What does a child have to do to identify an analogy relation in the 11+?

Identify the semantic relationship in one word pair. It is one of 26 named verbal reasoning skills in the 11+, in the analogy strand, and this page carries 1 interactive exercise that practises it.

What is the trap in an 11+ identify an analogy relation question?

Two words that turn up together are not automatically a part and a whole: a bicycle and a road go together and neither is part of the other. 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 does identify an analogy relation lead on to?

Once it is secure, the skill map opens transfer an analogy relation. A relation must be identified before it can be transferred.

What is not part of identify an analogy relation in the 11+?

The skill map draws the line here: Excludes completing the second pair. 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 identify an analogy relation?

The skill map connects it to classify a word relationship and complete a letter connection. Semantic classification can transfer into provider-style analogy analysis. Relational comparison transfers from semantic to symbolic pairs. Each of those has its own page here.

How can my child practise identify an analogy relation for free?

Use Word Bridge, embedded on this page. It is the exercise the skill map attaches to identify an analogy relation, 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 · Analogy

Identify an analogy relation

Identify the semantic relationship in one word pair.

Watch the worked example

Open the video page

Find the Invisible Link

This video shows how to identify the meaning relationship between two words in an analogy. 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: Identify an analogy relation

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

Read the questions in this quiz

Question 1
Look at two pairs: rudder goes with boat, and hull goes with boat. Which sentence describes the link they share?
- A.The first is a part of the second
- B.They mean the opposite
- C.The first is a kind of the second
- D.They mean nearly the same
Question 2
hasten goes with hurry in the same way that courteous goes with polite. Which sentence says what that link is?
- A.They mean the opposite
- B.The first is a kind of the second
- C.They mean nearly the same
- D.The first is a part of the second
Question 3
Look at two pairs: hull goes with boat, and rudder goes with boat. Which sentence describes the link they share?
- A.They mean the opposite
- B.They mean nearly the same
- C.The first is a kind of the second
- D.The first is a part of the second
Question 4
fertile goes with barren. conceal goes with reveal. One sentence below says what is the same about both pairs. Which?
- A.The first is a part of the second
- B.They mean nearly the same
- C.They mean the opposite
- D.The first is a kind of the second
Question 5
petal goes with flower in the same way that stalk goes with flower. Which sentence says what that link is?
- A.They mean nearly the same
- B.The first is a part of the second
- C.The first is a kind of the second
- D.They mean the opposite
Question 6
rudder goes with boat. hull goes with boat. One sentence below says what is the same about both pairs. Which?
- A.They mean the opposite
- B.The first is a part of the second
- C.They mean nearly the same
- D.The first is a kind of the second
Question 7
courteous goes with polite in the same way that diminish goes with lessen. Which sentence says what that link is?
- A.They mean nearly the same
- B.They mean the opposite
- C.The first is a kind of the second
- D.The first is a part of the second
Question 8
Look at two pairs: laptop goes with computer, and tablet goes with computer. Which sentence describes the link they share?
- A.The first is a part of the second
- B.The first is a kind of the second
- C.They mean nearly the same
- D.They mean the opposite
Question 9
diminish goes with lessen. hasten goes with hurry. One sentence below says what is the same about both pairs. Which?
- A.They mean the opposite
- B.They mean nearly the same
- C.The first is a kind of the second
- D.The first is a part of the second
Question 10
artificial goes with natural in the same way that reckless goes with cautious. Which sentence says what that link is?
- A.They mean the opposite
- B.The first is a kind of the second
- C.The first is a part of the second
- D.They mean nearly the same

Practise it now

Full is to empty as happy is to…?

This exercise practises identify an analogy relation alongside its own main skill, Word Analogies.

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.

What two pairs have in common

jumper goes with garment in the same way that cathedral goes with building. Which sentence says what that link is?

Work one pair of pairs through and see why part and kind need a test rather than a feeling.

They mean the opposite
The first is a part of the second
They mean nearly the same
The first is a kind of the second

Answer: The first is a kind of the second

How you get there

The link is that the first is a kind of the second, and it holds in both pairs: every jumper is a garment, but not every garment is a jumper, and every cathedral is a building, but not every building is a cathedral. Part and kind are the two that get mixed up, and one sentence tells them apart: say "every jumper is a garment". That is true here, so it is a kind. Name the link out loud before you look at the options, because the label you would have written is almost always among them and the ones you would not have written stop being tempting.

Why the other answers tempt

Two words that turn up together are not automatically a part and a whole: a bicycle and a road go together and neither is part of the other.

If they are stuck, say this

Say the link out loud in your own words first, using both pairs, then look for the sentence that says the same thing.

Now do it live in Word Bridge

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 try Identify an analogy relation together. Work one pair of pairs through and see why part and kind need a test rather than a feeling. Here comes the question: jumper goes with garment in the same way that cathedral goes with building. Which sentence says what that link is? A handy clue is: Say the link out loud in your own words first, using both pairs, then look for the sentence that says the same thing. Nice work. Here is the thinking: Name the link out loud before you look at the options, because the label you would have written is almost always among them and the ones you would not have written stop being tempting. So our answer is: The first is a kind of the second. One sneaky trap is: Two words that turn up together are not automatically a part and a whole: a bicycle and a road go together and neither is part of the other. Can you show me the first move in your own words? No rush; one calm step is enough.

What this exercise is doing

Word Bridge

Full is to empty as happy is to…?

This engine’s own main skill is Word Analogies. It practises identify an analogy relation alongside it, and covers most of it rather than all.

Full is the opposite of empty, so happy is the opposite of sad. In an analogy the two pairs must be joined by exactly the same relationship: find the link in the first pair, then carry that link across.

What to say if they get stuck

Say the first pair out loud: "Full is the opposite of empty."
The same bridge has to carry "happy". These are opposites.

Open Word Bridge on its own page to share it

Where identify an analogy relation sits in the 11+

The 11+ does not test these skills in isolation, and practising one in the wrong order wastes the practice. These are the skills the curriculum map connects this one to.

This opens up: Transfer an analogy relation
A relation must be identified before it can be transferred.
The same thinking arrives from: Classify a word relationship
Semantic classification can transfer into provider-style analogy analysis.
The same thinking carries into: Complete a letter connection
Relational comparison transfers from semantic to symbolic pairs.

How identify an analogy relation differs from the skills beside it

The same exercise practises several skills, and telling them apart is often the difficulty rather than the exercise itself. On this page the skill is: identify the semantic relationship in one word pair, and it stops where excludes completing the second pair.

Select an antonym
Select a word with the opposite meaning in the stated context. Excludes merely different words.
Transfer an analogy relation
Apply a stated or inferred word relationship to complete a second pair. One relation must remain invariant.
Select opposite meaning
Choose the option most opposite in meaning to a target word. Excludes merely unrelated options.

Questions parents ask about identify an analogy relation

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

: Identify the semantic relationship in one word pair. It is one of 26 named verbal reasoning skills in the 11+, in the analogy strand, and this page carries 1 interactive exercise that practises it.
: Two words that turn up together are not automatically a part and a whole: a bicycle and a road go together and neither is part of the other. 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. Say the link out loud in your own words first, using both pairs, then look for the sentence that says the same thing.
: Once it is secure, the skill map opens transfer an analogy relation. A relation must be identified before it can be transferred.
: The skill map draws the line here: Excludes completing the second pair. 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 skill map connects it to classify a word relationship and complete a letter connection. Semantic classification can transfer into provider-style analogy analysis. Relational comparison transfers from semantic to symbolic pairs. Each of those has its own page here.
: Use Word Bridge, embedded on this page. It is the exercise the skill map attaches to identify an analogy relation, 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.

Identify an analogy relation is the step before transfer an analogy relation

A free diagnostic maps the whole run of skills either side of this one, so practice follows the order the paper actually needs.