Verbal Reasoning

VERBAL REASONING uses English words/sentences as the medium for logical tests.

Common topics:

1. Verbal analogy.
2. Verbal classification.
3. Syllogism (verbal).
4. Statement & assumption.
5. Statement & conclusion.
6. Course of action.
7. Cause and effect.
8. Decision making (situational).

1. VERBAL ANALOGY:

A : B :: C : ?

Common relations:

(a) Synonym/Antonym:

• Happy : Sad :: Hot : Cold (antonyms).

(b) Worker-Tool:

• Doctor : Stethoscope :: Carpenter : Saw.

(c) Worker-Product:

• Baker : Bread :: Cobbler : Shoes.

(d) Part-Whole:

• Leaf : Tree :: Page : Book.

(e) Cause-Effect:

• Effort : Success :: Negligence : Failure.

(f) Sound-Maker:

• Cackle : Hen :: Bray : Donkey.

(g) Container-Content:

• Library : Books :: Aquarium : Fish.

(h) Quantity:

• Drop : Ocean :: Grain : Heap.

2. VERBAL CLASSIFICATION:

Find the odd one out.

• Among Lion, Tiger, Cheetah, Cat: Cat (smaller scale)? Or all are cats? — Cheetah is fastest. Subjective unless basis is given. Common: "all are wild" → Cat doesn't fit (domestic).

3. SYLLOGISM: (covered Pack 12)

• All A are B; All B are C → All A are C.

4. STATEMENT & ASSUMPTION:

A statement makes an assumption about something. Identify if a given assumption is implicit.

Example:
Statement: "The government must improve roads to reduce accidents."
Assumption I: Bad roads cause accidents. → Implicit (necessary for statement).
Assumption II: Building roads is expensive. → Not implicit.

Approach:

• Implicit = necessary to make statement meaningful.
• Don't bring in outside info.

5. STATEMENT & CONCLUSION:

Example:
Statement: "Most students who study late nights perform poorly."
Conclusion I: Students should avoid late-night study. → Follows (advice from observation).
Conclusion II: Sleep is essential for learning. → Stretching; not necessarily.

6. COURSE OF ACTION:

Statement: "Many farmers in region X have committed suicide due to crop failure."

Course I: Government should provide crop insurance.
Course II: Farmers should leave farming.

Evaluate:

• Course I: directly addresses → STRONG.
• Course II: drastic and not feasible → WEAK.

7. CAUSE AND EFFECT:

Two statements given; determine relationship.

Possibilities:

• A is cause; B is effect.
• A is effect; B is cause.
• Both effects of a common cause.
• Both independent.

Example:
A: "There has been heavy rain in city X."
B: "Local rivers have flooded."

Clearly: A is cause, B is effect.

8. DECISION MAKING (situational):

Especially in CSAT, banking, GMAT.

Real-world scenario; identify best action considering ethics, feasibility, consequences.

Example:
You are a manager. Your subordinate makes an honest mistake costing ₹1 lakh. Do you:
(a) Fire him immediately.
(b) Reprimand and use as learning opportunity.
(c) Ignore.
(d) Tell senior management to handle.

Best: (b) — fair, constructive.

KEY APPROACHES:

• For analogy: identify type of relation. Same type for C-D.
• For classification: focus on the COMMON property; ignore minor differences.
• For syllogism: Venn diagrams.
• For statement-assumption: check necessity.
• For statement-conclusion: must be forced by statement.
• For cause-effect: consider direction; check independence.
• For decision-making: legal + ethical + practical.

COMMON TRAPS:

1. Overusing outside knowledge: stick to given info.
2. Strong-tone errors: "always", "never", "must" usually wrong.
3. Partial truth: correct in part but misses key.
4. Reverse direction: subtle flip.
5. Bringing in personal opinion: don't.

EXAM HOOKS:

• Analogy: find relation type first.
• Classification: find the common.
• Statement-assumption: implicit only if NECESSARY.
• Statement-conclusion: must be forced.
• Course of action: realistic + addresses problem.
• For "weak/strong argument": evaluate logic, not emotion.

Analogy means finding a similar relationship between two pairs of words or numbers. The question gives you one complete pair and asks you to find the missing word in the second pair that maintains the same relationship.

Common relationship types in SSC CGL:

1. Tool : User (Scalpel : Surgeon)
2. Part : Whole (Chapter : Book)
3. Product : Raw Material (Bread : Wheat)
4. Animal : Sound (Dog : Bark)
5. Worker : Workplace (Doctor : Hospital)
6. Word : Antonym/Synonym
7. Male : Female (Bull : Cow)
8. Young one (Cat : Kitten)

Memory Trick - ALWAYS identify the exact relationship first, then apply it strictly to the second pair. Do not choose an answer that has a loose connection — SSC prefers precise relationships.

Example 1: Painter : Brush :: Writer : ?
Step 1: Identify relationship — A Painter uses a Brush as their primary tool.
Step 2: Apply to second pair — A Writer uses a Pen as their primary tool.
Answer: Pen

Example 2: Earthquake : Seismograph :: Rainfall : ?
Step 1: Relationship — Seismograph measures Earthquake intensity.
Step 2: Rainfall is measured by a Rain Gauge.
Answer: Rain Gauge

Example 3: ACEG : BDFH :: IKMO : ?
Step 1: A+1=B, C+1=D, E+1=F, G+1=H — each letter increases by 1.
Step 2: I+1=J, K+1=L, M+1=N, O+1=P.
Answer: JLNP

Key tip: For letter analogies, always write the alphabetical positions (A=1, B=2…Z=26) to spot patterns quickly.

For number analogies in SSC CGL, the most common patterns are:

1. Square pattern: 4 : 16 :: 7 : 49 (n : n²)
2. Cube pattern: 2 : 8 :: 3 : 27 (n : n³)
3. Double/Half: 6 : 12 :: 9 : 18
4. Prime pattern: 3 : 9 :: 5 : 25
5. Difference pattern: 36 : 6 :: 100 : 10 (n² : n)
6. Sum of digits: 123 : 6 :: 231 : 6
7. Product pattern: (a × b) forms the relationship

Formulas:

• If a : a² then ? : ?² → answer is b²
• If a : (a+k) then b : (b+k)
• If a : √a then b : √b

Memory Trick — Try squaring, cubing, or finding the difference between the two numbers in the first pair first. One of these will almost always reveal the pattern for SSC.

Series Completion requires you to find the missing term in a sequence. SSC CGL tests these main types:

1. Number Series: Arithmetic (add/subtract same number), Geometric (multiply/divide), Mixed (alternate operations), Square/Cube series, Prime number series
2. Letter Series: Alphabetical order forward/backward, skip-letter patterns, position-based patterns
3. Alpha-Numeric Series: Combination of numbers and letters following mixed rules
4. Wrong Number Series: Find the term that breaks the pattern

Step-by-step approach:

• Step 1: Check difference between consecutive terms (add/subtract pattern)
• Step 2: Check ratio of consecutive terms (multiply/divide pattern)
• Step 3: If neither, check if squares/cubes are involved
• Step 4: Check if two alternating series are mixed together

Memory Trick — Write differences between terms first. If differences are constant → arithmetic. If differences themselves form a pattern → higher-order arithmetic.

Common Number Series Formulas for SSC CGL:

1. Arithmetic Series: aₙ = a₁ + (n-1)d
   where a₁ = first term, d = common difference

2. Geometric Series: aₙ = a₁ × rⁿ⁻¹
   where r = common ratio

3. Squares Series: 1, 4, 9, 16, 25, 36… (n²)

4. Cubes Series: 1, 8, 27, 64, 125… (n³)

5. Fibonacci-type: Each term = sum of previous two

6. Difference of Differences: When 1st difference is not constant, find 2nd difference

Quick Reference — Prime numbers up to 50:
2, 3, 5, 7, 11, 13, 17, 19, 23, 29, 31, 37, 41, 43, 47

Perfect Squares to memorize: 1,4,9,16,25,36,49,64,81,100,121,144,169,196,225
Perfect Cubes: 1,8,27,64,125,216,343,512,729,1000

Example 1 (Number): 3, 7, 13, 21, 31, ?
Differences: 7-3=4, 13-7=6, 21-13=8, 31-21=10. Differences are 4,6,8,10 — increasing by 2. Next difference = 12. So answer = 31+12 = 43.

Example 2 (Letter): B, E, H, K, ?
B(2), E(5), H(8), K(11) — each letter's position increases by 3. Next = 11+3 = 14 = N. Answer: N.

Example 3 (Mixed): 2A, 4C, 6E, 8G, ?
Numbers: 2,4,6,8 → add 2 → next is 10. Letters: A,C,E,G → skip one letter → next is I. Answer: 10I.

Example 4 (Wrong term): 4, 9, 20, 43, 90, 183
Pattern: ×2+1 → 4×2+1=9, 9×2+2=20, 20×2+3=43, 43×2+4=90, 90×2+5=185 ≠ 183. Wrong term is 183.

Classification questions give you 4-5 items and ask you to find the one that does NOT belong to the group. The key is identifying what property the majority share and which item lacks it.

Common classification types in SSC CGL:

1. Category-based: Fruits vs Vegetables, Planets vs Stars
2. Property-based: All prime numbers except one composite
3. Pattern-based: Letter groups following same rule except one
4. Number-based: All perfect squares except one

Approach:

• Find 3 items that share a clear common property
• The 4th item lacking that property is the odd one out
• If multiple groupings seem possible, choose the most specific/precise one

Memory Trick — SSC CGL loves tricky classifications where the obvious answer is wrong. Always check if there is a mathematical property (prime, perfect square, odd/even) rather than just a general category link.

Example 1: Rose, Lotus, Jasmine, Tulip
Rose, Jasmine, Tulip — flowering plants that grow in soil. Lotus — flowering plant that grows in water. Odd one out: Lotus.

Example 2: 17, 23, 37, 51, 53
Check primes: 17✓, 23✓, 37✓, 51=3×17 (NOT prime)✓, 53✓. All are prime except 51. Odd one out: 51.

Example 3: BCDE, FGHI, JKLM, NOPQ, RSTU
BCDE — skip A. FGHI — skip E. JKLM — skip I. NOPQ — skip M. RSTU — skip Q... Wait: BCDE (4 consecutive from B), FGHI (4 from F), JKLM (4 from J), NOPQ (4 from N), RSTU (4 from R) — each group of 4 skips one letter. All follow the same pattern. None odd here — this is a series, not classification.

Example 4: Mars, Venus, Earth, Moon, Jupiter
Mars, Venus, Earth, Jupiter are planets. Moon is a natural satellite. Odd one out: Moon.

Blood Relation questions test your ability to decode family relationships from a given description or coded information. SSC CGL typically gives 1-2 questions from this topic.

Key family relationships to memorize:

• Grandfather/Grandmother → Father/Mother → Son/Daughter (vertical chain)
• Father's brother = Uncle | Father's sister = Aunt
• Uncle's/Aunt's son or daughter = Cousin
• Son's wife = Daughter-in-law | Daughter's husband = Son-in-law
• Wife's/Husband's brother = Brother-in-law
• Wife's/Husband's sister = Sister-in-law

Gender indicators in coded questions:

• He/His/Him/Boy/Man/Male = Male
• She/Her/Girl/Woman/Female = Female

Memory Trick — Always draw a family tree diagram. Use upward arrows for 'parent of' and downward arrows for 'child of'. Mark gender (M/F) next to each person. This prevents confusion in multi-step problems.

Example 1: A is the son of B. C is the daughter of A. How is B related to C?
Step 1: A is son of B → B is parent of A
Step 2: C is daughter of A → A is parent of C
Step 3: B → A → C: B is grandparent of C. Since gender of B is not specified, B is grandfather or grandmother. Answer: Grandfather/Grandmother.

Example 2: Pointing to a photograph, Ravi says, 'She is the daughter of my grandfather's only son.' How is the girl related to Ravi?
Step 1: Ravi's grandfather's only son = Ravi's father (assuming Ravi's grandfather had one son)
Step 2: Daughter of Ravi's father = Ravi's sister
Answer: Sister

Example 3: Coded — A+B means A is father of B; A-B means A is mother of B; A×B means A is brother of B. If P+Q-R, what is P to R?
P+Q: P is father of Q. Q-R: Q is mother of R. So P's wife Q is mother of R. P is father of R. Answer: Father.