English Analogy - Important Points
Analogies are commonly used in competitive exams to test a candidate's ability to recognize relationships and similarities between words or concepts. In analogy questions, two words or phrases are given, and the candidate is asked to find a third word or phrase that has the same relationship with the first two.
One of the most common types of analogy is the "part-to-whole" analogy, where a part of something is related to the whole thing in the same way that a second part is related to a second whole. For example, "hand : body :: branch : tree" would mean that a hand is a part of the body, just as a branch is a part of a tree.
Another type of analogy is the "cause-and-effect" analogy, where one thing causes or leads to another thing. For example, "rain : wet sidewalk :: snow : icy sidewalk" would mean that rain causes a sidewalk to become wet, just as snow causes a sidewalk to become icy.
There are also "synonym" analogies, where two words have the same or similar meanings, and "antonym" analogies, where two words have opposite meanings. For example, "big : large :: small : little" is a synonym analogy, while "hot : cold :: up : down" is an antonym analogy.
To succeed in analogy questions, it's important to recognize the relationship between the given words and to use context clues and prior knowledge to determine the correct answer. Practice and familiarity with common analogies can also be helpful in improving performance on analogy-based questions in competitive exams.
Some other examples of analogies that may appear in competitive exams are:
Teacher : Classroom :: Doctor : Hospital
This analogy would mean that a teacher works in a classroom, just as a doctor works in a hospital.
Book : Author :: Painting : Artist
This analogy would mean that a book is created by an author, just as a painting is created by an artist.
Parent : Child :: Tree : Branch
This analogy would mean that a parent is related to a child, just as a tree is related to a branch.
Dog : Bark :: Cat : Meow
This analogy would mean that a dog makes a barking sound, just as a cat makes a meowing sound.
By understanding the different types of analogies and practicing with common examples, candidates can improve their performance on analogy-based questions in competitive exams.