"Dog is to puppy as cow is to ?" These analogy questions test how children spot the underlying relationship between two words and apply it to a third.
The technique: name the relationship
Before looking at options, ask: "What's the relationship between A and B?" Examples:
- Adult → young: dog → puppy. So cow → calf.
- Object → its use: knife → cut. So pen → write.
- Object → location: car → garage. So plane → hangar.
- Whole → part: car → wheel. So tree → branch.
- Synonyms: happy → joyful. So sad → sorrowful.
- Antonyms: hot → cold. So fast → slow.
- Cause → effect: rain → puddle. So fire → smoke.
Worked examples
Example 1
BAKER is to BREAD as POTTER is to ?
Relationship: maker → product. Baker makes bread. Potter makes pots/pottery.
Answer: POT (or POTTERY).
Example 2
ICE is to COLD as FIRE is to ?
Relationship: thing → its property. Ice is cold; fire is hot.
Answer: HOT.
Common 11+ relationship patterns
- Adult / young animal
- Profession / what they produce
- Object / what it's made of
- Object / function
- Cause / effect
- Synonyms
- Antonyms
- Object / category (whale → mammal)
- Country / capital
- Tool / user (saw → carpenter)
The trick to avoiding traps
Be specific about the relationship. "Dog → puppy" isn't just "animal → animal" — it's specifically "adult → young". The wrong options will often satisfy a vaguer relationship.
Quest Arena's VR worksheets include 100 analogy drills sorted by relationship type.