Determining Meaning from Type of Relationship - SSAT Elementary Level Verbal

A “game” is something that you “play,” so to solve this analogy, you need to determine which of these answer choices is something that you “eat.” The correct answer is a “meal.”

“Fighting” is an action associated with “boxers,” so to solve this analogy, you need to determine which answer choice is associated with a “vocalist.” Well, a “vocalist” is someone who sings, so the correct answer is “singing.”

"Flutter" means flap your wings and hover in the air or fly around. Fluttering is something that butterflies do to move around, so to solve this analogy, you have to determine which of these words is something that spiders do to move around. The correct answer is therefore "crawl." While spiders do "spin" webs, they do not "spin" to move around—"crawl" better describes how they move around.

One ability of kangaroos is to jump. Since "kangaroo" is first and the ability is second, the answer needs to follow the same format. "Lemonade" is a type of "drink" and "baby" is a type of "child," so these answers can be eliminated. While a car can be driven and a biken can be riden, the order is incorrect. The only answer that fits is that a "lawnmower" can "cut."

"Bark" is the sound made by a "dog," so to solve this analogy you simply need to determine what sound a "wolf" makes. The correct answer is "howl." When solving analogies your first step is always to figure out the relationship between the words in the question - in this case the relationship was the sound a "dog" makes is a "bark," what is the sound a wolf makes?

A "feather" is used by birds to help them to "fly." So, to solve this analogy you need to determine which action is helped by the use of a "fin." Well, a "fin" is part of the body of a fish that is used to help fish to "swim."

"Sleep" is an action that one generally undertakes "indoors." So, to solve this analogy you need to determine which of these is an action usually done "outdoors." The correct answer is to "sail." Although the "sun" and "moon" are both "outdoors," they are objects not actions.

Since cats make sound by meowing, we need to pick a word that describes the sounds dogs make. Since dogs make sound by barking, "bark" is the correct answer.

Since a "foal" is a young horse, we need to find another pair of words where the first word is the name for the young version of the animal that the second word represents. While "dog is to puppy" might seem like a good answer, the words are not in the same order as they are in "foal is to horse"; "foal is to horse" begins with the younger animal, whereas "dog is to puppy" ends with the younger animal, so it can't be the correct answer. "Kitten is to cat," however, has its words in the correct order, with the word for the younger animal coming first, and since a "kitten" is a young cat, "kitten is to cat" is the correct answer.

Since birds fly, we need to pick out an answer choice that describes what fish do. Of the listed answer choices, two are verbs - "crawl" and "swim." Since fish swim, "swim" is the correct answer choice.

Since birds live in nests, we need to pick out a word that describes what kind of animal lives in a den. Since "den" means "the lair of a wild usually predatory animal," "bear" is the correct answer, since "bear" is the only answer that is a predatory wild animal of the possible answer choices, and bears specifically hibernate in dens.

Since a caterpillar eventually becomes a butterfly, we need to pick out another pair of words in which the first word describes an animal that eventually metamorphoses into a form that the second word describes. While "flower is to leaf" might look like an answer, flowers don't become leaves—both are parts of a plant. Similarly, "insect is to dragonfly" is not correct either since an insect does not become a dragonfly—a dragonfly is a kind of insect. "Tadpole is to frog" is the correct answer because just like a caterpillar metamorphoses into a butterfly, a tadpole metamorphoses into a frog.

"Troop" is a noun that can mean "a group of soldiers, especially a cavalry unit commanded by a captain, or an airborne unit," so a troop is made up of soldiers, and we need to pick out an answer choice that describes what kind of thing a flock is made up of. While "bird," "horse," and "firefly" may each look like a potentially correct answer because each one is a living thing, "bird" is the correct answer because just like a troop consists of a number of soldiers, a flock consists of a number of birds.

Fish are covered in scales, so we need to pick out an answer choice that is a noun describing what porcupines are covered in. While "quills," "ooze," and "feathers" may each look like a potentially correct answer, porcupines are covered in quills, so "quills" is the correct answer.

A cow produces milk, so we need to pick out an answer choice that describes what sort of product a sheep produces. While “wool” and “beef” might each look like a potentially correct answer, “beef” specifically describes the meat of a cow, not a sheep, so “beef” cannot be the correct answer. “Wool,” however, is a noun that means “ the fine soft hair forming the coat of a sheep, goat, or similar animal.” So, because sheep can produce wool just as cows can produce milk, “wool” is the correct answer.

Beavers build dams, so we need to pick out an answer choice that describes something that spiders build. “Web,” “fly,” and “spin” might each look like a potentially correct answer; however, while spiders spin webs, spiders don’t build “spins,” so “spin” cannot be the correct answer. Similarly, while spiders use webs to catch flies, spiders don’t make flies, so “fly” cannot be the correct answer. Spiders do spin webs, however, just as beavers make dams, so “web” is the correct answer.

Snakes move by slithering, so we need to pick out an answer choice in which the first word is a noun conveying an animal and the second word a verb describing how that animal moves. While “bat is to fly” and “bee is to hive” might each look like a potentially correct answer, “hive” is not a verb that describes how bees move, but a noun describing where bees live. So, “bee is to hive” cannot be the correct answer. Bats, however, move around by flying, just as snakes move around by slithering, so “bat is to fly” is the correct answer.

Alligators live in swamps, so we need to pick out an answer choice in which the first word is a location, and the second word an animal that would be likely to live in that location. All of the potential answer choices fit this format, but sharks do not live in deserts, pigs don’t live in oceans, dolphins don’t live in the mountains, and gorillas don’t live on prairies, so none of those answers can be correct. Black bears do live in forests, however, just as alligators live in swamps, so “forest is to black bear” is the correct answer.

"Puppy and dog" discuss the juvenile and grown stages of a living thing, with the younger discription first and the older one second. The only choice that matches this is "child is to adult."