How the Bridge Verbaal test works
The screen shows a short text, styled as a page from a company annual report, with a statement next to it. You click one of three answers: Correct, Incorrect or Insufficient information. On a Dutch sitting these read Goed, Onjuist and Niet te beoordelen. Several statements follow each text before a new one appears.
There are 25 questions and one 17-minute clock for the whole subtest, which works out at about 41 seconds a question including the reading. A clock shows the time left and a bar shows the share of time used. You can skip a question and come back to it once you have answered the others. The test opens with three practice questions you can repeat as often as you like, and the clock starts at the first real question.
The employer chooses the level, mbo, hbo or wo, which sets the difficulty and the norm group. TestGroup says the tests are built so that almost nobody finishes in the time, so an unfinished paper is not in itself a bad sign.
The report gives four stens: Totaalscore (correct answers), Accuraatheid (how few mistakes you made), Snelheid (how many questions you answered, not how fast) and Efficiëntie (your result corrected for guessing).
How to answer a Bridge Verbaal question
Use the same steps on every statement:
- Read the statement first, then find the sentence in the text that deals with it.
- Correct (Goed): the text states it, or it follows directly from what the text states.
- Incorrect (Onjuist): the text states the opposite or rules it out.
- Insufficient information (Niet te beoordelen): the text does not settle it either way. Choose it even when you know the answer from outside the text.
- Watch words that change the scope, such as only, all, always and at least. Most traps sit in them.
Worked example
Text: “In 2025 Noordhaven Logistics opened two new depots, in Utrecht and Zwolle. Both were paid for from the company’s own reserves. The Zwolle depot is the larger of the two and handles all deliveries to the north of the country.”
Statement 1: “The Utrecht depot was financed with a bank loan.” Incorrect. The text says both depots were paid for from the company’s own reserves.
Statement 2: “The Zwolle depot employs more staff than the Utrecht depot.” Insufficient information. Zwolle is larger, but the text says nothing about staff numbers, and a larger building does not have to mean more people.
Statement 3: “Noordhaven opened at least two depots in 2025.” Correct. It opened two, which meets “at least two”.
Tips for the real Bridge Verbaal test
- Use the three practice questions to settle on the meaning of Niet te beoordelen before the clock starts.
- Guess sparingly. TestGroup’s own advice is “weinig gokken”, and Efficiëntie corrects for guessing while a skipped question costs nothing there.
- Skip a statement you are going round in circles on and come back to it. Use the time bar to judge when to return.
- The test is offered in 20 languages, Dutch and English among them, so check which one your invitation uses. If it is Dutch and that is not your first language, read Dutch business news in the weeks before.
- The manual’s own preparation advice: read newspapers and articles, look up unknown words and practise telling a writer’s facts from opinions.
Practise Bridge Verbaal on CogniPrep
Our Bridge Verbaal has 25 questions on one 17-minute clock, with Skip, Back and an overview so you can return to skipped questions, and a bar showing the share of time used. The texts and statements are in English, and the answers show their Dutch labels. At the end you get a score out of 100 with its sten equivalent, plus our versions of Totaalscore, Accuraatheid, Snelheid and Efficiëntie. There are no practice questions before the clock starts.