TRAITS
Analogies often make use of things and their TRAITS or characteristics. The analogy creator will name an object, such as a knife, and then pair it with a word that describes it, such as sharp. Here's an example of an analogy using objects and their TRAITS or characteristics:
K N I F E : S H A R P : : O R A N G E : R O U N D
To read this analogy, you would say "knife is to sharp as orange is to round". You should think, "A knife is sharp. Sharp tells what a knife is like. An orange is round. Round describes an orange."
Sometimes analogy creators will flip the order and have the trait come first, followed by the object. Here's a look at what that would be like:
L I G H T : F E A T H E R : : H E A V Y : E L E P H A N T
You would read this as "light is to feather as heavy is to elephant". What you should be thinking is, "Light describes a feather, heavy describes an elephant."
If you feel ready to give these a try, there are twelve analogies below that make use of objects and their TRAITS or characteristics. Have fun! The answers are at the bottom of the page, so you can easily check your work!
K N I F E : S H A R P : : O R A N G E : R O U N D
To read this analogy, you would say "knife is to sharp as orange is to round". You should think, "A knife is sharp. Sharp tells what a knife is like. An orange is round. Round describes an orange."
Sometimes analogy creators will flip the order and have the trait come first, followed by the object. Here's a look at what that would be like:
L I G H T : F E A T H E R : : H E A V Y : E L E P H A N T
You would read this as "light is to feather as heavy is to elephant". What you should be thinking is, "Light describes a feather, heavy describes an elephant."
If you feel ready to give these a try, there are twelve analogies below that make use of objects and their TRAITS or characteristics. Have fun! The answers are at the bottom of the page, so you can easily check your work!
1. ant : tiny : : rabbit : _____
a. foot b. carrots c. soft d. scratch 2. sharp : sword : : smooth : _____ a. cut b. rough c. clear d. glass 3. ball : round : : door : _____ a. house b. lock c. knob d. squeaky 4. banana : yellow : : child : _____ a. young b. school c. kid d. adult |
5. star : shiny : : skyscraper : _____
a. tall b. building c. concrete d. city 6. ice : cold : : pickle : _____ a. eat b. barrel c. sour d. hamburger 7. apple : red : : flower : _____ a. fragrant b. garden c. daffodil d. bee 8. big : elephant : : small : _____ a. tiny b. mouse c. giraffe d. huge |
9. fire : hot : : candy : _____
a. lick b. mouth c. sweet d. cold 10. swift : deer : : slow : _____ a. turtle b. sluggish c. fast d. crawl 11. sun : bright : : water : _____ a. glass b. ocean c. wave d. wet 12. scary : monster : : soft : _____ a. hard b. pillow c. table d. gentle |
answers1. (c) soft
2. (d) glass 3. (d) squeaky 4. (a) young |
5. (a) tall 6. (c) sour 7. (a) fragrant 8. (b) mouse |
9. (c) sweet 10. (a) turtle 11. (d) wet 12. (b) pillow |