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GRE Verbal Analogies Insights and Summary and Tips

Common Analogy Types

Test Tips

Common Analogy Types

The only kind of relationship between words in GRE analogies is a clear and necessary one. This is a tight, solid, logical relationship based on the meaning of the words. It is the kind of relationship that exists between a word and its dictionary definition.

In analogy questions, the relationship between the words is more important than the meanings of the words themselves. The analogy section of the GRE is one of the easiest parts of the test to improve on. The most common analogy relationships include:

Synonyms: Synonyms are words that have similar meanings.

True synonyms are from the same part of speech. However, we will also classify as synonyms words which have similar meaning but come from different parts of speech, for example: UNRULY (adjective) : LAWLESSNESS (noun).
Antonyms: Antonyms are words that have opposite meanings.
Member and Class: Member and class analogies are very common problems, which may occur in the first third of an analogy section.

In this type of analogy, the first word may be an element of the class that the second word describes, or vice versa. This category can also be classified as "Type Of."
Degree of Intensity: In a degree-of-intensity analogy, the two words express a similar concept, but one word is stronger, harsher, or more intense than the other.

The degree of intensity in the answer-pair must be the same as in the original pair. People consider these problems to be hard. However, once you get used to them, they can become routine.
Part and Whole: In this type of analogy, the first word is part of the second word. The order can also be whole to part.
Definition: In a definitional analogy one of the words can be used to define the other.

This is probably the most common type of analogy problem.
Sometimes the definition is only partial: stating only one of the characteristics of the word.
Lack of: In this type of analogy one word describes the absence of the other word.

This sub-category of the definition type of analogy is important and common enough to warrant a name.
Manner: This type of analogy describes the manner, way, or style by which an action is accomplished.
Function: This type of analogy describes the purpose or function of something.
Action and Significance: In this type of analogy one word describes an action and the other word indicates the significance of the action.
Pertaining to: In this type of analogy, one word refers to the category or class the other word belongs to. An example will illustrate.
Symbol and Representation: In this type of analogy, one word stands for or represents a concept, action, or thing. An example will illustrate.
Cause and effect: In this type of analogy, one word stands for the reason and the other for the result.
Agent and Action: In this type of analogy, one word is the agent to do the action.
Component and Product: In this type of analogy, one word is the component of the other.

Test Tips

Learn to recognize common types of analogies. Get familiar with the above common types.
Before you look at the answer-choices, think of a short sentence that expresses the relationship between the two words.
If more than one answer-vhoice fits your paraphrase, make your paraphrase more specific.
Eliminate answer-choices that do not have a clear and reasonably necessary relationship.

You can automatically eliminate any answer choice containing a triangular nonrelationship. In a triangular nonrelationship, the two words are related to a third word, but not directly to each other. For example: WEIGHT : AGE

Educated guessing is a very useful technique on the GRE. If you can eliminate one or more answer-choices, you will probably increase your score by guessing.
Never initially eliminate a choice if you are uncertain of the meaning of either word in it.

You can’t be positive that two words are unrelated if you have no idea what one of the words means.
Watch out for eye-catchers. Beware of obvious answers! They may be there only to mislead you.

Unfortunately, the ETS often sets traps by offering an answer-pair that reminds you of the original pair but has a different relationship. The correct answer-pair, of course, will have the same relationship as the original pair, but the words in the answer will typically be in an entirely different category.
In hard problems, eliminate any answer-choice that reminds you (however vaguely) of the original pair.

Eye-catchers are sometimes the answer to easy problems; rarely are they the answer to medium problems; and virtually never are they the answer to hard problems. When an average student guesses on a hard problem he chooses an answer that reminds him of the original pair. But if the eye-catcher were the answer, then the average student would get the problem correct and therefore it would not be a hard problem.
When you don’t know the meaning of one of the words in the stem, work backwards from the choices.

You can improve the effectiveness of working backward by using information in the problem to decode the unknown word in the stem.
Do not choose an answer with a reversed relationship.

This is perhaps the most common error in the section. If the question is BOY: MAN, the answer cannot be WOMAN: GIRL. The relationship would be one of progression; a boy grows into a man. A woman does not grow into a girl; the relationship is reversed.
Do not choose answers based on the meanings of the words.

If the questions are about computers, the answers may very easily be about chocolate cake. The meanings themselves are irrelevant; you are only concerned with the relationships between the pairs of words.
Consider alternative meanings of words, as well as alternative parts of speech.
If you don't know the meaning a word, try to recall if you've ever heard it in an expression. The context of the expression may suggest the meaning of the word.

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