All HSPT Verbal Resources
Example Questions
Example Question #41 : Verbal Classifications: Nouns
Which word does not belong with the others?
lacrosse
football
basketball
soccer
baseball
football
All of these words are a type of sport. This means we have to think about what makes each sport unique. In this case, "football" is the only sport on the list that does not use a round ball.
Example Question #42 : Verbal Classifications: Nouns
Which word does not belong with the others?
plateau
silt
coast
mountain
delta
silt
"Silt" does not belong with the other words. "Silt" is a type of fine sand or dirt, usually found in a body of water. All of the other words are types of geographic features. A "plateau" is a relatively flat place of high ground. (Think of a hill or mountain with the top cut off.) A "mountain" is a large, steep hill. A "delta" is usually a triangular shaped deposit of rich sediment at the mouth of a river. A "coast" is where any land meets the ocean.
Example Question #43 : Verbal Classifications: Nouns
Which word does not belong with the others?
peas
cabbage
broccoli
spinach
beets
beets
Although all of these words are a type of vegetable, "beets" are red. All of the other vegetables listed are green.
Example Question #44 : Verbal Classifications: Nouns
Which word does not belong with the others?
ice cream
pizza
pie
cake
mousse
pizza
"Pizza" does not belong with the other words because it is not a kind of dessert. All four of the other words are eaten for dessert. ("Mousse" is a kind of creamy pudding.)
Example Question #45 : Verbal Classifications: Nouns
Which word does not belong with the others?
Antarctica
Asia
Europe
Canada
Australia
Canada
"Canada" does not belong with the other words because it is a country, while of the other words are continents. There are seven continents: Asia, Africa, Australia, Antarctica, Europe, South America and North America. "Canada" is a country in North America. "Australia" is both a country and a continent.
Example Question #46 : Verbal Classifications: Nouns
Which word does not belong with the others?`
marigold
rose
daisy
corn
pansy
corn
All of these words are a type of plant. "Corn" is a grain. "Marigolds," "pansies," "daisies" and "roses" are types of flowers. "Corn" does not belong with the other words.
Example Question #47 : Verbal Classifications: Nouns
Which word does not belong with the others?
aunt
brother
mother
sister
grandmother
brother
All of these words describe a family member. "Brother" does not belong with the other words because it describes a male family member. "Grandmother," "mother," "aunt," and "sister" all describe female family members.
Example Question #41 : Verbal Classifications
Which word does not belong with the others?
Reflection
Vestige
Utterance
Echo
Reverberation
Utterance
All of the related words pertain to some kind of subsequent presentation of an event. A reverberation or an echo are the “replayed” sound of some original action of making a noise. A reflection is the redisplaying of an image—as in the mirror that reflects an image that first was “in” the person seen therein or in a metallic surface that reflects light that had originated from another source. Finally, even a vestige is a “representation” of something, for it is a “leftover” that outlasts an original event. (A footprint is a vestige of an action of walking that happened before. Indeed, “vestige” comes from the Latin for footprint). Only “utterance” describes an originating, non-repeated, non-representational activity.
Example Question #42 : Verbal Classifications
Which word does not belong with the others?
operate
mediate
translate
intervene
insinuate
operate
All of the related words here have to do with some process of “standing between” two things. Someone “mediates” by attempting to help two parties agree. (More generally, the term can mean “to be a link between two things”). An intervention is an action by which something is stopped by means of some obstacle (literally or metaphorically). To translate is “carry” the meaning from one language to another. (The “-late” portion " the word literally means “carry”!). To insinuate can mean “to make a suggestion indirectly;” however, it can also mean “to manipulate a situation so as to place oneself into some favorable position.” Only “operate” does not convey this sense of “mediation” found in all the other options.
Example Question #43 : Verbal Classifications
Which word does not belong with the others?
determine
recount
explicate
specify
describe
recount
Each of the related words describes some action of making an idea more specific or explicit. For instance, to specify the details of an order is to “spell out” the exact details of that order. A description can be seen as an itemizing or something in order to make it known in its details. When we “determine” to do something, we choose a certain actual thing to do after having had a number of potential activities. To explicate is to explain, often implying detailed analysis. Only “recount” has little to do with any of these other words. It means to “retell” as in “recounting a story.” This might be a nice detailed account, but the word does not necessarily signify such detail.