Making Words
Making Words
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Making Words questions test your ability to create, identify, or rearrange words from a given set of letters or fragments.
These questions assess your vocabulary, spelling, and logical thinking skills and they help build the foundation for understanding patterns and structures in language.
Making Words
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Making Words
Types of questions
Rearranging letters to form meaningful words.
Unscramble letters to create a valid word.
Example: Rearrange "RTA" to form "ART".
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Making Words
Types of questions
Finding hidden words within sentences or groups of letters.
Spot words embedded within other words or phrases.
Example: The word "sand" is hidden in "understand."
Rearranging letters to form meaningful words.
Unscramble letters to create a valid word.
Example: Rearrange "RTA" to form "ART".
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Making Words
Types of questions
Rearranging letters to form meaningful words.
Finding hidden words within sentences or groups of letters.
Combining fragments to create complete words.
Unscramble letters to create a valid word.
Example: Rearrange "RTA" to form "ART".
Spot words embedded within other words or phrases.
Example: The word "sand" is hidden in "understand."
Merge parts of words to make a whole.
Example: Combine "foot" and "ball" to form "football."
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Making Words
Rearranging letters to form meaningful words.
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Making Words
Rearranging letters to form meaningful words.
L
O
W
E
F
R
Study the letters below, then rearrange them to form a new word.
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Making Words
L
O
W
E
F
R
Study the letters below, then rearrange them to form a new word.
This is the most basic type of letter rearranging question. You may be asked to fill in the word yourself or select from multiple answers.
Start by looking for common patterns. "ER" is a very common combination.
Making Words
L
O
W
E
F
R
Study the letters below, then rearrange them to form a new word.
This is the most basic type of letter rearranging question. You may be asked to fill in the word yourself or select from multiple answers.
Start by looking for common patterns. "ER" is a very common combination.
By keeping these letters together, we limit the number of combinations we need to scan through.
Making Words
L
O
W
E
F
R
Study the letters below, then rearrange them to form a new word.
This is the most basic type of letter rearranging question. You may be asked to fill in the word yourself or select from multiple answers.
Start by looking for common patterns. "ER" is a very common combination.
By keeping these letters together, we limit the number of combinations we need to scan through.
We can find the rearranged word quicker by testing such common combinations.
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Making Words
Common two-letter combinations in English
TH
The, this, that
HE
The, he, hearing
IN
Into, insult, instant
AN
Any, animal, and
RE
Read, real, are, more
ON
Only, money, son
ER
Her, singer, flower
EN
When, then, send
ES
Does, yes, these
Focusing on common letter combinations can help you solve letter rearranging questions faster.
Making Words
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Here's another, slightly different, type of letter rearranging questions:
Unscramble the letters in the highlighted word to complete the sentence:
As I walked along the , a deer leaped in front of me.
In order to keep our speed up, we can start by identifying some common two letter combinations: In this case we find only "TH".
TFHOPTAO
Making Words
Text
Here's another, slightly different, type of letter rearranging questions:
Unscramble the letters in the highlighted word to complete the sentence:
As I walked along the , a deer leaped in front of me.
In order to keep our speed up, we can start by identifying some common two letter combinations: In this case we find only "TH".
F TH OPTAO
Having done this, we can need to look at the context: The word is something you can walk on or along, and the setting is rural (so "sidewalk", for example, would be unlikely).
Making Words
Text
Here's another, slightly different, type of letter rearranging questions:
Unscramble the letters in the highlighted word to complete the sentence:
As I walked along the , a deer leaped in front of me.
F TH OPTAO
Having done this, we can need to look at the context: The word is something you can walk on or along, and the setting is rural (so "sidewalk", for example, would be unlikely).
From these clues, you should be able to identify that the correct word is "footpath". As you can see the final word did indeed have the "th" combination.
Making Words
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Here's another, slightly different, type of letter rearranging questions:
Unscramble the letters in the highlighted word to complete the sentence:
As I walked along the , a deer leaped in front of me.
FOOTPATH
Having done this, we can need to look at the context: The word is something you can walk on or along, and the setting is rural (so "sidewalk", for example, would be unlikely).
From these clues, you should be able to identify that the correct word is "footpath". As you can see the final word did indeed have the "th" combination.
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Making Words
Below are two word. Move one letter to make two new words
This is a different type of letter-rearranging question that you may come across.
Can you spot the letter and the two new words?
S
L
A
C
N
P
O
E
S
Making Words
S
L
A
C
N
P
Below are two word. Move one letter to make two new words
O
E
Solving such questions at speed requires a quick scan of likely combinations:
S
Making Words
Below are two word. Move one letter to make two new words
Solving such questions at speed requires a quick scan of likely combinations:
We can rule out P as it would leave "SLA" and we can rule our A as it would leave "SLP".
S
L
A
C
N
P
O
E
S
Making Words
Below are two word. Move one letter to make two new words
We can rule out P as it would leave "SLA" and we can rule our A as it would leave "SLP".
L might be an option, as it would leave "SAP." So, we proceed to see if we can put it into the second word to create a new one.
S
L
A
C
N
P
O
E
S
Making Words
Below are two word. Move one letter to make two new words
L might be an option, as it would leave "SAP." So, we proceed to see if we can put it into the second word to create a new one.
Yes, we can in fact make a new word. L is the correct letter, forming the two new words "SAP" and "CLONES".
S
L
A
C
N
P
O
E
S
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Making Words
Here is one more for you to try. Can you spot which letter can be moved to form two new words?
V
A
L
F
C
E
A
E
T
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Making Words
Here is one more for you to try. Can you spot which letter can be moved to form two new words?
V
A
L
F
C
E
A
E
T
This question is made harder by the fact that words are less common.
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Making Words
Here is one more for you to try. Can you spot which letter can be moved to form two new words?
V
A
L
F
C
E
A
E
T
This question is made harder by the fact that words are less common.
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Making Words
Here is one more for you to try. Can you spot which letter can be moved to form two new words?
V
A
L
F
C
E
A
E
T
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A vale is a type of valley and a facet is one side of a many-sided object.
As you can see, it's important to build a good and varied vocabulary. You can do this by reading widely and by practicing these types of questions regularly.
If you come across a word you're not familiar with, make sure you look up the definition.
Making Words
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Select the word below that cannot be made by rearranging all or some of the letters in the top word.
SANDPAPER
Send
Ponds
Dean
Dapper
Spare
Making Words
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Select the word below that cannot be made by rearranging all or some of the letters in the top word.
SANDPAPER
Send
Ponds
Dean
Dapper
Spare
First, what we need to do is understand the question. In this case, we're looking for a word that CANNOT be made with the original letters. Always pay attention to the wording of the question. If you have many positive questions (find a word that can) in a row, it's easy to misread a negative question (find a word that can't).
Making Words
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Select the word below that cannot be made by rearranging all or some of the letters in the top word.
SANDPAPER
Send
Ponds
Dean
Dapper
Spare
We should also note that it is asking for "the word" in singular. Other questions may ask for "the words" in plural, and you would need to check if there is more than one word that matches the criteria.
Making Words
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Select the word below that cannot be made by rearranging all or some of the letters in the top word.
SANDPAPER
Send
Ponds
Dean
Dapper
Spare
The main challenge with these types of questions is speed. Most of these tests will be timed, so you need to keep the pace high, but not so high that you make mistakes.
Making Words
Text
Select the word below that cannot be made by rearranging all or some of the letters in the top word.
SANDPAPER
Send
Ponds
Dean
Dapper
Spare
The key to keeping your pace is a good scanning technique. If we look at the answer alternatives, we can very quickly identify one letter that stands out: the "o" in "ponds." With a trained eye, you can immediately see that it is not used in any other words.
Making Words
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Select the word below that cannot be made by rearranging all or some of the letters in the top word.
SANDPAPER
Send
Ponds
Dean
Dapper
Spare
Given that this word contains a letter not used in any other answer option, it is likely to be the one that cannot be made by the letters above. And indeed, this is correct: "Ponds" cannot be made with the letters in "Sandpaper".
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Making Words
Another type of question you may come across relates to finding hidden words in sentences.
Let's look at an example:
Top athletes run around the track
In the sentence below is a four letter word hidden at the end of one word and beginning of the next. Find the hidden word.
Making Words
Top athletes run around the track
In the sentence below is a four letter word hidden at the end of one word and beginning of the next. Find the hidden word.
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Again, we should start by scanning quickly to see if we can spot the answer.
Making Words
Top athletes run around the track
In the sentence below is a four letter word hidden at the end of one word and beginning of the next. Find the hidden word.
Text
Again, we should start by scanning quickly to see if we can spot the answer.
he tra
This combination of letters seems unlikely, so we can move on to the next word.
Making Words
Top athletes run around the track
In the sentence below is a four letter word hidden at the end of one word and beginning of the next. Find the hidden word.
Text
Again, we should start by scanning quickly to see if we can spot the answer.
und th
This combination of letters seems unlikely, so we can move on to the next word.
These letter combinations seem unlikely too...
un ar
Making Words
Top athletes run around the track
In the sentence below is a four letter word hidden at the end of one word and beginning of the next. Find the hidden word.
Text
Again, we should start by scanning quickly to see if we can spot the answer.
p ath
This combination of letters seems unlikely, so we can move on to the next word.
These letter combinations seem unlikely too...
P + at seems like a more promising combination, and on closer inspection we see that it is followed by "h" to reveal the hidden word "path".
Making Words
Finding hidden words
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Study the overlap between words: Focus on the last letters of one word and the first letters of the next. Nearly all questions of this type will have words spanning the boundary between two words.
Example: I saw marmalade and bread.
de an
Search for Common Prefixes and Suffixes: Many hidden words include familiar prefixes (e.g., re-, un-) or suffixes (e.g., -ing, -ed), making them easier to spot.
Making Words
Finding hidden words
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Break Down Long Words: Examine longer words for smaller, meaningful words within them.
Example: The word "understand" contains the word "stand" which could combine with the next word in "stands", "standard", "standing" and so on.
Read Aloud Slowly: Reading the whole sentence slowly can help you notice natural word breaks or emphasize hidden combinations that are easier to overlook visually.
Well done! You should now have a very good understanding of making word questions for your 11+ Verbal Reasoning.
Remember: Verbal Reasoning requires both familiarity with the types of questions and a good vocabulary, so keep practicing and read widely!
11+ Verbal Reasoning: Making Words
By Pluspapers
