English Language: Concepts and Sample Questions: Analogy (Similarity)

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Analogy means Similarity or resemblance or some kind of relationship between two given things. Analogy test, therefore intends to evaluate one’s ability to comprehend the relationship that exist s between two objects, things or figures. There are infinite possibilities in establishing relation between two objects. Here, some important relationships are as follows:

1. Cause and Effect Relationship

Example: Education: Development

a) Man: speech

b) Nutrition: health

c) Game: Play

d) Child: Growth

The relationship between development and education is of cause and effect. Education is a cause for development. Among the four choices, only (b) nutrition is a cause for health.

Hence b is the answer

2. Part and Whole Relationship

Example: House: Room

a) Struggle: fight

b) Transport: car

c) School: college

d) Boy: girl

Room is a part of house. Similarly car is a part of transport system.

Hence b is the answer

3. Part: Part relationship

Example: Gill: Fin

a) Salad: rice

b) Sea: fish

c) Kill: bomb

d) Question: team

Just as gill and fin are two different parts of a fish so salad and rice are parts of food.

Hence a is the answer

4. Purpose relationship

Example: Glove: Ball

a) Summer: winter

b) Game: study

c) Stadium: seats

d) Hook: fish

Just as a Glove helps catch a ball, hooks helps to catch a fish

Hence d is the answer

5. Action to object relationship

Example: Break: Piece

a) Writer: pen

b) Bread: bake

c) Kick: football

d) Muddy: Unclear

Just as break is an action that makes pieced, so kick is an action that makes the football move.

Hence c is the answer

6. Study and topic relationship

Example: Linguistics: Language

a) Gardener: harrow

b) Hen: chicken

c) Scale: length

d) Anthropology: man

Just linguistics is the science of language, so anthropology is the study of man’s life

Hence d is the answer

7. Word and antonym relationship

Example: Confidence: diffidence

a) Dastard: coward

b) Field: farm

c) House: garbage

d) Baffle: clarify

Just as diffidence is the opposite of confidence, so clarify is the opposite of baffle.

Hence d is the answer

8. Degree Relationship

Example: Warm: Hot

a) Tailor: textile

b) Sun:  planet

c) Horrible: heinous

d) Fight: war

Just as hot is  the greater degree of warm, so war is the greater degree of fight.

9. Creature and offspring relationship

Example: Horse: Colt

a) Goat: bleat

b) Dawn: twilight

c) Dog: Puppy

d) Actor: stage

Just a colt is a young one of horse so puppy is the young one of dog.

Hence c is the answer

10. Word and Synonym Relationship

Example: Abate: Lessen

a) Sweet: bitter

b) Ice: solid

c) Dog: bitch

d) Secret: clandestine

Just as abate and lessen have similar meanings, so secret or clandestine have similar meanings.