All SSAT Middle Level Verbal Resources
Example Questions
Example Question #1 : Analogies
Sweater is to yarn as __________.
fine is to charge
petal is to flower
sugar is to candy
snowball is to snow
coyote is to rabbit
snowball is to snow
A sweater is typically made of yarn, so we need to pick out an answer choice in which the first word is an object and the second word a material one would expect to make up that object. While “snowball is to snow” and “sugar is to candy” might each look like a potentially correct answer, “sugar is to candy” cannot be the correct answer because sugar is not made up of candy—the answer choice’s words are in the incorrect order relative to the example, so it cannot be the correct answer. One might correctly expect a snowball to be made of snow, though, just as one might expect a sweater to be made of yarn, so “snowball is to snow” is the correct answer.
Example Question #1 : Analogies
Water is to droplet as snow is to __________.
blizzard
snowman
storm
drift
flake
flake
“Droplet” is a noun defined as “a very small drop of a liquid,” so water might be measured in droplets as its smallest unit visible to the naked eye. So, we need to pick out a noun that conveys the smallest unit of snow that one might observe with the naked eye. While “flake” and “drift” might each look like a potentially correct answer, “drift” refers to “a large mass of snow, or leaves piled up or carried along by the wind,” not a single small unit of snow, so it cannot be the correct answer. “Flake,” however, when used as a noun, can mean “a snowflake,” which is “a flake of snow, especially a feathery ice crystal, typically displaying delicate sixfold symmetry.” So, because a flake is the smallest unit of snow visible to the naked eye, just as a droplet is the smallest unit of water visible to the naked eye, “flake” is the correct answer.
Example Question #1 : Analogies
Above is to beneath as __________.
flying is to airborne
flower is to tulip
mile is to distance
in is to out
near is to under
in is to out
“Above” is a preposition that means “ in extended space over and not touching,” while “beneath” is a preposition that means “extending or directly underneath, typically with close contact.” So, that means that we need to pick out an answer choice that consists of a pair of prepositions which are antonyms of each other. While “in is to out” and “far is to under” both consists of a pair of prepositions, “far” is not the opposite of “under,” so “far is to under” cannot be the correct answer. “In” is the opposite of “out,” however, just like “above” is the opposite of “beneath,” so “in is to out” is the correct answer.
Example Question #1 : Analogies
Hand is to grasp as arm is to __________.
reach
run
bellow
think
sing
reach
One uses one’s hand to grasp things, or “seize and hold firmly,” so we need to pick out an answer choice that is a verb that one might use one’s arms to do. While all of the potential answer choices are verbs that one might do with the various parts of one’s body, only “reach,” a verb that means “stretch out an arm to touch or grasp something,” is something that one would do with one’s arm. So, because one reaches for things using one’s arm just as one grasps things with one’s hand, “reach” is the correct answer.
Example Question #2 : Analogies
Pizza is to pepperoni as ice cream is to __________.
cone
quart
summer
sprinkles
straw
sprinkles
A pizza might be topped with pepperoni, so we need to pick out an answer choice that describes what might top ice cream. While “sprinkles” and “cone” might each look like a potentially correct answer, ice cream is often served in a cone, not topped with a cone, so “cone” cannot be the correct answer. Ice cream can be topped with sprinkles, however, just as a pizza can be topped with pepperoni, so “sprinkles” is the correct answer.
Example Question #2 : Analogies
War is to pacific as __________.
animal is to organism
determination is to willful
silence is to loud
fuzzy is to soft
fortunate is to unlucky
silence is to loud
“Pacific” is a adjective that can mean either “peaceful in character or intent,” or when capitalized, “of or relating to the Pacific Ocean.” So, because the “pacific” in the question is not capitalized, we will need to assume that it means “peaceful in character or intent.” War is something that is definitely not pacific, so we need to pick out an answer choice in which the first word is a noun and the second word an adjective that describes the opposite of the noun. While “silence is to loud” and “determination is to willful” might each look like a potentially correct answer choice, “determination is to willful” cannot be the correct answer because “determination” is a noun that means “firmness of purpose,” and “willful” is an adjective that can mean “stubborn.” So, because “willful” might describe someone who has determination, not its opposite, “determination is to willful” cannot be the correct answer. “Loud,” however, describes something that is the opposite of silence, just as “pacific” describes something that is the opposite of war, so “silence is to loud” is the correct answer.
Example Question #1 : Analogies
Analogies: Complete this analogy.
Xenophobia is to foreigners as zoophobia is to __________.
People
Love
Outings
Animals
Death
Animals
The suffix "-phobia" means related to a fear. "Xenophobia" is the fear of foreigners, which one can infer from the presence of the prefix "xeno-," which means having to do with foreigners, in the word. So, to solve this analogy, you have to determine what "zoophobia" is the fear of. The prefix "zoo-" means having to do with animals, so "zoophobia" is the fear of animals and "animals" is the correct answer.
Example Question #2 : Analogies
Analogies: Complete this analogy.
Chemistry is to chemist as zoology is to __________.
zoo
zoologist
biologist
biology
animals
zoologist
The suffix "-ist" means someone who practices the first part of the word. Therefore, "chemist" means one who practices chemistry. For the answer, we need something that means "one who practices zoology," which would be "zoologist."
Example Question #1 : Analogies
Analogies: Complete this analogy.
Darkness is to dark as heaviness is to __________.
heave
weight
light
heavy
lightness
heavy
This analogy makes a relationship using the suffix "-ness." This suffix changes an adjective, like "dark" or "heavy" into a noun that expresses the quality of that adjective. The noun "darkness" expresses the quality of being dark, and the noun "heaviness" expresses the quality of heavy.
Example Question #22 : Ssat Middle Level Verbal
Analogies: Complete this analogy.
Computer is to computerize as motor is to __________.
motorize
engine
car
abacus
motherboard
motorize
The relationship here has to do with the suffix "-ize." This suffix takes an adjective or noun (such as "motor" or "computer") and makes it into a verb that means convert into that thing. If you add computers to something, you "computerize" it. If you add motors to something, you "motorize" it.