Edutest Verbal Reasoning tests how your child thinks with words, not what they remember, in 30 minutes. These eight worked questions cover its five kinds of question, from analogies to deduction, with the trap in each.
Thinking with words, not remembering facts. Verbal Reasoning is one of Edutest's two Ability tests, and it measures vocabulary, word relationships, classification and deduction. The test is multiple choice and runs 30 minutes.
Edutest names four of these: vocabulary, word relationships, classification and deduction. Analogies test word relationships too, so they belong with them.
Hidden words, a word that fits every gap, letter rules
Seeing words as letters
Deduction
Decide what must be true from a few statements
Logic without guessing
Eight sample questions with answers
Each question shows the answer and the working. Read them with your child and talk through why the right option is right. They run in the order of the table above: analogies first, deduction last.
We wrote these in the style of the real test, and none is taken from an Edutest paper. In vocabulary and word relationships, the second of the pair is harder, so expect it to take longer to talk through.
Worked explanation 1
Kilometre is to distance as litre is to
AA.
water
BB.
bottle
CC.
volume
DD.
millilitre
Answer: C
Answer: C (volume)
A kilometre is a unit used to measure distance. So the matching word is the quantity a litre measures. A litre measures volume (how much space a liquid takes up), whatever the liquid is. The answer is volume.
The trap: Water tempts because we so often buy or drink water by the litre, but water is a thing being measured, not the quantity measured. Distance is a quantity, so the match must be a quantity too.
Why the other options are wrong
A (water): Water is something measured in litres, not what a litre measures.
B (bottle): A bottle holds liquid; it is a container, not a quantity.
D (millilitre): A millilitre is another unit of volume, not the quantity itself.
Worked explanation 2
Which pair of words has the same relationship as thimble : finger?
AA.
button : coat
BB.
helmet : head
CC.
cushion : sofa
DD.
shoelace : boot
Answer: B
Answer: B (helmet : head)
A thimble is worn over a finger to protect it while sewing. Test each pair with that sentence: 'A ___ is worn to protect the ___'. Only 'a helmet is worn to protect the head' works. The answer is helmet : head.
The trap: Shoelace : boot tempts because both are small things that go with something you wear. But a shoelace is part of the boot; it does not protect it.
Why the other options are wrong
A (button : coat): A button is part of a coat, not a protective covering.
C (cushion : sofa): A cushion sits on a sofa; it is not worn to protect it.
D (shoelace : boot): A shoelace is part of a boot, not a cover that protects it.
Worked explanation 3
Which word is closest in meaning to tranquil?
AA.
sleepy
BB.
tropical
CC.
lonely
DD.
peaceful
Answer: D
Answer: D (peaceful)
Tranquil means calm, quiet and free from disturbance, as in 'a tranquil garden'. Put each option into 'a ___ garden' and ask which means the same. Only peaceful does. The answer is peaceful.
The trap: Sleepy tempts because a tranquil place can make you feel sleepy. But sleepy describes how a person feels, not the calm of the place itself.
Why the other options are wrong
A (sleepy): Sleepy means tired; a tranquil place may cause it, but it is not the meaning.
B (tropical): Tropical is about hot climates; it may come from the sound of 'tranquil'.
C (lonely): Lonely means sad from being alone; a tranquil place need not be lonely.
Worked explanation 4
Which word is most nearly opposite in meaning to verbose?
AA.
brief
BB.
wordy
CC.
noisy
DD.
written
Answer: A
Answer: A (brief)
Verbose describes speech or writing that uses more words than it needs. The opposite is using only a few words. Of the options, brief means short and to the point. The answer is brief.
The trap: Written tempts children who mix up verbose with verbal (spoken). They look for the opposite of 'spoken'. Verbose is about using too many words, not about speaking.
Why the other options are wrong
B (wordy): Wordy means the same as verbose, not the opposite.
C (noisy): Noisy is about loudness; a verbose speaker can be quiet.
D (written): Written is the opposite of spoken, which comes from confusing verbose with verbal.
Worked explanation 5
Which word is the odd one out?
AA.
shrewd
BB.
gullible
CC.
astute
DD.
canny
Answer: B
Answer: B (gullible)
Shrewd, astute and canny all describe someone sharp and hard to fool. Gullible means easily tricked into believing things. It is the only word that means the opposite of the others. The answer is gullible.
The trap: Canny tempts because it is the least familiar word, so children guess it is the odd one. It actually means clever and careful, which matches shrewd and astute.
Why the other options are wrong
A (shrewd): Shrewd means sharp in judgement, so it belongs with astute and canny.
C (astute): Astute means quick to notice and understand, so it belongs with the group.
D (canny): Canny means clever and careful, so it belongs with the group.
Worked explanation 6
The name of a fruit is hidden across neighbouring words in this sentence. The letters are in order and next to each other.
Will I meet you at the station or at the bus stop?
Which fruit is it?
AA.
plum
BB.
pear
CC.
lime
DD.
kiwi
Answer: C
Answer: C (lime)
Ignore the spaces and read the letters as one run: willimeetyouat... The last letter of 'Will', then 'I', then 'me' from 'meet' give l-i-m-e. The answer is lime.
The trap: Pear tempts because children skim for the letters p, e, a, r scattered through the sentence. The letters must sit next to each other in order, and they never do for pear.
Why the other options are wrong
A (plum): There is no p next to l-u-m anywhere in the sentence.
B (pear): The letters of pear never appear side by side in order.
D (kiwi): Kiwi needs two i's with a w between them, which never happens here.
Worked explanation 7
One word can go in the gap in all three to make six real words. It ends the first word and starts the second.
hard ___ shape · town ___ wreck · member ___ mate
Which word is it?
AA.
boat
BB.
house
CC.
ware
DD.
ship
Answer: D
Answer: D (ship)
Try each word in all six places. Ship gives hardship and shipshape, township and shipwreck, membership and shipmate. Every one is a real word. The answer is ship.
The trap: House tempts because townhouse and housemate are real words. But hardhouse, houseshape, housewreck and memberhouse are not, so it fails four of the six.
Why the other options are wrong
A (boat): Boat fits the sea idea of 'wreck' and 'mate', but none of the six words it makes is real.
B (house): House makes townhouse and housemate but fails the other four.
C (ware): Ware makes hardware but fails all the other places.
Worked explanation 8
All the students in the school choir can read music.
Some students who can read music play the piano.
Yuki is in the school choir.
If these statements are true, which statement must also be true?
AA.
Yuki can read music.
BB.
Yuki plays the piano.
CC.
Some choir members play the piano.
DD.
Everyone who can read music is in the choir.
Answer: A
Answer: A (Yuki can read music.)
Yuki is in the choir, and every choir member can read music, so Yuki can read music. The piano players are only 'some' of the music readers; they could all be outside the choir. So nothing certain follows about the piano. The answer is that Yuki can read music.
The trap: 'Some choir members play the piano' tempts because it sounds like a fair mix of the two statements. But the piano players who read music might not be in the choir at all, so it is not certain.
Why the other options are wrong
B (Yuki plays the piano.): Yuki might play the piano, but nothing says she must.
C (Some choir members play the piano.): The music readers who play piano could all be outside the choir.
D (Everyone who can read music is in the choir.): The statements go one way only: choir means reading music, not the reverse.
How should your child tackle each kind?
Each kind of question has one habit that saves the most marks. Practise one habit at a time, with the matching question above as the example.
Analogies: say the link in a sentence
A kilometre is a unit for measuring distance. Then test each option with the same sentence.
Vocabulary: try each option in a sentence
If a word is unfamiliar, look for a root or prefix you know before guessing.
Odd one out: find a rule that fits three
Then check that no other rule picks out a different word. If two rules work, look again.
Word relationships: read letters, not meanings
Hidden-word and gap questions ignore meaning. Track the letters with a pencil tip if it helps.
Deduction: use only what is stated
Ask whether each option must be true. If it only might be true, it is wrong.
How is the Verbal Reasoning test marked?
Against children in the same year, not against a fixed total. Children are tested at their current year level, and scores are compared with thousands of students in the same year level across Australia. Edutest also says results go to schools, not to parents.
Each question has one right answer, and children shade bubbles on a paper answer sheet, not in the question booklet. Practising with a separate answer sheet is worth doing.
Edutest doesn't set out a question count for each year level. Its own practice page says 20 practice questions per test; real tests have 40 to 60.
Hard. Edutest says most students get only half the questions right. A child who is used to full marks at school should hear this before practising, so that a tough question feels normal rather than alarming.
That design changes how to judge practice. A wrong answer on a hard deduction puzzle is expected. A wrong answer on an easy vocabulary word your child knew is a habit to fix.
Watch for these three habits as you go through the answers. Each has a simple fix.
Picking the first word that feels right. In analogies, a loose link often matches more than one option. A precise link matches only one.
Using real-world knowledge in deduction. The statements are all that count, even when they sound odd.
Spending too long on one word. Edutest says many students will not finish every question, and no marks lost for wrong or blank answers. A quick best guess and moving on is better than a blank.
Little and often works well. A few mixed questions most days, then talking through the wrong ones, builds the habits above. Reading widely helps too: it's where new words come from.
When your child is ready for the real clock, Practice test 1 has a full Verbal Reasoning section on Edutest's time. Afterwards you'll see results by skill, so you know which kinds of question cost the most marks. The other tests have sample pages too: Numerical Reasoning, Reading Comprehension, Mathematics and Written Expression.
See where your child stands
Practice test 1 marks every answer and shows results by skill: what your child already does well and the three skills to work on next.
Sample
Practise for the real test
Practice test 1 is free. Then packs from A$109 for 12 months, or A$9 a week, per exam.
