English Name:_____________________________

S.A.T. Practice

Analogies, Part II: Guessing Smart Class:____________

What do I do if I don’t know one or both of the stem words?

What do I do if I don’t know one or more of the words in the answer choices?

You GUESS.

But there are ways to guess smart! Use your DEFINING SENTENCE(S) to help you.

Example:

?????? : ????? ::

A. cover : pages

B. book : chapters

C. grammar : errors

D. directory : graphs

E. summary : comments

Can you make defining sentences out of the answer choices? Which one is probably right?

Sometimes, like in the example above, you need to make defining sentences out of the ANSWER CHOICES, and then WORK BACKWARDS. If you try, you’ll realize that sometimes there just is NO POSSIBLE WAY a set can be correct, because there is NO DEFINING RELATIONSHIP between them that makes a good sentence. Try these answer choices, and see if you can either make a defining sentence, or if there is no good relationship between the words:

1. acorn : nut ________an acorn is a kind of nut________________________________________

2. cardiologist : horse ___________No DEFINING Relationship___________________________

3. solar : sun ________________________________________________________________________

4. sticky : glue________________________________________________________________________

5. counselor : advice___________________________________________________________________

6. purr : hunger_______________________________________________________________________

7. grateful : thanks____________________________________________________________________

8. bit : quantity_______________________________________________________________________

9. dive : cliff_________________________________________________________________________

10. alias : identity_____________________________________________________________________

Here are some more. See if you can figure them out:

1. DEHYDRATE:WATER ::

A. polish : gloss

B. soak : liquid

C. ????? : steel

D. rise : ?????

E. ????? : color

2. ?????:WIND DIRECTION ::
A. thermometer : mercury

B. speedometer : pedal

C. hourglass : sand

D. barometer : heat

E. sundial : time

3. ????? : MOTION ::

A. numerology : progress

B. navigation : ocean

C. astronomy : weather

D. criminology : perversion

E. psychology : mind

4. ????? : ????? ::

A. plentiful : resource

B. wealthy : money

C. voluntary : result

D. neutral : activity

E. humorous : movie

Remember:

EASY analogies (the first ones in each Analogy section) will have EASIER TO GUESS answers.

HARD analogies (the ones later on in each Analogy section) will have HARDER TO GUESS answers.

EASY…the correct answer might remind you of one of the stem words, “just seem right,” or is one of the ones that’s easy to understand.

HARD…the correct answer will probably be NONE OF THOSE THINGS.

Try these—even if you have to guess! You’ll see that you can still get answers right.

EASY—

5. SONG : VERSES ::

A. moon : phases

B. tree : roots

C. battle : soldiers

D. poem : stanzas

E. newspaper : reporters

HARD—

6. INFINITESIMAL : SIZE ::

A. trifling : significance

B. distant : galaxy

C. cacophonous : music

D. lucid : behavior

E. enormous : mountain

Hint: Don’t be fooled by the word “size” seeming to match the word “enormous”. Make as many defining sentences as you can and work backwards!

7. DESTITUTION : MONEY ::

A. budget : options

B. sobriety : inebriation

C. opulence : wealth

D. deficit : finance

E. pollution : factory

Hint: Don’t be fooled by answer choices that seem to go with “money”. Make as many defining sentences as you can and work backwards!

The following two examples appeared on the HARD part of the Analogy section. Based on that, which answer choice would you guess is probably correct? See if you can also eliminate some choices by trying defining sentences to find out if they work, and by working backwards.

8. ????? : ?????

A. fabric : weaving

B. watercolor : painting

C. script : drama

D. embellishments : description

E. partner : dance

9. ????? : ?????

A. dither : choice

B. dawdle : excuse

C. chatter : speech

D. mope : laughter

E. bustle : arrival