the decoys. Wrong choices are often linked to the third word in some other way: fridge and kitchen go together, but not as oven goes with bake.
- Match the kind of word. If the pair is a thing and an action, the answer is an action too.
Are analogies still on the SAT?
No. The College Board dropped verbal analogies from the SAT with the new test first given in March 2005, when the verbal section became Critical Reading. Analogy questions still appear in other aptitude and reasoning tests, and they are a common way to practise vocabulary and how words relate.
For logic with words, try the Syllogism Test; for pattern-finding with shapes, the Matrix Reasoning Test.