All SSAT Upper Level Verbal Resources
Example Questions
Example Question #1 : Tool/Use, User/Tool, Actor/Action, Product/Producer, And Subject/Object
Complete this analogy.
Aesop is to fable as Shakespeare is to __________.
Sonnet
Movie
Tome
Concert
Essay
Sonnet
Aesop is most famous for his writing of fables, as in Aesop’s Famous Fables. A fable is a short story with a moral lesson ingrained within. To solve this analogy it is necessary to determine which answer choice is a type of work made famous by Shakespeare. The correct answer is therefore “sonnet.” A Sonnet is a fourteen-line poem with an established iambic pentameter structure. For clarification, a tome is a long and dense book.
Example Question #1 : Product And Producer
Raconteur is to stories as perjurer is to __________.
judged
pledge
court
oath
lies
lies
A “raconteur” is a person who is someone who can retell stories (often in an amusing way). The analogy could be read as stating, “As a raconteur is known for telling stories, so a perjurer is known for X.” When someone commits perjury, that person makes a false statement in court when he or she is under oath to speak the truth; therefore, the best option among those provided is “lies,” for this best describes that for which a perjurer would be characteristically known.
Example Question #2 : Product And Producer
Complete this analogy.
Seamstress is to clothes as __________.
cushion is to couch
architect is to building
book is to author
towel is to dry
legislator is to laws
legislator is to laws
The best choice is "legislator is to laws." The relationship between "seamstress" and "clothes" is that a seamstress makes clothes (this relationship is known as product and producer). Likewise, a person who makes laws is called a legislator (think of the legislative branch of American government). Two other choices which might make sense are "book is to author" and "architect is to building." "Book is to author" is in the incorrect order (product to producer instead of producer to product). "Architect is to building" is incorrect because architects don't build buildings. They design them. In addition, the word "architect" can refer to a variety of positions in various fields of work. Therefore, "legislators is to laws" makes the most sense.
Example Question #3 : Product And Producer
Complete this analogy.
Vintner is to wine as __________.
cooper is to barrels
baker is to meat
butcher is to candles
librarian is to books
carpenter is to bread
cooper is to barrels
“Vintner” is a noun that means someone who makes or sells wine. That means that we need to pick out an answer choice in which the first word is a noun conveying an occupation, and the second word a noun conveying the item that someone who has that occupation either makes or sells. So, while “baker is to meat,” “butcher is to candles,” and “carpenter is to bread” might each in turn look like a potentially correct answer, bakers do not make or sell meat, butchers do not make or sell candles, and carpenters do not make or sell bread, so none of the three can be the correct answer. While “librarian is to books” might look like a potentially correct answer as well because librarians work with books, librarians do not necessarily make or sell books, so “librarian is to books” cannot be the correct answer either. “Cooper,” however, is a noun that means someone who makes or repairs barrels, so just as vintner makes wine, a cooper makes barrels, making “cooper is to barrels” the correct answer.
Example Question #4 : Product And Producer
Complete this analogy.
Painter is to portrait as composer is to __________.
euphonious
instrument
trumpets
symphony
musician
symphony
In days past, a portrait would be painted by a painter. It was the thing created by the painter; therefore, this analogy is one of “maker to thing made,” as though to say, “As the painter makes a portrait, so a composer makes X.” Among the options provided, only “symphony” describes what a composer would make. He would write the musical score for the symphony, which can just be called “a symphony” indicating the musical score itself.
Example Question #5 : Tool/Use, User/Tool, Actor/Action, Product/Producer, And Subject/Object
Complete this analogy.
Scribe is to manuscript as cobbler is to __________.
pastry
pie
repairman
baker
shoe
shoe
A scribe is a person who writes a text by hand. The word “scribe” is not only related to the “script” found in “manuscript” but also to “scribble,” “ascribe,” and “inscribe.” It comes from the Latin for to write. The analogy could be read, “As a scribe works on a manuscript, so a cobbler works on X.” The only option here is “shoe,” for the other words are attempting to have you think of a simple synonym for the dessert known as “cobbler” or a description of a cobbler as a repairman. Although we generally say that scribes produce manuscripts and that cobblers merely repair shoes, the analogy does hold when we use the broader sense noted above, namely that of “working on.”
Example Question #6 : Product And Producer
Complete this analogy.
Witness is to testimony as jury is to __________.
munificent
jocular
haughty
explanation
judgment
judgment
"Testimony" is something given by a "witness," so you must identify which of these answer choices is something given by a "jury." This should lead you to the correct answer, “judgment.” For clarification, "haughty" means proud; "jocular" means humorous or happy; "munificent" means very generous.
Example Question #5 : Product And Producer
Complete this analogy.
Journalist is to news article as bard is to ___________.
tome
essay
poem
diatribe
rhyme
poem
A journalist writes news articles so to solve this analogy you have to determine which of these answer choices is most likely written by a bard. A bard is a poet so the correct answer is “poem.” For clarification, tome means very lengthy and ponderous book; a diatribe is a critical essay attacking someone or something.
Example Question #8 : Product And Producer
Complete this analogy.
__________ is to painter as ballad is to poet.
Epic
Sonnet
Stanza
Haiku
Mural
Mural
A "ballad" is a type of poem. So, to solve this analogy you need to determine which of these is something that might be produced by a "painter." The correct answer is a "mural" which means a painting done directly on a wall. Additionally, "sonnet" and "haiku" are both types of poems; an "epic" is a type of long story or poem, usually of ancient origins, that tells the story of a legendary hero; a "stanza" is a verse, lines in a poem.
Example Question #9 : Product And Producer
Complete this analogy.
Bard it to poetry as __________ is to drama.
confidante
mendicant
lecturer
allegory
thespian
thespian
A "bard" is a poet, someone who produces poetry. So, to solve this analogy you need to determine which of these is a dramatist, someone who produces or performs in drama. The answer choice should therefore be something like "actor," so the correct answer is "thespian." A "thespian" is a dramatic actor who appears in plays. Additionally, a "mendicant" is a beggar; a "lecturer" is a professor, someone who lectures at a university; a "confidante" is someone trusted who is told secrets, someone whom information is confided in; an "allegory" is a story that purports to be about one thing, but is actually about something else that is concealed within the story.