The document provides guidance on working with analogies by explaining the relationships that can exist between word pairs in an analogy, such as synonyms/antonyms, part to whole, category to member. It gives examples of different types of analogies and approaches for identifying the relationship between words in an analogy. These include forming a sentence to capture the relationship and choosing the answer with a similar relationship. Practice questions with explanations are provided to help learn this test-taking skill.

1. Working with
Analogies
SPI 0801.5.5 Choose a logical word to
complete an analogy, using synonyms,
antonyms, homonyms,
categories/subcategories, whole/part,
functions, verb forms, rhymes, scrambled
words, homophones.

2. Analogies test your ability
to:
• Recognize the relationship between
the words in a word pair
• Recognize when two word pairs
display equal relationships

3. Old
Young

4. To answer an analogy
question you must:
• Recognize the relationship between the
words in the given word pair
• Select the answer containing words
related to one another in most nearly
the same way
• Recognize when two word pairs display
equal relationships

5. Analogies look like this:
Up:Down ::Over:Under
Up is to Down as Over is to Under

6. In what ways could these
pairs of words be related?
• The relationship will always have
to do with the meaning of the
words
I get it…they
are opposites!

7. Examples of possible
relationships in an analogy:
• Synonyms or antonyms
• A part to the whole
• A member to the category that contains
it
• Cause to effect (or effect to cause)
• Varying degrees of a quantity or quality
• Object to function

8. Here is one example of
Synonym relationships:
Infant:Baby::Grown-Up: _________?
Infant:Baby::Grown-Up:Adult

9. Here is one example of
Antonym relationships:
Big:Small::Full:_______?
Big:Small::Full:Empty

10. Here is one example of Part
to Whole relationships:
Wheel:Car::Branch:_______?
Wheel:Car::Branch:Tree

11. Here is one example of Member
to Category relationships:
Apple:Fruit::Carrot:_______?
Apple:Fruit::Carrot:Vegetable

12. Here is one example of
Cause Effect relationships:
Sliver:Pain::Heat:__________
Sliver:Pain::Heat:Boil

13. Here is one example Matters
of Degree relationships:
Warm:Hot::Cool:______?
Warm:Hot::Cool:Frigid

14. Here is one example of Object
to Function relationships:
Truck:Transport::Oven:______?
Truck:Transport::Oven:bake

15. PRACTICE
Can you identify the relationship?
a) Synonyms or antonyms
1. PLATOON:SOLDIER b) A part to the whole
2. HOT:SCALDING c) A member to the
3. STARVATION:BINGING category that contains it
4. GILLS:BREATHING d) Cause to effect (or effect
to cause)
5. PERSUASIVE:CONVINCING e) Varying degrees of a
6. SOCCER:SPORT quantity or quality
f) Object to function

16. PRACTICE
Can you identify the relationship?
a) Synonyms or antonyms
b
1. PLATOON:SOLDIER b) A part to the whole
2.
e HOT:SCALDING c) A member to the
a
3. STARVATION:BINGING category that contains it
f
4. GILLS:BREATHING d) Cause to effect (or effect
a to cause)
5. PERSUASIVE:CONVINCING e) Varying degrees of a
c
6. SOCCER:SPORT quantity or quality
f) Object to function

17. Approaches that may be helpful
in answering analogy questions:
• Try to determine the precise relationship
between the words in the given pair
• Form a sentence that captures the
relationship between the two words
• Then look for the answer choice containing
the word pair whose relationship is closest
to that of the given pair and can be
expressed in a similar fashion

18. Example
APPLE : FRUIT ::
B. Salad : Mix
C. Orange: Banana
D. Juice : Can
E. Slice : Core
F. Butterfly: Insect

19. Example
APPLE : FRUIT ::
• Salad : Mix
• Orange: Banana
• Juice : Can
• Slice : Core
• Butterfly:Insect

20. How do you know if you
have a good sentence?
• Look at the answer choices
• If more than one answer choice
seems to fit, then your sentence is
too general
• If none of them work, then your
sentence is too specific

21. Example
PEN : WRITE ::
B. Pencil : Sharpen
C. Ink : Blue
D. Letter : Compose
E. Knife : Cut
F. Mistake : Erase

22. Example
PEN : WRITE ::
• Pencil : Sharpen
• Ink : Blue
• Letter : Compose
• Knife : Cut
• Mistake : Erase

23. Helpful Approaches con’t:
• Pay attention to the order of the words in the
pair
• Pay attention to the parts of speech
• The relationships you need to explain will be
constant relationships
• Analogy questions are vocabulary intensive
• Remember that a single word can have several
different meaning
• Never decide on the best answer without
reading all the answer choices
• Practice recognizing and formulating
relationships between word pairs

24. Practice
Large : Big::
B. Remember : Forget
C. Triumph: Success
D. Nostril : Smell
E. Audio : Hear
E. Glasses : See

25. Practice
Large : Big::
• Remember : Forget
• Triumph: Success
• Nostril : Smell
• Audio : Hear
E. Glasses : See

26. Practice
Bat : Hitter
B. Score: Win
C. Walk : Run
D. Mars : Venus
E. Stick : Hockey Player
F. Basketball: Hoop

27. Practice
Bat : Hitter
• Score: Win
• Walk : Run
• Mars : Venus
• Stick : Hockey Player
• Basketball: Hoop

28. Practice
Come : Came::
B. Walk : Walking
C. Ride : Rode
D. Left : Arrived
E. Did : Had Done
F. See : Seen

29. Practice
Come : Came::
• Walk : Walking
• Ride : Rode
• Left : Arrived
• Did : Had Done
• See : Seen

30. Online Practice
Analogies Game
Awesome Analogies
Gamequarium Analogies
Analogy of the Day

31. Written Practice
Sampler Daily Analogies
Understanding Analogies
Analogies Worksheet
Analogies Dining
Analogies Notes
Analogies Graphic Organizer