Verbal battery
CogAT Verbal Analogies, explained for parents
In a Verbal Analogies question, two things go together in a certain way, and your child picks the answer that makes a second pair go together the same way. In K–2 the items are pictures; from 3rd grade they are written words.
Key takeaways
- In K–2 (Levels 5/6 to 8) this subtest is often called Picture Analogies: everything is a picture, the teacher reads the directions aloud, and there is no clock.
- From 3rd grade (Level 9) the analogies are written words that children read on their own, and the subtest is timed at 10 minutes.
- The key habit is saying the relationship as a short, specific sentence, such as “a rabbit eats a carrot,” then testing every choice in that sentence.
- Common traps are an answer that merely goes with the new item, a repeat of something from the first pair, and reversing the order of a word pair.
- Verbal Analogies is also on the CogAT Screening Form; car-ride “goes with” games and letting your child invent analogies are easy home practice.
On this page
What a Verbal Analogies question looks like
Every question starts with a pair of things that go together. A rabbit goes with a carrot. An eye goes with glasses. Then comes a new item and an empty space, and your child chooses the answer that goes with the new item in the same way. The skill is not simply knowing what goes with a mouse; it is working out why the first two go together and using that same reason again.
Verbal Analogies is one of three subtests in the CogAT® Verbal battery, together with Sentence Completion and Verbal Classification. It is also on the shorter CogAT Screening Form, along with Number Analogies and Figure Matrices.
Kindergarten to 2nd grade: picture analogies
At Levels 5/6, 7 and 8, the subtest is often called Picture Analogies. Everything is a picture, the teacher reads the directions aloud, and no reading is needed. The teacher paces the group, so there is no clock to beat. In the sample below, a rabbit goes with a carrot. What goes with the mouse?
Read aloud: “Look at the first two pictures. They go together. Which picture goes with the mouse in the same way?”
Show the answer
Answer: A. A rabbit eats a carrot, so a mouse eats cheese. The carrot is a trap: it belongs to the first pair, not to the mouse.
An original practice question from Thinkling, in the same format as the test. Not a real test item.
The connecting idea is “what the animal eats”, so the answer is cheese. Notice the carrot among the choices: it feels familiar because it was in the first pair, but it does not answer the new question. The books have nothing to do with eating at all.
3rd grade and up: word analogies
From Level 9 (usually 3rd grade), the same idea is written in words, and children read the items on their own. The subtest is timed at 10 minutes. In the sample below, eye goes with glasses. What goes with hand?
Eye is to glasses as hand is to…
- glassesChoice A
- spiderChoice B
- glovesChoice C
Show the answer
Answer: C. You wear glasses on your eyes and gloves on your hands. “Glasses” repeats the first pair, a common trap.
An original practice question from Thinkling, in the same format as the test. Not a real test item.
Glasses are something you wear on your eyes, so the answer is the thing you wear on your hands: gloves. Glasses shows up again as a choice, a trap for children who repeat a word they just read. A spider is not something you wear at all, so it fails the rule straight away.
What it trains
Analogies ask a child to name a relationship and carry it over to something new. That is a core reasoning habit: noticing that two ideas are connected, describing the connection precisely, and checking whether a new pair fits. It draws on vocabulary and general knowledge, but it rewards careful thinking more than knowing lots of words.
The same habit shows up in Number Analogies, with amounts, and in Figure Matrices, with shapes. The solving routine below works for all three.
How many questions there are
The table shows how many Verbal Analogies questions appear at each level of CogAT Form 7 and Form 8. The number grows as children move up the levels.
| Level | 5/6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10–11 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Usual grade | K | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th–5th |
| Questions | 14 | 16 | 18 | 22 | 24 |
| Timing | Read aloud, teacher-paced | 10 minutes | |||
Relationships to look for
Most analogies are built from a familiar set of connections. Saying each one as a short sentence helps your child spot it:
- Eats or needs: a rabbit eats carrots; a plant needs water.
- Wears or uses: you wear gloves on your hands; a painter uses a brush.
- Lives in: a bird lives in a nest; a bee lives in a hive.
- Part of a whole: a wheel is part of a bike; a page is part of a book.
- Grown-up and baby: a cow and a calf; a dog and a puppy.
- Opposites: hot and cold; full and empty.
- Made of: a window is made of glass; a sweater is made of wool.
- Stronger or weaker: warm and hot; big and huge.
A simple routine for solving them
- Make a sentence for the first pair. “A rabbit eats a carrot.” The sentence is the rule.
- Make it specific. “A rabbit is an animal and a carrot is food” is too loose. “A rabbit eats a carrot” is better.
- Use the same sentence on the new item. “A mouse eats…” Picture or say the answer before looking.
- Test every choice in the sentence. Only one should make the sentence true in the same way.
When your child misses one, ask “How do the first two go together?” before showing the answer. If the sentence is right, the answer usually follows.
Common mistakes and how to fix them
Picking something that just “goes with” the new item
A mouse goes with a cat, a hole and cheese. Children often grab the first thing that feels connected. The fix is the sentence routine above: the answer has to match the same connection, not any connection.
Choosing an item from the first pair
Familiar items feel safe, which is why the carrot and the glasses appear as choices in the samples. Teach your child that the answer belongs with the new item, so a copy of something from the first pair deserves a second look.
Reversing the order
In word analogies, order matters. “Puppy is to dog” is not the same as “dog is to puppy”. Have your child keep the sentence pointing the same direction for both pairs.
Practice ideas for home
- Car-ride analogies: “Fish goes with water, bird goes with…?” Accept any answer your child can explain, then talk about which one fits best.
- Pair-up cards: draw or cut out pictures (sock, foot, hat, head, nest, bird) and let your child build matching pairs, saying the sentence for each.
- Swap roles: let your child invent an analogy for you. Making up a puzzle means thinking about the connection on purpose.
- Older children: play with word pairs from their reading, such as opposites and “stronger” words (happy and thrilled).
Thinkling practices both formats: picture analogies for K–2 are read aloud by a friendly voice, so pre-readers can play on their own, and grades 3–5 get written word analogies. When an answer is wrong, the app explains the connection with pictures and voice, your child tries again, and a fresh analogy of the same kind comes back later. For a grade-by-grade view of the whole test, start with the kindergarten guide.
Frequently asked questions
What is a picture analogy on the CogAT?
In kindergarten through 2nd grade, the Verbal Analogies subtest uses pictures instead of words, which is why it is often called Picture Analogies. Your child sees two pictures that go together, such as a rabbit and a carrot, then a new picture and an empty space. The teacher reads the directions aloud, and your child chooses the picture that completes the second pair in the same way.
Is Verbal Analogies on the CogAT Screening Form?
Yes. The CogAT Screening Form uses three subtests: Verbal Analogies, Number Analogies and Figure Matrices. Some schools give it as a shorter first step. If your school uses the screener, Verbal Analogies is the only verbal subtest your child will see, so it is a good one to practice. Ask your school or district which form they use.
Does my child need a big vocabulary for verbal analogies?
Knowing words helps, especially from 3rd grade, when the analogies are written. But the main skill is spotting how two things are connected. A child who knows every word can still miss a question by choosing something that is merely related instead of something with the same relationship. Everyday conversation and reading together build both skills at once.
How can I practice analogies with a kindergartner without making it feel like a test?
Make it a car or bath-time game. Say “Bird goes with nest, dog goes with…?” and let your child answer, then ask why. Swap roles so your child makes up puzzles for you. A few rounds a day is plenty. The goal is for your child to hear and say the connecting sentence, which is the heart of every analogy.
How is Verbal Analogies different from Number Analogies?
Both use the same idea: find the rule in one pair and apply it to another. In Verbal Analogies the rule is about meaning, such as what an animal eats or what you wear on your hands. In Number Analogies the rule is about amounts, such as one more or add two. The thinking routine is the same, so the habits carry over.