What does a child have to do to apply a word transformation rule in the 11+?

Apply one stated letter-level transformation rule to form a valid target word. It is one of 26 named verbal reasoning skills in the 11+, in the word strand, and this page carries 1 interactive exercise that practises it.

What is the trap in an 11+ apply a word transformation rule question?

An option that spells a real word is not more likely to be right: several of the rules in this family land on real words by chance. The wrong answers on this skill are built out of that, not out of random numbers, so it is worth naming out loud before your child meets it under time pressure.

What is not part of apply a word transformation rule in the 11+?

The skill map draws the line here: One invariant transformation; excludes anagrams, compound joining, and word ladders. A question past that line is testing a different named verbal reasoning skill, which is worth knowing before you spend a week practising the wrong one.

Which other 11+ skills should we practise alongside apply a word transformation rule?

The word strand holds 9 skills that are tested together, and the pages next to apply a word transformation rule are complete a word with a letter, find a hidden word and follow a word ladder. Each has its own exercise and its own link, and none of them needs an account.

How can my child practise apply a word transformation rule for free?

Use Applying a Word Transformation Rule, embedded on this page. It is the exercise the skill map attaches to apply a word transformation rule, it runs in the browser with no account to make, these exercises are not scored and do not save learner records. The separate quiz sends answers for marking and shows a score, without saving an assessment record. It also has its own link, so you can send it to a child without sending them anywhere else first.

Verbal Reasoning · Word

Apply a word transformation rule

Apply one stated letter-level transformation rule to form a valid target word.

Watch the worked example

Open the video page

Move One Letter, Make a Word

This video shows how to apply a rule for changing letters to form a real word. Watch an 11+ verbal reasoning question solved step by step.

0:00 / 2:29

Turn on captions with the CC button. Jump to any part with the chapter buttons.

Read the transcript

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Quick quiz: Apply a word transformation rule

10 questions, with feedback after each one. No sign-up needed.

Read the questions in this quiz

Question 1
In a puzzle, TONE becomes TNOE. Using the same rule, what does READ become?
- A.DEAR
- B.RAED
- C.DAER
- D.EADR
Question 2
In a puzzle, DUCK becomes DCUK. Using the same rule, what does REST become?
- A.RSET
- B.RETS
- C.ESTR
- D.ERST
Question 3
In a puzzle, ROAD becomes RODA. Using the same rule, what does MAIN become?
- A.MIAN
- B.MANI
- C.NAIM
- D.AMIN
Question 4
In a puzzle, BEAK becomes BEKA. Using the same rule, what does RAIL become?
- A.ARIL
- B.RALI
- C.RIAL
- D.AILR
Question 5
In a puzzle, GAIN becomes NAIG. Using the same rule, what does SIDE become?
- A.ISDE
- B.IDES
- C.EIDS
- D.DESI
Question 6
In a puzzle, EAST becomes ESAT. Using the same rule, what does GAIN become?
- A.NAIG
- B.NGAI
- C.INGA
- D.GIAN
Question 7
In a puzzle, GRAIN becomes RGAIN. Using the same rule, what does STEAM become?
- A.STEMA
- B.TSEAM
- C.TEAMS
- D.MTEAS
Question 8
In a puzzle, STEP becomes TSEP. Using the same rule, what does REST become?
- A.STRE
- B.ERST
- C.ESTR
- D.RETS
Question 9
In a puzzle, FORM becomes RMFO. Using the same rule, what does PART become?
- A.PRAT
- B.TRAP
- C.PATR
- D.RTPA
Question 10
In a puzzle, LONG becomes LNOG. Using the same rule, what does SHOP become?
- A.PHOS
- B.SOHP
- C.HSOP
- D.HOPS

Practise it now

SHELL became HELLS, and STING became TINGS. Work out what happened to the letters, then do the same thing to HEART.

It covers most of this skill rather than all of it.

Loading the interactive exercise. Nothing you do here is saved or scored.

A worked example

One question of the kind this skill is tested with, worked all the way through: the reasoning, and what the wrong answers are there to catch.

Stating the move before you make it

In a puzzle, BRAN becomes BARN, and DART becomes DRAT. Using the same rule, what does WIFE become?

Work one demonstration through and see why the rule has to be said out loud first.

WFIE
IFEW
EIFW
EFIW

Answer: WFIE

How you get there

The rule is to swap the second and third letters, which is what turns BRAN into BARN, so doing the same to WIFE gives WFIE. The wrong options are what the other rules in this puzzle family would give, so each one is a real move applied to the wrong reading of the demonstration. Number the letters of the example and write down where each one ended up, because a rule you can state in a sentence is a rule you can apply, and one you only recognise is not.

Why the other answers tempt

An option that spells a real word is not more likely to be right: several of the rules in this family land on real words by chance.

If they are stuck, say this

Number the letters of the example word, then write the same numbers under the result. The order those numbers come out in is the rule.

Now do it live in Applying a Word Transformation Rule

Kitchen-table script for parents

Try this together

A friendly mini script for the breakfast table, school run or a quiet two minutes. Read it aloud as written, or make it your own.

Ready? Let's have a go at Apply a word transformation rule together. Work one demonstration through and see why the rule has to be said out loud first. Here comes the question: In a puzzle, BRAN becomes BARN, and DART becomes DRAT. Using the same rule, what does WIFE become? Before we race ahead, let us choose one good first step. Here is a helpful clue: Number the letters of the example word, then write the same numbers under the result. The order those numbers come out in is the rule. Nice work. Now let us follow the thinking: The rule is to swap the second and third letters, which is what turns BRAN into BARN, so doing the same to WIFE gives WFIE. So our answer is: WFIE. There is one sneaky trap to watch for: An option that spells a real word is not more likely to be right: several of the rules in this family land on real words by chance. Can you show me that first move again in your own words? Brilliant. No rush; we are practising a method you can reuse, not trying to win a speed contest.

What this exercise is doing

Applying a Word Transformation Rule

SHELL became HELLS, and STING became TINGS. Work out what happened to the letters, then do the same thing to HEART.

The rule here is to move the first letter to the end, which is why SHELL became HELLS, and why HEART becomes EARTH. The way to find a rule like that is to number the positions rather than to stare at the word: put the two words one above the other, and track where each numbered letter went. Once you can say the move as a sentence about positions, applying it to a new word is mechanical. Notice that the rule was fixed before the question was asked, so what matters is the move, not whether the result reads well. Doing the move and reading the result afterwards is faster and safer than guessing an answer and checking it backwards.

What to say if they get stuck

Write the two words one above the other and number the letters. Ask where letter 1 of the first word ended up, then letter 2, and so on.
The letters are only ever moved around, never changed or thrown away, so the answer uses exactly the same letters as the word you start from.

Open Applying a Word Transformation Rule on its own page to share it

Related verbal reasoning skills

Complete a word with a letterSupply a letter that makes a valid word under the stated constraint.
Find a hidden wordLocate a continuous target word across a bounded letter string.
Follow a word ladderChange one permitted letter at each step while preserving valid intermediate words.
Form a compound wordJoin two supplied word parts to make a conventional compound.
Form a derived wordForm one valid new word from a supplied base using the permitted letter operation.
Move a letter between wordsMove one supplied letter from one word to another so both results are valid words.
Identify an impossible word formationDetermine which candidate cannot be formed under a supplied letter rule.
Solve an anagram in contextRearrange all supplied letters into a context-compatible word.

All verbal reasoning 11+ skills

Questions parents ask about apply a word transformation rule

What this skill involves, common mistakes and ways to practise it at home.

: Apply one stated letter-level transformation rule to form a valid target word. It is one of 26 named verbal reasoning skills in the 11+, in the word strand, and this page carries 1 interactive exercise that practises it.
: An option that spells a real word is not more likely to be right: several of the rules in this family land on real words by chance. The wrong answers on this skill are built out of that, not out of random numbers, so it is worth naming out loud before your child meets it under time pressure.
: Point at the next move rather than explaining the whole rule. Number the letters of the example word, then write the same numbers under the result. The order those numbers come out in is the rule.
: The skill map draws the line here: One invariant transformation; excludes anagrams, compound joining, and word ladders. A question past that line is testing a different named verbal reasoning skill, which is worth knowing before you spend a week practising the wrong one.
: The word strand holds 9 skills that are tested together, and the pages next to apply a word transformation rule are complete a word with a letter, find a hidden word and follow a word ladder. Each has its own exercise and its own link, and none of them needs an account.
: Use Applying a Word Transformation Rule, embedded on this page. It is the exercise the skill map attaches to apply a word transformation rule, it runs in the browser with no account to make, these exercises are not scored and do not save learner records. The separate quiz sends answers for marking and shows a score, without saving an assessment record. It also has its own link, so you can send it to a child without sending them anywhere else first.

Verbal reasoning is a set of question types, not a subject to revise

A free diagnostic works out which of the codes, analogies, word puzzles and logic types are already secure, and which are not.