SSAT Elementary Level Verbal : Analogies

Study concepts, example questions & explanations for SSAT Elementary Level Verbal

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Example Questions

Example Question #3 : Subject To Object Or Object To Subject

Complete this analogy.

Firefighter is to fire as __________.

Possible Answers:

policewoman is to crime

doctor is to healthy

waiter is to food

librarian is to books

business is to businessperson

Correct answer:

policewoman is to crime

Explanation:

Since firefighters fight fires, we need to pick out another pair of words in which the first word is a job, and the second word is the thing that people who work that job try to stop. While "policeman," "librarian," "doctor," and "waiter" are all occupations, but "healthy" can't be the correct answer because it's an adjective, not a noun, and "librarian is to books" can't be correct either because a librarian doesn't try to stop books, he or she distributes them and helps people find them. Since a policewoman's job is to stop crime, just like a firefighter's job is to stop fires, "policewoman is to crime" is the correct answer.

Example Question #4 : Subject To Object Or Object To Subject

Complete this analogy.

Disinfect is to germs as __________ is to hair.

Possible Answers:

shave

delete

unleash

suspend

create

Correct answer:

shave

Explanation:

To "disinfect" means to make something clean, to rid something of "germs." So, to solve this analogy you need to determine which of these words means to get rid of hair, to remove one's hair. The correct answer is "shave." Additionally, "delete" means remove, cancel, get rid of; "suspend" means pause, halt until later; "create" means make, come up with, invent; "unleash" means release, set loose.

Example Question #5 : Subject To Object Or Object To Subject

Complete this analogy.

Casino is to __________ as chapel is to pray.

Possible Answers:

gamble

church

illegal

religion

spiritual

Correct answer:

gamble

Explanation:

A "chapel" is a little church, it is a place where one might go to "pray." So, which of these is an activity that one might go to a "casino" to do? The correct answer is "gamble" which means bet, wager. Additionally, "illegal" means against the law, not legal; "spiritual" means religious, related to the soul.

Example Question #6 : Subject To Object Or Object To Subject

Complete this analogy.

Kitchen is to cook as bathroom is to __________.

Possible Answers:

sleep

eat

fight

wash

play

Correct answer:

wash

Explanation:

An action that one might do in the "kitchen" is "cook." So, to solve this analogy you need to determine which of these is an action one might do in the "bathroom." The correct answer is "wash."

Example Question #7 : Subject To Object Or Object To Subject

Complete this analogy.

Colleague is to work as combatant is to __________.

Possible Answers:

try

practice

study

fight

sail

Correct answer:

fight

Explanation:

To begin with the prefix co- means together, with. So, a "colleague" is someone you work with, two "colleagues" are two people who work together. Which of these is an action you might undertake with a "combatant?" The correct answer is that a "combatant" is someone you "fight" with.

Example Question #8 : Subject To Object Or Object To Subject

Complete this analogy.

Dehydrate is to __________ as deforest is to trees.

Possible Answers:

water

plants

snow

animals

heat

Correct answer:

water

Explanation:

To begin with the prefix de- means away from, take from. So, to "deforest" means to remove "trees." Which of these is removed when you "dehydrate" something? Well, the root -hydra- means related to water. So, to "dehydrate" is to remove water.

Example Question #9 : Subject To Object Or Object To Subject

Complete this analogy.

Janitor is to clean as mechanic is to __________.

Possible Answers:

cook

teach

protect

create

repair

Correct answer:

repair

Explanation:

A "janitor" is someone who cleans for a living. So, "clean" is an action that a "janitor" might undertake. Which of these is an action that a "mechanic" might undertake? Well, a "mechanic" is someone who fixes machines for a living. So, "repair" is the correct answer. "Repair" means fix, mend, make something no longer broken.

Example Question #1 : Material Composition

Complete this analogy.

Skeleton is to bones as __________.

Possible Answers:

dirt is to worm

thread is to cloth

sharpen is to pencil

log cabin is to logs

sky is to sunset

Correct answer:

log cabin is to logs

Explanation:

A skeleton is comprised of bones, so we need to pick out an answer choice in which the first word is made up of the thing the second word refers to. While "thread is to cloth" might look like a good answer choice because cloth is made up of thread, it can't be the correct answer because the two words are in the incorrect order—skeletons are made of bones, but thread is not made of cloth. Log cabins are made up of logs, however, so "log cabin is to logs" is the correct answer.

Example Question #1 : Measurement, Storage, Location, And Material Composition

Complete this analogy.

Snowflake is to snowdrift as raindrop is to __________.

Possible Answers:

sky

fruit

desert

leaf

downpour

Correct answer:

downpour

Explanation:

Since a snowflake is a single unit of snow, and a snowdrift is composed of a lot of snowflakes, we need to pick out a word that describes something that is composed of a lot of water drops. Since "downpour" is the only answer choice that is made up of lots of raindrops, "downpour" is the correct answer.

Example Question #1 : Material Composition

Complete this analogy.

Wind is to tornado as __________.

Possible Answers:

parrot is to talk

mile is to distance

wriggle is to worm

snow is to snowstorm

rain is to rainbow

Correct answer:

snow is to snowstorm

Explanation:

"Tornado" is a noun that means "a mobile, destructive vortex of violently rotating winds having the appearance of a funnel-shaped cloud and advancing beneath a large storm system." So, because a tornado is a natural disaster that consists of wind, we need to pick out an answer choice in which the second word represents a natural disaster caused by or composed of the first word. "Rain is to rainbow" might look like a potentially correct answer, but since a "rainbow" is not a natural disaster, it cannot be the correct answer. However, because a snowstorm is a natural disaster created by snow, just like a tornado is a natural disaster created by wind, "snow is to snowstorm" is the correct answer.

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