Concept 5 of 6
Object-Use Analogies: What Do You DO With It?
Today's big idea
Object-use links always answer with an action, never a place and never a material.
Two equally true verbs mean a broken question, so pick what the object is for.
How it works
👀 What's going on?
A spoon is for eating and a broom is for sweeping. Ask what an object is for and the answer comes back as a doing-word. That doing-word is the whole of this kind of analogy.
💡 Here's the trick
Look at the pair above. Pen goes with Write because writing is what a pen is for, and Knife goes with Cut for the same reason. Both answers are actions, never places and never materials. Say the action out loud and the missing half appears.
🪄 How to do it
- 1.Look at the pair above and check that B is a doing-word for A.
- 2.Say the link: what you do with this object.
- 3.Ask what you do with C, and answer with that verb.
✍️ Try it
Work out Broom : Sweep :: Soap : ? Then try Ladder : Climb :: Bed : ?
Soap is for washing, so the first answer is Wash. A ladder is for climbing and a bed is for sleeping, so the second is Sleep.
⚠️ Watch out
You might be thinking any true verb will do. A nose smells, but a nose also breathes, and a question offering both has no single answer. Pick the action the object is made for, and treat two equally true options as a warning sign.
🌟 Why this matters
Working out what an unfamiliar object is for, just by looking at it, is something you do in every kitchen drawer and toolbox. The verb is the point of the thing.
Exam tip: If two options both look like true actions, re-read for the one the object exists to do.
Watch me solve one
Quanta solves it
“Watch how I think through one of these — then you try.”
THE PROBLEM
“Pen : Write :: Knife : ?”
- 1
Name the link
Object → what you DO with it. Pen is used to write.
- 2
Apply to C
What do you DO with a knife? Cut.
- 3
Answer ✓
? = Cut
Now you try one — same steps, different story 👇
See it in action
⚡ Time to play!
Tap an object, then tap what you DO with it. Connect both.
MATCH · ROUND 1 OF 3
Object
You…
Quick check
✅ VERIFICATION
Which pair links an object to what you do with it?
⚡ Finish the activity above first to answer.
Keep going!
Up next: Figure Analogies
Turn it, flip it, or add a part, then copy the change.