Verbal Reasoning · Analogy
Apply a stated or inferred word relationship to complete a second pair.
This video shows how to apply the relationship in one word pair to choose the missing word in another pair. Watch an 11+ verbal reasoning question solved step by step.
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10 questions, with feedback after each one. No sign-up needed.
Question 1
Which word completes the analogy in the same way as the first pair?
Question 2
Which word completes the analogy in the same way as the first pair?
Question 3
Which word completes the analogy in the same way as the first pair?
Question 4
Which word completes the analogy in the same way as the first pair?
Question 5
Which word completes the analogy in the same way as the first pair?
Question 6
Which word completes the analogy in the same way as the first pair?
Question 7
Which word completes the analogy in the same way as the first pair?
Question 8
Which word completes the analogy in the same way as the first pair?
Question 9
Which word completes the analogy in the same way as the first pair?
Question 10
Which word completes the analogy in the same way as the first pair?
Full is to empty as happy is to…?
It covers most of this skill rather than all of it.
Loading the interactive exercise. Nothing you do here is saved or scored.
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.
Naming the link before filling the gap
Say the link between the first two words out loud, then use exactly that link again.
Analogy: rabbit is to burrow as spider is to what?
rabbit is to burrow as spider is to what?
Answer: web
How you get there
rabbit is to burrow as spider is to web, because both pairs link the animal to the home it lives in.
Why the other answers tempt
A word that belongs to the same topic is not enough; it has to fit the same link.
If they are stuck, say this
Put the first pair into a sentence - "rabbit is to burrow" - and check the sentence still works for spider.
Full is to empty as happy is to…?
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
This is the wrong answer 11+ papers are built to offer, so it is worth watching for directly: a child who does this will look confident and still lose the mark. If it keeps happening on transfer an analogy relation, the fix is the misunderstanding rather than more questions.
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.
A relation must be identified before it can be transferred.
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: apply a stated or inferred word relationship to complete a second pair, and it stops where one relation must remain invariant.
Select a word with the opposite meaning in the stated context. Excludes merely different words.
Identify the semantic relationship in one word pair. Excludes completing the second pair.
Choose the option most opposite in meaning to a target word. Excludes merely unrelated options.
What this skill involves, common mistakes and ways to practise it at home.
Apply a stated or inferred word relationship to complete a second 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.
The skill map puts identify an analogy relation first. A relation must be identified before it can be transferred. If transfer an analogy relation keeps going wrong, that is the thing to check before doing more of this one.
There is a specific mistake recorded against this skill: chooses a word from the same topic but with a different relationship. 11+ papers are written to offer exactly that answer, so a child can be confident and still lose the mark. When it keeps happening, the fix is the misunderstanding rather than more questions.
Point at the next move rather than explaining the whole rule. Put the first pair into a sentence - "rabbit is to burrow" - and check the sentence still works for spider.
The skill map draws the line here: One relation must remain invariant. 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 analogy strand holds 2 skills that are tested together, and the page next to transfer an analogy relation is identify an analogy relation. Each has its own exercise and its own link, and none of them needs an account.
Use Word Bridge, embedded on this page. It is the exercise the skill map attaches to transfer 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.
This skill depends on identify an analogy relation. A free diagnostic checks those alongside every other verbal reasoning skill, so you find out whether the problem is here or underneath it.
