Verbal analogies are the question type that asks your child to think like a detective. The pattern is always "A is to B as C is to ?", and the job is to work out the exact relationship in the first pair, then apply that same relationship to complete the second. On this page each question gives the sentence with two blanks and two short groups of words, and your child chooses one word from each group to fill the gaps.
Analogies are a favourite of GL Assessment because they test reasoning and vocabulary at the same time, which makes them a strong predictor of overall ability. They appear in the Verbal Reasoning paper, a quick-moving test of around 80 questions in roughly 50 to 60 minutes, with each type in its own block and answers recorded on a separate answer sheet. GL does not publish the count, but our research estimate from practice papers is somewhere around 5 to 10 analogy questions per paper.
Every question on this page comes with a worked explanation that names the relationship in plain words, such as "young animal to adult" or "tool to the person who uses it". That habit of naming the link before choosing is the single most powerful analogy strategy, and seeing it modelled question after question is how your child makes it automatic.
GL builds analogies on a wide range of relationship types. There is no official weighting, so this is our research estimate of the relationships your child meets most often, ordered roughly by frequency:
Difficulty grows with both the vocabulary and the relationship. Easy questions use common words and obvious links, while hard ones rely on words such as cygnet or leveret and on subtler relationships, with two or three distractors that are related to C but match the wrong link.
These four question types all turn on what words mean, but they ask for different things. Synonyms want a word that matches, antonyms want its opposite, analogies want you to copy a relationship onto a new pair, and odd two out wants the two words that break a hidden group of three.
| Question type | What it tests | What it looks like | The classic mix-up |
|---|---|---|---|
| Verbal AnalogiesThis page | Whether your child can spot the relationship in one word pair and copy it onto a second. | A sentence in the shape "A is to B as C is to ?". For example: "calf is to cow as foal is to ___", where the answer is horse. | Treating it like odd two out and hunting for the word that does not fit, rather than copying the relationship. |
| Synonyms | Whether your child knows a word that means the same, or nearly the same, as a given word. | Two small groups of words; your child finds the pair, one from each group, that mean almost the same. For example: "(rapid, gentle, loud) (soft, swift, bright)". | Slipping into antonym mode and hunting for the opposite, so "swift" is matched with "slow" rather than a same-meaning word. |
| Antonyms | Whether your child can find a word that means the opposite of a given word. | Two small groups of words; your child picks the pair, one from each, that are opposites. For example: "(ancient, brave, narrow) (calm, wide, gentle)". | Grabbing a same-meaning word by mistake, so "narrow" is paired with "thin" instead of its opposite "wide". |
| Odd Two Out | Whether your child can spot three words that share a link and the two that do not belong. | Five words; your child marks the two that fall outside the group the other three form. For example: "oak, rose, pine, birch, tulip". | Treating it like synonyms and matching two similar words, instead of finding the group of three and leaving the outsiders. |
If the question gives you one target word and asks for a single match, it is synonyms or antonyms; if it gives you a completed pair to imitate, it is an analogy; if it gives you five words and asks which do not fit, it is odd two out.
Five questions drawn from PrepStep’s verbal analogies bank, spanning Foundation to Challenging. Tap “Show worked explanation” to see the full method after you’ve had a go. The correct answer is highlighted on each question so you can check immediately.
___ is to patient as teacher is to ___
Group A
Group B
A doctor looks after a patient, just as a teacher looks after a pupil. Tip: The key question is: what is the EXACT relationship between A and B? Apply that same relationship to C. ✓
___ is to book as verse is to ___
Group A
Group B
A chapter is a section of a book, just as a verse is a section of a poem. A 'rhyme' is a feature of a verse and a 'reader' enjoys the poem, but neither is the whole work a verse belongs to. Tip: both pairs should be part-to-whole. ✓
___ is to cat as hoof is to ___
Group A
Group B
A paw belongs to a cat, just as a hoof belongs to a horse. Both are feet of animals. Tip: Common relationship types: opposite, young→adult, tool→user, part→whole, cause→effect. ✓
___ is to temporary as rigid is to ___
Group A
Group B
Permanent is the opposite of temporary, and rigid is the opposite of flexible. Both are antonym pairs. Tip: The key question is: what is the EXACT relationship between A and B? Apply that same relationship to C. ✓
___ is to foot as finger is to ___
Group A
Group B
A toe is part of a foot, just as a finger is part of a hand. Tip: If two options seem right, pick the one that matches the SAME TYPE of relationship, not just any connection. ✓
Common mistake 1 of 4
Choosing a word just because it is connected to C.
Tip: If the link is "tool to user", a word that is merely about C will tempt your child. Teach them to name the exact relationship first, then test each option against that precise link rather than against a loose connection.
Common mistake 2 of 4
Getting the direction of the relationship the wrong way round.
Tip: Young to adult is not the same as adult to young. Encourage your child to check that the second pair runs in the same direction as the first, so cub to bear means cygnet to swan, never swan to cygnet.
Common mistake 3 of 4
Matching the wrong level on a degree relationship.
Tip: When the link is about intensity, cool and freezing are not interchangeable. Remind your child to match the strength of the relationship, not just its general theme.
Common mistake 4 of 4
Settling before checking both blanks work together.
Tip: Because two words must be chosen, the right answer is the pair where both gaps share one clear relationship. Train your child to read the finished sentence back to confirm the two pairs truly mirror each other.
Every PrepStep 11+ question is original, written to mirror the style and difficulty of the GL Assessment 11+ and grounded in a library of real past-paper patterns, with a worked explanation for each one. PrepStep is built by Ben Jackson, its founder and a parent who has taken one child through the 11+ with another preparing now. Last reviewed: August 2026.
They are reasoning questions in the shape "A is to B as C is to ?". Your child works out the relationship between the first two words, then applies the same relationship to finish the second pair. They test vocabulary and logical thinking together, which is why GL values them so highly.
As multiple choice on a separate answer sheet. On PrepStep your child sees the analogy sentence with two blanks alongside two short groups of words, and chooses one word from each group to complete it. The wrong options are usually related to the words involved but match a different relationship.
GL does not publish exact numbers. Our research estimate from practice papers is around 5 to 10 analogy questions in a typical Verbal Reasoning paper of roughly 80 questions, normally appearing together as one block.
The combination of advanced vocabulary and a subtle relationship. Hard questions use words such as cygnet or leveret and offer two or three plausible distractors, so your child has to pin down the precise link and resist words that are simply associated with the topic.
The best habit is to name the relationship in words before looking at the options, and then predict the answer. Wide reading builds the vocabulary that hard analogies need. Free PrepStep practice gives one analogy at a time with a worked explanation that names the link, so your child rehearses exactly the right thinking process.
They all rest on word meaning but ask different things. Synonyms want a word meaning the same, antonyms want its opposite, and both give you two small word groups to pick a matching pair from. Verbal analogies give you a completed pair, such as "A is to B as C is to ?", and ask you to copy that relationship. Odd two out gives five words and asks which two fall outside the group the other three share.
Explore the other GL Assessment verbal reasoning topics, each with free sample questions and worked explanations.
PrepStep has 122 verbal analogies questions in GL Assessment format: five options, instant feedback, and step-by-step explanations. Free to start.
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