Sheet 11 of 14 · Verbal Reasoning
Verbal reasoning word puzzles
Making words, meanings and sentences: a method for each question type. 11 rules, each with a worked example.
Making words
Anagrams
Use every letter exactly once to make a new word
- Try common endings first: -ING, -ER, -ED, -LY
ExampleLISTEN → SILENTMissing three letters
Three letters in a row are missing from the capital word; they spell a word too
ExampleWe caught the TR to London → AIN (TRAIN)Tip: Read the whole sentence: it tells you what the word must mean.
Word ladders
Change one letter at a time; every step must be a real word
ExampleCOLD → CORD → CARD → WARD → WARMWord patterns
Work out which letters of the outside words make the middle word, then copy that pattern
- Number the letters 1, 2, 3, 4 to see where each one comes from
ExampleSLOW (SLAP) CLAP, so CHIN (?) HOOP → CHOP
Meanings
Odd two out
Find what three of the words share; the other two don't belong
Exampleapple, pear, carrot, plum, potato → carrot and potato (vegetables)One word, two meanings
Find the one word that fits both groups; it is often a noun in one and a verb in the other
Example(woof, yelp) (tree skin, covering) → BARKWord analogies
Say the link as a sentence, then use the same sentence on the second pair
ExamplePuppy is to dog as kitten is to cat (a puppy is a young dog)Closest pair
Take one word from each group so the two mean nearly the same
Example(quick, loud, cold) (slow, rapid, warm) → quick and rapidTip: Watch out for opposites in the list: they are there to catch you out.
Sentences
Shuffled sentences
Put the words in order to make a sentence; one word is left over
Examplethe bus late was today very sky → SKY (The bus was very late today)Swapped words
Two words have swapped places: find the pair that makes the sentence sensible
ExampleThe vet was taken to the dog → VET and DOGChoose the right word
Read the whole sentence first, then check the tense and that the words agree
ExampleShe has (wrote, written) a letter → written
Want the full explanation?
The study guide goes through each rule step by step, with more examples.