PMA Graduate Course Verbal Intelligence Syllabus

Spell the correctly written form: 'Definately' or 'Definitely'?

Definitely (it contains the word 'finite').

Spell the correctly written form: 'Embarass' or 'Embarrass'?

Embarrass (double 'r' and double 's').

Spell the correctly written form: 'Accomodate' or 'Accommodate'?

Accommodate (double 'c' and double 'm').

What is a word relationship (analogy) pair?

Two words linked by a specific logical relationship; in analogy questions you must find a second pair that shares the same relationship.

What is the general format of a verbal analogy question?

A is to B as C is to D (A:B :: C:D); B relates to A in the same way D relates to C.

Complete the word relationship: Doctor is to Patient as Teacher is to ____.

Student (relationship: professional to the person they serve).

Complete the word relationship: Author is to Book as Composer is to ____.

Symphony / Music (relationship: creator to creation).

Complete the word relationship: Pen is to Write as Knife is to ____.

Cut (relationship: tool to its function).

What is a part-to-whole analogy?

An analogy where one word is a component or part of the other, the whole (e.g., wheel : car).

Part-to-whole: Finger is to Hand as Leaf is to ____.

Tree (or branch); a leaf is a part of a tree.

Part-to-whole: Page is to Book as Brick is to ____.

Wall (or building); a brick is a part of a wall.

Part-to-whole: Petal is to Flower as Key is to ____.

Keyboard / Piano (a key is part of a keyboard).

What is a cause-and-effect analogy?

An analogy where one word produces or leads to the other as its result (e.g., fire : smoke).

Cause and effect: Virus is to Disease as Drought is to ____.

Famine (a drought causes famine).

Cause and effect: Spark is to Fire as Germ is to ____.

Illness / Infection (a germ causes illness).

Cause and effect: Rain is to Flood as Heat is to ____.

Melting / Evaporation (heat causes melting).

What is a classification analogy?

An analogy based on category membership, where one word is a type or example of the other's class (e.g., rose : flower).

Classification: Sparrow is to Bird as Shark is to ____.

Fish (a shark is a type of fish).

Classification: Copper is to Metal as Oxygen is to ____.

Gas (oxygen is a type of gas).

Classification: Triangle is to Polygon as Square is to ____.

Polygon / Quadrilateral (a square is a type of polygon).

In an alphabet series, what is the standard numerical position of each letter A through Z?

A=1, B=2, C=3 ... Z=26 (forward order); knowing these positions helps solve coding and series problems.

What is the EJOTY rule for remembering alphabet positions?

E=5, J=10, O=15, T=20, Y=25 — fixed markers every 5 letters to quickly find any letter's position.

Find the next term in the alphabet series: A, C, E, G, ?

I (the series skips one letter each time: +2).

Find the next term in the series: Z, X, V, T, ?

R (a reverse series decreasing by 2 letters each step).

Find the next term in the series: B, D, G, K, ?

P (gaps increase: +2, +3, +4, +5).

Find the missing letter: A, _, C, D, E (consecutive series).

B (the series is simply consecutive letters).

Find the missing letter: C, F, I, _, O (pattern +3 each).

L (each letter advances by 3: C, F, I, L, O).

Complete the word pattern: AB, CD, EF, ____.

GH (consecutive letter pairs continuing the alphabet).

In letter coding, if CAT is coded as DBU, what is the coding rule?

Each letter is shifted one position forward (+1): C→D, A→B, T→U.

In letter coding, if DOG is written as FQI, how is the word HEN coded?

JGP — each letter is shifted two positions forward (+2): H→J, E→G, N→P.