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Topic Note: Verbal Skills

The idea behind this category is to develop and enhance the English and verbal reasoning skills of a
student. The questions in this category can broadly be classified in two categories:

1) Verbal Reasoning: The questions in this category essentially test a student’s broader
understanding of English language. There are various types of questions in this sub-topic.
a. Analogy: In one type, the question contains two or more words / phrases which are
related in some way and the child has to decipher what the relationship is between the
two words / phrases. These are different than the topic of “Identifying relationships /
trends”, in the sense, that, in these questions the relationship between various words /
phrases is solely dependent on the understanding of English language. e.g.: Soap is
related to Wash as Broom is related to ?
b. Statement Ordering: In another type of question, a student will be given various
sentences, which he needs to arrange in a systematic order (typically in the order in
which it occurs).
c. Odd one Out: Similarly in some questions, four or more words / terms are presented
and the student has to find the odd one out.
e.g. Choose the odd one out : Milk, Tea, Sugar, Coffee

2) Word Play: The questions in this category usually focus on testing and enhancing child’s
vocabulary. There could be various types of questions in this category. Some of these are as
follows:
a. Word Completion: In some other question, student may be asked to identify the group
of alphabets, which add up to form a word
e.g. Identify the common letter which completes both the words : N_S E & OCT_BER
b. Word Formation: In this section, a child has to use some or all the letters of a word,
to make new words which are meaningful
e.g. Which of the below words can be formed using the letters of the word: FAST?
A. SAT B. TAB C. MAT D. CAT
c. Embedded Word: In some questions, the student may also be asked to find a hidden
word between two words
d. Letter Play: In one type, we present two or more words and ask the child to move, add
or delete a letter from any of the words in such a way that the resultant words are still
meaningful
e.g. Move one letter from either of the words: STOP or FLOAT to another in such a way
that the two still form meaningful words.

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VERBAL REASONING
The key to solving these questions is to identify the trend or pattern and accordingly either find out the
next or missing word in the pattern or identify a wrong term in the pattern. It is important to notice
that the words need to be in the same order as in the question. For instance, if the left hand side
analogy is minutes:hour, the right hand side cannot be day:hour. It should be hours: day. Several
minutes together form an hour and in the same way several hours together form a day.

The following explains the broad categories of patterns which one can find:

ANALOGY:
Types of Relationship :
Quantity and Unit:
1) Length : Metre :: Time : ?
A) Seconds B) Kilogram C) Kilometre D) Litre
Solution : As we can see, Metre is the unit of Length. Hence, ‘Seconds’ can come in place of?
as it is a unit of Time.
Individual and Group:
1) Sailors : Crew :: Man : ?
A) Crowd B) Herd C) Swarm D) Ship
Solution : A group sailors is called a crew. Similarly, a group of men is called a Crowd.

Male and Female :

1) Man is related to woman in the same as boy is related to _____.
A) Girl B) Lady C) Cat D) Mouse
Solution : Clearly, the relationship here is that of Male and Female and hence the answer here
would be Girl.

2) Son : Daughter :: Nephew : ?

A) Niece B) Uncle C) Aunt D) Girl
Solution : As above, the correct answer here would be ‘Niece’.
Worker and Tool :
1) Carpenter : Saw :: Tailor : ?
A) Hammer B) Scissor C) Knife D) Paintbrush
Solution : Saw is the tool used by the carpenter. The answer to this question is a scissor as it
is the tool used by the Tailor.

2) Author is related to pen in the same way as painter is related to ______.

A) Hammer B) Scissor C) Knife D) Paintbrush
Solution : As before, the tool used by the Painter is paintbrush which is the answer here.

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There can be many other relationships like these: Tool and Action, Worker and Working place, Worker
and Product, Part and Whole, Word and Synonym, Word and Antonym, etc. and the child has to
identify this relationship in order to complete the analogous pair.
Find the Analogous pair :
There can also be questions wherein the child has to find the pair of words which have the same
relationship as the original pair.
Example :
1) Badminton : Court
a. Hockey : Stick b. Cricket : Bat c. Football : Goal d. Skating : Rink
In the original pair of words, we can see that Badminton is played in the Court. Out of the four options,
only Skating : Rink, exhibit the same relationship.
Three Word Analogy :
In some questions, a set of three inter-related words could be given and the child may have to trace out
the relationship between these and choose another group with the same analogy.
Example :
1) Carnivorous : Tiger : Wolf
a) Mango : Banana : Fruit
b) Cat : Cow : Milk
c) Student : Boy : Girl
d) Pen : Paper : Pencil
Solution : As we can see, in the original words, Tiger and Wolf belong to the same category i.e.
Carnivorous. Similar relationship can be seen in the third option wherein Boy and Girl belong to the
category student.
2) Dog : Squirrel : Tail
a) Cottage : Hut : Palace
b) Water : Crocodile : Tiger
c) Cow : Ox : Horn
d) Truck : Scooter : Car
Solution : The third word here is common thing between the first two. Similar relationship is observed
in Option C i.e. Both Cow and Ox have horns.

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DETECTING ANALOGIES:
In this type of questions, the child needs to identify the hidden relationship / common characteristic
among the given words.
Examples :
1) Judo : Karate : Taekwondo
a) They are names of Martial arts
b) They are names of Classical dance
c) They are performed on stage
d) They are European Games
Solution : Clearly, the common characteristic between the three is that they are names of Martial Arts
and hence option a) is the correct answer.
2) Mars : Venus : Pluto
a) They are all planets
b) They are all satellites
c) All of them are Stars
d) They are all comets
Solution : Since these are all the names of the planets in the solar system, option a) is the correct
answer.
3) Red : Yellow : Blue
a) They are all secondary colours
b) They are primary colours
c) They occur together in a rainbow
d) They are made by mixing other colours
Solution : Red, Yellow and Blue are all primary colours and can’t be obtained using mixed colour.
Hence, option b) is the correct answer.
ODD ONE OUT :
Here, a group of words/items is given which have common quality, except for one and the child has to
spot this odd word/item.
Single Word :
Out of the given four/five words, the child has to spot the odd one out. Some examples are :
1) Find the odd one out
a) Curd b) Butter c) Oil d) Cheese
Solution : Here, all except oil are products obtained from Milk. Hence, the answer is Option c).
2) Find the odd one out
a) Brinjal b) Apple c) Grapes d) Banana
Solution : Except for Brinjal, all others are fruits. Hence, the answer is Option a).

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3) Find the odd one out

a) Carrot b) Tomato c) Potato d) Beetroot
Solution : The common characteristic here is that all of these are vegetables that grow underground
except for Tomato. Hence, the answer is Option b).
4) Find the odd one out
a) Chennai b) Maharashtra c) Ahmedabad d) Kolkata
Solution : Except for Maharashtra, all other names are cities. Hence, the answer is Option b).
5) Find the odd one out
a) Lake b) Sea c) River d) Pool
Solution : Pool is not a natural water-body as compared to the others. Hence, the answer is Option d).
6) Find the odd one out
a) Fox b) Wolf c) Deer d) Jackal
Solution : Except for Deer, the other three are carnivorous animals. Hence, the answer is Option c).

Odd Pair of Words :

In this type of questions, certain pair of words are given out of which the words in all the pairs except
one, share a common relationship. The child has to identify this relationship and then find the odd pair.
In these types of questions child should focus on finding relationship between any pair given in
the options. Once that is done, the child can see if the other options also follow the same
relationship and accordingly find the odd one out.
Some examples are as below:
1) Find the odd pair :
a) Car : Road b) Ship : Sea
c) Aeroplane : Pilot d) Rocket : Space
Solution : The common relationship here is : First is the means of the transport on the medium denoted
by the second. Except for Option c), all others have this same relationship.
2) Find the odd pair :
a) Tree : Branch b) Hand : Finger
c) Table : Chair d) Room : Floor
Solution : In all other pairs except Option c), we can see that the second word is a part of the first.
3) Find the odd pair :
a) Class : Students b) Sentence : Words
c) Herd : Sheep d) Tomato : Potato
Solution : Clearly, in all the options, the second denotes the class to which the first belongs except for
option d).
4) Find the odd pair :

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a) Profit : Loss b) Wise : Foolish

c) Beautiful : Ugly d) Good : Better
Solution : The given words are opposites except in option D where the second word is a superlative
adjective of the first word. The odd one out here is Option d).

ARRANGE THE STATEMENTS :

In this type of questions, a set of statements is given and the child has to arrange them in the order in
which they happen. Some examples are as below:
1) Arrange the statements in the order in which they happen.
P. John went to school in the morning
Q. John studied in the school
R. John came back from school

a) PQR b) PRQ c) RPQ d) QPR

Solution : As we can see, the order here would be : John going to the school, then studying and then
coming back from the school. Hence, the correct answer is Option a) PQR.

2) Arrange the statements in the order in which they happen.

P. Nishit learns to cycle
Q. Nishit cycles all around the park
R. Nishit buys a cycle

a) QPR b) RPQ c) RQP d) PQR

Solution : In order to cycle around the park, Nishit has to first learn to cycle and to learn this, he needs
to buy a cycle first. Hence, the correct option answer is Option b) RPQ

3) Arrange the below in the order in which they happen in a week.

P. Saturday
Q. Monday
R. Tuesday

b) QPR b) RPQ c) QRP d) PQR

Solution : We know that Monday comes before Tuesday which come before Saturday. Hence, the
correct order is QRP i.e. option c)

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WORD PLAY
Here, the child is given words and asked to move, add or delete a letter from any of the words in such
a way that the resultant words are still meaningful. In some questions, the child may also be asked to
find a hidden word between two words or make a meaningful word out of Jumbled words.

WORD COMPLETION:
In this type of questions, two or more words are given and the child has to complete both the words by
adding one or more letters. In some questions, the child may be given a set of words and asked to make
a meaningful word using two of the given words.
In these types of questions if a child finds it difficult to solve, the best way is to check for each
option and evaluate the problem.

Some examples are as below:

1) Which single letter would complete the words : G R _ W and _ L D
a) A b) O c) E d) B
Solution : We can see that by adding the letter O, the resultant words are GROW and OLD. Hence,
the correct answer is option b)

2) Which letter would complete the words : D R I _ E R and R I _ E R

a) A b) V c) L d) B
Solution : We can see that by adding the letter V, we get the words DRIVER and RIVER. Hence, the
correct answer is option b)

3) Identify the letters which completes the three words below in such a way that :
a. First letter completes the first word and is common between the first two blanks
b. Second letter completes the third word and is common between the last two blanks
1 2 3
TU_E _RO_N T_O

4) P,R b) R,S c) B,W d) F,H

Solution : By adding the letters B and W, we can see that the words become meaningful i.e. TUBE,
WRONG & TWO. Hence, the correct option is c)

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WORD FORMATION:
In this section, given is a word and using the letters of the word, the child is required to make new
words by selecting some or all of the letters of the given word and re-arranging them in such a way
that it still forms meaningful words.

Some examples are as below:

1) Which of the below words can be formed using the letters of the word : ELEPHANT?
a) TAP b) MAT c) CAT d) BAT
Solution : By selecting the letters T,A,P from the given word, we can make the new word : TAP.
Hence the correct answer is option a)

2) Which of the below words cannot be formed using the letters of the word : CROCODILE?
a) CODE b) IDLE c) DOG d) CORE
Solution : We can see that the words : CODE, IDLE & CORE can be formed using the letters of the
given word. While ‘G’ is not present in the word, so we cannot form the word DOG. Hence the correct
answer is option c)

3) Find the two words, one from each group which when joined together form a new word. The
word from group 1 always comes first.

1. Tooth A. Rest
2. Lot B. Brush
3. Star C. Film

a) 1A b) 2C c) 3C d) 1B
Solution : Using the words, 1B we can form the word : Toothbrush. Hence, the correct answer is
option d)

JUMBLED WORDS:
In this section, a set of alphabets is given and the child is supposed to arrange them in such a way that
it forms a meaningful word. Some examples are as below :

1) Unscramble the jumbled letters to form meaningful words: CONDES

a) SEDONC b) SECOND c) CONSED d) EDNOCS

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Solution : After re-arranging the words, we can form a meaningful word SECOND. Hence, the correct
answer is option b)

2) Unscramble the jumbled letters to form meaningful words: WERFLO

a) RELFOW b) FOWLER c) FLOWER d) WOLFER

Solution : After re-arranging the words, we can form a meaningful word FLOWER. Hence, the correct
answer is option c)

EMBEDDED WORDS:
In this section, a word is given and the child has to find a meaningful word from it either by reading
from left or right or from right to left. In some questions, there can be two or more words and the child
has to find the hidden word by reading from left to right and skipping some letters. Some examples
are as below :

1) Find the word embedded in the grid below : AGSDHDJDUCKSASDSDF

a) SAD b) THEN c) DUCK d) TEACH

Solution : Reading left to right , we see that the word DUCK is present in the grid after AGSDHDJ.
Hence, the correct answer is option c)

2) Find the word embedded in the grid below : ELITREFDJKFNSJSALFELJF

a) DJKF b) FERTILE c) SALE d) FALSE

Solution : Reading left to right , we see that there is no meaningful word. Now, from right to left we
see that the word FERTILE is present in the grid. Hence, the correct answer is option b)

3) Find the hidden number in the two words : TINSEL TOWN in such a way that you read only
from left to right. You may skip some letters but may not break the order.
a) TWO b) TEN c) THREE d) TWELVE

Solution : Reading left to right , we see that with the help of letter T,E & N we can form the number
TEN. Hence, the correct answer is option b)

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LETTER PLAY:
In this section, two or more words are given and the child has to either add, move or delete one or
more letters in such a way that it still forms two meaningful words.

In these types of questions if a child finds it difficult to solve, the best way is to check for each
option and evaluate the problem.

Some examples are as below:

1) Which letter should be dropped once in the words: STOOP FLOAT in such a way that it still
forms two meaningful words?
a) A b) O c) T d) F

Solution : Dropping the letter O in the given words, gives the words : STOP and FLAT which are
meaningful. Hence, the correct answer is option b)

2) Which letter should be added once in the words: STOP FLAT in such a way that it still forms
two meaningful words?
a) A b) O c) T d) F

Solution : Adding the letter O in the given words, gives the words : STOOP and FLOAT which are
meaningful. Hence, the correct answer is option b)

3) Choose one that can be moved from either of the words : STARE and HOP in such a way that
it still forms two meaningful words?
a) S b) T c) O d) E

Solution : Moving the letter E in the given words, gives the words : STAR and HOPE which are
meaningful. Hence, the correct answer is option d)

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