11 Plus Verbal Paper

1) Deciphering Words with Parts Removed

Sample 11 Plus Question: 3 consecutive letters have been taken out of a word. Select which three letters have been omitted from the options. Write your answer below:

The W___HOUSE was packed with so many boxes!

Answer and Explanation: C, ARE. This type of question assesses your child’s ability to understand the context of a sentence, and the spelling of particular words too. There are two ways to answer this question, based on the assessment of these two parts of Verbal Reasoning. One could infer from the context of the sentence that W__HOUSE is warehouse, as this is where boxes could be stored. If this fails, and you are unable to solve the question, look at the 5 options you are presented with. WLIPHOUSE, WBIDHOUSE, WAREHOUSE, WBARHOUSE, WONEHOUSE. Even if you may never have heard of the word warehouse, the other options simply do not make sense as a word. Therefore, an educated guess would be to choose warehouse.

Tips: Write out the 5 options to fill in the blank to help you. Sometimes the sentence will not be there to help you, and you may see the word just by itself, so use everything given to you to help you.

Now Try This Question: Write out the 5 options to fill in the blank to help you. Sometimes the sentence will not be there to help you, and you may see the word just by itself, so use everything given to you to help you.

3 consecutive letters have been taken out of a word. Select which three letters have been omitted from the options. Write your answer below:

H___S

Answer: B, EEL

2) Rearranged Words

Sample 11 Plus Question: You are required to move one letter from the first word and move it to the second word, creating two new words. Write your answer below:

WHERE SEAT

Answer and Explanation: HERE SWEAT. This question assesses your child’s ability to build new words, and understand the fluidity of words, and even break down words into their constituent parts. In this case, look at the first word, WHERE. Which letter can you take out to form a new word? Taking out W gives HERE, so this is one possibility. Taking out H gives WERE which is also a word. WHRE, WHEE, WHER are not words therefore we have W and H to add to the next word. Adding W gives SWEAT, which is a word. Trying to add H to any part of SEAT will not make a recognised word, therefore your answer is HERE and SWEAT.

Tips: Being systematic and taking out one letter at a time from the first option, and adding it to the second ensures you rule out all possible combinations, and do not miss the answer. Some words may seem unusual outside the context of a sentence, however have faith in your vocabulary!

Now Try This Question: You are required to move one letter from the first word and move it to the second word, creating two new words. Write your answer below:

THOSE CUE

Answer: HOSE CUTE

3) Incomplete Words

Sample 11 Plus Question: Write the letter that will complete the word in front of the brackets and begin the word after the brackets. The SAME letter must fit into BOTH sets of brackets. Write your answer below:

Answer and Explanation: E. Answering these questions are actually quite easy! Simply go through your alphabet one letter at a time, until you find a letter that fits all 4 words. Try A. Tima and aach are not words. Move onto B. Timb and bach are not words either. Move through the alphabet until you reach E. Tim(e)each, can(e)easy. This method ensures you do not miss a letter, or just attempt to complete each individually.

Tips: You may just notice a letter that fits into both brackets immediately. If this is the case, then it is very convenient. However, when you go into the exam, you want to be sure you can get this question correct every time. Therefore, having a method of running through the alphabet quickly will ensure you will never get this question wrong (as long as you are not careless!).

Now Try This Question: Write the letter that will complete the word in front of the brackets and begin the word after the brackets. The SAME letter must fit into BOTH sets of brackets. Write your answer below:

gon (_) ate, han (_) ram

Answer: G. Gon(g)ate, han(g)ram

4) Deciphering Words with Parts Removed

Sample 11 Plus Question: Find one word from each group that together makes one correctly spelt word. The letters must not be rearranged. The word from the first group must always be used first. Write your answer below:

I am (one, four, five) (child, teen, adult) years old.

Answer and Explanation: C, Fourteen. This question tests your ability to bring together two words, to create a brand new word. Reading the sentence gives you a hint as to what the word could be. It gives you CONTEXT, since the sentence is talking about age, and how old someone is. Therefore, you would want to look for a number, and out of your 5 options, fourteen is the only possible answer.

Tips: Whilst you may be able to use the context of the sentence to get you to your answer, you could also try an alternative approach. Cover the sentence and look at your 5 options. Which one looks like a word? Onechild? Fourchild? Oneadult? Fiveteen? These are most definitely not words, and therefore the correct answer is Fourteen.

Now Try This Question: Find one word from each group that together makes one correctly spelt word. The letters must not be rearranged. The word from the first group must always be used first. Write your answer below:

(stroll, run, jog) (way, route, path)

Answer: E, Runway

5) Common Word Associations

Sample 11 Plus Question: The words in (brackets) is formed from the main word. Identify the pattern to work out the missing word from the options given. Write your answer below:

Catching (tin), diameter (ate), separate (?)

Answer and Explanation: E, PAT. This question is assessing how to follow a pattern in the first two words, and apply it to the last word. From ‘Catching’ the word tin has been formed. T is the 3rd letter, and ‘in’ are the 6th and 7th letters. This is the same for diameter, where the 3rd letter is a, and the 6th and 7th letters are ‘te’, forming ATE. Therefore for separate, the answer would be PAT by the same method.

Tips: Look at the first two words, and how the word in brackets was made from the big word outside the brackets. It may be one chuck taken out of the word, or a certain pattern of letters. This will give you the method to solve the last, unknown bracket.

Now Try This Question: In each case, the word in (brackets) is formed from the main word. Identify the pattern to work out the missing word from the options given. Write your answer below:

Sergeant (ran), provider (ode), pipeline (?)

Answer: C

6) Alphabet Codes

Sample 11 Plus Question: You will be given a word and a code related to the word. Work out the relationship between the word and the code to solve the code and write your answer below:

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

Your teachers organise a treasure hunt at your school. They give you the following code to solve to find the treasure.

LOOP is to KMLL. What is the code for DRESS?

Answer and Explanation: CPBON. Look at your hint within the question, that will provide you with a method of finding the answer. LOOP is to KMLL. Look at the first letter from each L à K. Look at your alphabet and you can see you need to go one letter backwards from L to get to K. Now look at the second letters. O à M. From your alphabet, you can see you must move two letter backwards from O to get to M. Look at the third letters. O à L. This is 3 letters backwards from O. You should now be able to spot a pattern. For the first letter, you move one letter backwards. For the second letter you move two letters backwards and so on.

Now you must follow this same method for DRESS. Start with D. One letter backwards from D is C. Two letters backwards from R is P. Three letters backwards from E is B. Four letters backwards from S is O. And five letters backwards from S is N. Therefore, DRESS is converted to CPBON.

Tips: Be very methodical and do not assume your pattern will follow a constant patter, therefore make sure you convert ALL LETTERS before you move on to creating your new pattern. Some question will ask you to DECODE answers, like the one below. Give it a go and see if you can solve it without help!

Now Try This Question: You will be given a word and a code related to the word. Work out the relationship between the word and the code to solve the code and write your answer below:

gon (_) ate, han (_) ram

Answer: G. Gon(g)ate, han(g)ram

7) Alphabet Puzzles

Sample 11 Plus Question: Find the pair of letters that will complete the sentence in the best way. The alphabet is provided below to help you. Write your answer below:

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

CM is to AP as GT is to __?

Answer and Explanation: EW. Look at how the first two letters were transformed into the second two letters. CM à AP. Start with the first letter of each. C à A. As you can see from the alphabet above, go backwards two letters from C, to get A. Now look at the second letters. M à P. Move 3 letters forward to go from M to P. Now apply this to the letters GT. From G two letters backwards  is E. From T, three letters forward is W. Therefore your answer is EW.

Tips: This question is similar to the Alphabet Codes style of question, and therefore should be treated exactly the same. By systematically working out a method from getting from CM to the AP, you can apply this to GT for example, to solve the question.

Now Try This Question: Find the pair of letters that will complete the sentence in the best way. The alphabet is provided below to help you. Write your answer below:

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

CM is to AP as GT is to __?

Answer: 3O4Q

8) Number Codes

Sample 11 Plus Question: In each set of numbers, the number in the bracket is related to the two numbers either side of it. Find this relation to work out the missing number (?) in the third set. Choose one of the option and write your answer below:

Example:

Q: 4 (6) 2, 12 (14) 2, 7 (?) 4
A: (?) = 11

Question:

18 (2) 6, 56 (6) 8, 66 (?) 6

Answer and Explanation: D, 10. Look at the first group of 3 numbers. 18 (2) 6. Try to look for a pattern connecting the two numbers outside to the one inside? Think of your multiplication, division, addition and subtraction. If you are not sure, move onto the second group. 56 (6) 8. From this two groups, you may notice that 18 divided by 6 is 3. This number is one more than the number in the brackets, 2. The same method also fits with the second group. 56 divided by 8 is 7. This number is one more that the number in brackets, 6. Therefore, for the last group, 66 divided by 6 is 11. 11-1 = 10. This means that your answer is D, 10.

Tips: This questions relies on you spotting mathematical patterns, again by applying your 4 mathematical pillars. Multiplication, division, addition and subtraction. If you are stuck trying to spot a pattern, try all of these individually. If you cannot solve it still, try combining a mix of 2 or more together, for those more challenging questions.

Now Try This Question: In each set of numbers, the number in the bracket is related to the two numbers either side of it. Find this relation to work out the missing number (?) in the third set. Choose one of the options and write your answer below:

Example:

Q: 4 (6) 2, 12 (14) 2, 7 (?) 4
A: (?) = 11

Question:

12 (19) 4, 7 (15) 5, 8 (?) 1

Answer: C

9) Word Relations

Sample 11 Plus Question: Select the two words inside the brackets that are connected in some way to the words outside the brackets. Write your answer below:

Answer and Explanation: Canoe and Dinghy. This questions tests your ability to identify patterns between groups of words. In this case, the question has helped you, but this will not always be the case. It has told you that Ryan only likes certain types of boats. Two types of boat are the SPEEDBOAT and YACHT. From your 5 options, which others could also be types of boats? A canoe? Yes. A bicyle, car or plane? Most definitely not. Even if you do not know what a dinghy is, logically it should be the only other option, since none of the others makes sense. Therefore, your answer would be canoe and dinghy.

Tips: Some questions will not give you a hint at the beginning, and therefore you need to identify a pattern between the first two words outside the brackets. Then read through your 5 options, crossing out ones which either mean the opposite or simply to not fit in with your pattern.

Now Try This Question: Select the two words inside the brackets that are connected in some way to the words outside the brackets. Write your answer below:

Answer: Urgent and Haste

10) Letter Sequences

Sample 11 Plus Question: Find the pair of letters that will continue the series. The alphabet is provided below to help you. Write your answer below:

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

UF, XH, AJ, DL, GN, __?       

Answer and Explanation: JP. This is a letter sequence, therefore the letters all follow a particular pattern. Look at the first letter of each part of the sequence. U --> X --> A --> D --> G. Look at your alphabet, between each of those letters, is 2 letters. U (VW) X (YZ) A (BC) D (EF) G (HI) J. Using this method we have found the first letter of our answer, J.

Now look at the last letter of each part of the sequence. F --> H --> J --> L --> N.  Using the same technique as before, look for a pattern connecting all these letters. F (G) H (I) J (K) L (M) N (O) P. Therefore we have found the second part of our answer, P. Our answer is therefore JP.

Tips: For these question, it helps to split the two letters of each part of the sequence, and try to work out the pattern of the first letters together, and then the second letters together. However, sometimes you will need to look at them as a whole to gain a proper understanding of what is happening.

Now Try This Question: For these question, it helps to split the two letters of each part of the sequence, and try to work out the pattern of the first letters together, and then the second letters together. However, sometimes you will need to look at them as a whole to gain a proper understanding of what is happening.

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

FT, CV, ZX, WZ, TB, __?

Answer: Urgent and Haste

11) Number Sequences

Sample 11 Plus Question: Find the numbers that best complete the series. Fill in the missing blank with one of the following options and write your answer below:

2, 6, 18, ___, 162

Answer and Explanation: D, 54. This is because between 2 and 6 , there is a difference of 4. Between 6 and 18 there is also a difference of 12. Therefore, it logically follows that the difference between each number in the sequence seems to be following a multiple of 4, and in the 4 times tables. 4 is multipled by 3 to get 12. Therefore 12 x 3 = 36. Let us test to see if this works. 12 + 36 = 54. 36 x 3 = 108. 108 + 54 = 162, which is the final number in the sequence. Therefore D, 54 is the correct answer.

Tips: Sequences act to test your child’s ability to apply logic and identify patterns. Always think to yourself, what is the pattern between these numbers?

Use your four pillars of mathematics to help break down this problem if you are stuck.

• Addition
• Subtraction
• Multiplication
• Division

Do the sequences follow any of these patterns? If not, you could consider using square or cube numbers, or a combination of all of the above.

Now Try This Question: Find the numbers that best complete the series. Fill in the missing blank with one of the following options and write your answer below:

3, 4, 6, 10, 18, ___

Answer: D

12) Opposites and Antonyms

Sample 11 Plus Question: Select the pair of words, one from each group that are opposite in meaning to each other from the options given below. Write your answer below:

The opposite of (Little Real Thirsty) is (Tired Hungry Quenched).

Answer and Explanation: E, Thirsty Quenched. This type of question tests your understanding of a particular word’s definition, and how to apply this work out words which mean the opposite. This is case, look at your first 3 words. The opposite of little is big, which is not an option. The opposite of real is unreal or fake, which is also not an option. The opposite of thirsty is not being thirsty. You may not know the word for this, but not being thirsty most definitely does not mean tired, or hungry. Therefore, you are left with the word Quenched, which does in fact mean the opposite of thirsty. You have now got the question right, and also learnt a new word!

Tips: You may not know the meaning of all the words you are presented with! You must you logic and reasoning to try to find the best fit, and eliminate answers you know for sure are not correct. This way you learn from your mistakes, and build your vocabulary at the same time!

Now Try This Question: Select the pair of words, one from each group that are opposite in meaning to each other from the options given. Write your answer below:

The opposite of (Onward Jump Together) is (Allow Fight Alone).

Answer: D

13) Differentiating WordsWithin a Group

Sample 11 Plus Question: Select the TWO odd words from the options given. Write your answer below:

Rain, Faint, Pain, Paint, Saint.

Answer and Explanation: B, Rain Pain. This question tests your ability to look at a group of words, and work out which two words do not fit in with the rest. They may be different in grammar, definition or just the pattern of letters. In this case, all the words end in either –ain, or –aint. Faint, Paint and Saint. Both Rain and Pain do not end in –t, and therefore the odd words in this case.

Tips: Remember that finding the odd words out may not just be on what the mean. Look for patterns in the letters, and the order of these letters too, if there is no obvious pattern on what they mean. For example, they may all start or end with a certain letter.

Now Try This Question: Select the TWO odd words from the options given. Write your answer below:

Think, Query, Believe, Understand, Confuse, Acknowledge

Answer: E

14) Verbal Maths Problems

Sample 11 Plus Question: Choose the correct answer for the following problem. Write your answer below:

When a number is added to 34, the answer is 6 more than nine multiplied by four. What is the number?

Answer and Explanation: D, 8. This question may seem odd in a verbal reasoning paper, as it is maths, however, the ability to convert a question written in words into numbers is truly a skill in verbal reasoning. In this case a number has been added to 34. The answer to this number is 6 more than 9 multiplied by 4. What sum can do you do straight away? 9 x 4 = 36. The answer to 6 more than this, therefore 36+6 = 42. Which number, when added to 34 gives you 42? If you take 34 from 42 you should get the answer. 42 – 34 = 8. Therefore my answer is 8.

Tips: Most students trip up on the formation of multiple sums, one after the other. This takes practice, but do one after the other in a logical manner and DO NOT FORGET TO CHECK YOUR ANSWER at the end. This ensures if you have made a mistake, you can go back and correct it. Verbal Reasoning maths questions varying the sums and types of maths you need to use, however, they all have one thing in common. They require you to make a wordy question into a maths sum, so don’t forget this when you’re not sure what to do in the exam!

Now Try This Question: Choose the correct answer for the following problem. Write your answer below:

When 15 is multiplied by a number, the answer is four less than when eight is multiplied by eight. What is the number?

Answer: E

15) Verbal Functions

Sample 11 Plus Question: Choose the correct answer by completing the following functions and sums with the corrects numbers and signs as appropriate. Write your answer below:

(560 ÷ 10 x 2) __ 2 = 8 x 7 ÷ 1

Answer and Explanation: D, ÷. This is a BODMAS maths style question. Head over to the Maths syllabus for more help on these types of questions. In this case, look at the brackets first. (560 ÷ 10 x 2). This is = 112 as 560 ÷ 10 = 56 and 56 x 2 = 112. Move over to the other side of the sum, and 8 x 7 ÷ 1 = 56. Therefore 112 ? 2 = 56. We already know that 56 x 2 is 112 therefore if you divide it by two, you would get 56 again. Therefore the answer is D, ÷.

Tips: These questions will continually test your understanding of BODMAS or BIDMAS, (Brackets, Orders or Indices, Division, Multiplication, Addition, Subtraction). Furthermore, remember that letters can easily represent numbers, but that the laws of mathematics remain the same, so do not be phased by the presence of letters, and treat just as you would numbers.

Now Try This Question: Choose the correct answer by completing the following functions and sums with the corrects numbers and signs as appropriate. Write your answer below:

93 + 3 x 3 = (47 + 4) x 4 __ 2

Answer: D

16) Verbal Maths Problems

Sample 11 Plus Question: A four letter word is hidden between two words in each sentence below. These two words are always next to each other, but there may be punctuation between them. Find this four letter word from one of the options. Write your answer below:

Example:

Q. Tom kicked the ball over the fence.
A. Love = ball over

Question:

It was slightly painful to get two extra injections before I travel on holiday.

Answer and Explanation: B, extra injections. These questions test your vocabulary of words, and to think outside the box, and spot hidden words. Look at your sentence, and look between each word. “It was” are the first two words. Join them together and see if you can see a word. Itwas. Twas could be considered an old English word, however it would be written as ‘twas and is therefore not acceptable. The next two words are ‘was slightly’. There are no words when you join these together. As you move through each word systematically, you reach ‘extra injection’. Extrainjection. Here you can see a word, rain formed between the two. This is now your answer and therefore you choose B.

Tips: Go through each part of the sentence two words at a time, and look at combinations of 3 letters from the first word and 1 from the second word. Then 2 letters from each, and then 1 letter from the first word and 3 letters from the last word. This way you cannot miss the answer, (as long as you are not careless of course!).

Now Try This Question: A four letter word is hidden between two words in each sentence below. These two words are always next to each other, but there may be punctuation between them. Find this four letter word from one of the options. Write your answer below:

Example:

Q. Tom kicked the ball over the fence.
A. Love = ball over

Question:

A trip to a spa involves having a meal with friends as well.

Answer: E