How much of the test is verbal reasoning?

Verbal reasoning makes up approximately one-third of the PI Cognitive Assessment. On a full 50-question test, you’ll see roughly 17 verbal questions mixed in with numerical and abstract reasoning questions. They come in three subtypes: antonyms, analogies, and verbal analysis.

Verbal questions are often the fastest to answer if you know the vocabulary. They’re also the questions where guessing is most effective, since you can usually eliminate at least one wrong answer.

Antonyms

Antonym questions give you a word and ask you to choose its opposite from 3-4 options.

Example: “PRAGMATIC is the opposite of:”

Practical
Idealistic
Sensible
Realistic

Answer: Idealistic. Pragmatic means practical and grounded in reality. Its opposite is idealistic - focused on ideals rather than practical considerations.

Strategy: You either know the word or you don’t. If you know it, these are 5-second questions. If you don’t recognize the word at all, look at the answer options. Often three options are similar in meaning and one is clearly different - the different one is usually the answer.

Don’t spend more than 10 seconds on an antonym question. If the word is unfamiliar, make your best guess using the answer options as clues and move on.

Analogies

Analogy questions present a relationship between two words and ask you to apply the same relationship to a new pair.

Example: “ARCHITECT is to BLUEPRINT as COMPOSER is to:”

Orchestra
Score
Melody
Instrument

Answer: Score. An architect creates a blueprint (a detailed written plan). A composer creates a score (a detailed written plan for music). The relationship is “creator to their detailed plan.”

Strategy: Identify the relationship between the first pair before looking at the options. Common relationships include:

Creator to creation (author : book)
Tool to user (hammer : carpenter)
Part to whole (wheel : car)
Degree (warm : hot)
Category to example (fruit : apple)

Name the relationship in your head first, then scan the options. This prevents you from being distracted by options that are loosely associated but don’t match the specific relationship.

Verbal analysis (logic statements)

Verbal analysis is the hardest verbal subtype. You’re given a set of logical statements and a conclusion, then asked whether the conclusion is definitely true, definitely false, or cannot be determined from the information given.

Example: “All managers attend the quarterly meeting. Sarah is a manager.” Conclusion: “Sarah attends the quarterly meeting.”

Answer: Definitely true. Sarah is a manager. All managers attend. Therefore Sarah attends.

Strategy: These questions test logical deduction, not common sense. Ignore what you know about the real world. Only use the information given in the statements.

The most common mistake is selecting “true” or “false” when the correct answer is “cannot be determined.” If the statements don’t give you enough information to be certain, the answer is usually that it cannot be determined.

Watch for words like “all,” “some,” “none,” and “always.” They define the scope of the logic precisely.

Where people lose time on verbal questions

Overthinking antonyms. If you don’t know the word, spending 20 seconds staring at it won’t help. Guess and move on.

Not naming the analogy relationship first. If you jump to the options without identifying the relationship, you’ll consider each option individually instead of matching against a clear pattern. That wastes time.

Applying real-world knowledge to logic questions. The statements are self-contained. “All cats can fly. Whiskers is a cat. Therefore Whiskers can fly.” That’s logically true within the given statements, even though it’s false in reality.

Quick reference

Subtype	Time target	Key technique
Antonyms	5-8 seconds	Know it or guess it. Use option clustering to eliminate.
Analogies	8-12 seconds	Name the relationship first, then scan options.
Verbal analysis	10-14 seconds	Use only given information. Watch for “cannot be determined.”

Verbal reasoning is often the fastest category on the PI Cognitive Assessment. If you’re strong with vocabulary and logic, these are your quick wins - clear them fast and bank time for harder numerical and abstract questions.

Verbal Reasoning: Antonyms, Analogies, and Logic