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Analogy

Reasoning · Verbal Reasoning

7 Part1 worked examples8 practice questions

Analogy means “similarity”. The exam gives a pair, like doctor : hospital, and you must build a matching pair — teacher : ? (school). In other words, the relation that holds in the first pair has to be repeated in the second.

These questions test vocabulary, general knowledge and thinking all at once, which is why they appear in almost every exam. The good news is that the kinds of relation are limited: animal and sound, profession and workplace, quantity and unit, country and capital … once you have seen the lists, most questions are recognised at a glance.

How to use this chapter

  1. Read — the first part gives the method; the second part has the relation tables that will build your knowledge base.
  2. Study the solved example — at every step ask: what was the relation and how did I spot it?
  3. Try it yourself — in the “Try it yourself first” questions the solution is hidden; think first, then pick. If stuck take the hint, and open the solution last.
  4. Know the level — Basic, Standard, Advanced.
NoteYour solved questions are remembered in this browser; see the progress in the right panel (the “Contents” button on a phone).
1

Foundation — how to catch the relation

Make a sentence, then test it

The method of analogy and the forms of its questions.

Say the relation as a sentence

Three steps: spot → say → test

The most dependable analogy method: turn the relation of the first pair into a sentence and use it on the third word.

The moment you see a pair, dozens of relations may flash in your mind. A straight way out of the muddle: state the relation of the first pair in one full sentence — “a teacher works in a school.” Now fit the third word into the same sentence and test the options.

Three steps
1. Spot the relation of the first pair2. Say it in one sentence3. Try the same sentence on the third word and each option

Two things to keep in mind always:

  • Order matters. “bird : nest” and “nest : bird” are different relations. Whatever stands first in the first pair stands first in the second.
  • Choose the most exact relation. The relation between a doctor and a hospital is “place of work”; “a doctor treats” is also true but it is another relation. If the options hold both kinds, decide from the shape of the first pair which relation is meant.
Example 1 · Basic
farmer : crop :: tailor : ?
Solution, step by step
  1. 1Find the relation in the first pair farmer : crop — the second is what the first person makes.
  2. 2Turn it into a sentence and use the same sentence on tailor.
  3. 3For tailor the right word is clothes (tailor : clothes). The other options do not have this relation with tailor.
Answer clothes
Sentence: “a farmer grows a crop” → “a carpenter makes …”.
BasicTry it yourself first
doctor : hospital :: teacher : ?
BasicTry it yourself first
weaver : cloth :: potter : ?
BasicTry it yourself first
umbrella : shelter :: hammer : ?

The forms in which questions come

Six faces, one method

The types of analogy questions and how to recognise each.

FormWhat it looks likeWhat to do
Direct formdog : bark :: cow : ?Apply the first pair’s relation to the third word
Choose the pairpower : watt — pairs as optionsPick the pair with the same relation
Word like the groupJaipur, Jodhpur, Udaipur → ?The fourth member of the class the three share
Number analogy3 : 27 :: 4 : ?Find the operation between the two numbers
Letter analogyMOON : NNPM :: …Find the letter-code rule
Letter–number analogyCAT : 24 :: …The rule from letter values to the number

Whatever the form, the method is one: spot the relation, repeat it, test it. In the later parts we practise each form separately.

BasicTry it yourself first
donkey : bray :: cow : ?
StandardTry it yourself first
time : second — choose the pair below that has the same relation.
BasicTry it yourself first
A group of three words: Venus, Neptune, Jupiter. Which word is similar to these?
BasicTry it yourself first
10 : 1000 :: 6 : ?
StandardTry it yourself first
JOKE : LQMG :: BREAD : ?
2

Word relations — the lists worth knowing

Most questions are built from these relations

Living things, professions and tools, places and culture, science and measurement, and relations between words — a list and practice for each.

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Relations among living things

Sound, young one, home, dwelling, source and class

Animal and its sound / young / home, person and dwelling, source and what it gives, member and class.

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Professions, tools and creators

Who makes what, works where, works with what

Worker and product, workplace, tool and its use, science, authors, inventors and service ranks.

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Countries, states and culture

Capital, currency, monument, language, dance, sport

Country and capital / currency, state and capital, monument and city, language and state, dance and state, sport and ground.

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Science, measurement and cause–effect

Unit, instrument, part–whole, material, cause

Quantity and unit, instrument and what it measures, part and whole, object and material, cause and effect.

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Relations between words

Antonym, synonym, gender

Pairs of opposites, of same-meaning words and of male–female words.

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3

Choosing the pair and the group member

When the options are pairs, or when three words form a group

“Choose the pair with the same relation” and “choose the word like the group” — both forms with practice.

The pair with the same relation

Fit each option into the same sentence

When the options are pairs, not single words.

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The word that matches the group

Find the class the three share

Recognising the class three words share and choosing the fourth member; a list of common classes.

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4

Number and letter analogies

When the relation is a calculation or a code

The operation between numbers, letter codes and letter-to-number rules.

Number analogy

How did the first number become the second?

Rules with squares, cubes, multiplication and addition, and how to catch them.

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Letter analogy

The coding rules again in a new dress

Word : its code :: another word : ? — all the letter-code rules apply.

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Letter–number analogy

Word : number

Finding the rule by which a number is built from the values of the letters of a word.

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5

Strategy guide

A checklist for catching the relation and the common traps

What to do when no relation comes to mind, and the slips that cost marks.

Ask these questions when no relation comes to mind

A checklist of relations

The commonest relations of analogy, to match against.

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Common traps

Where most marks are lost

Mistakes that keep repeating in analogy.

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6

Mixed practice

All forms mixed

Direct, choose-the-pair, group, number and letter analogies — in three levels.

Basic practice

Plain pairs

One relation, four options.

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Standard practice

Choosing pairs, groups and codes

Pair options, group members and number–letter rules.

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Advanced practice

Fine relations and mixed rules

Fine differences in pair choice, hard number rules and mixed letter rules.

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7

Revision — cards

Flip and test yourself

Cards for the relations of analogy.

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