How Logisch Taal Inzicht works
Each item shows two words that relate to each other in a certain way, then a third word. You find the word that relates to the third in the same way: A is to B as C is to what? TMA calls these taal analogieën.
TMA says vocabulary plays a part, but the words are kept relatively simple, so candidates with a smaller vocabulary can still reach the right answer by reasoning. Seeing the relation quickly is the point: you have 20 analogies in about 7 minutes.
The subtest is scored on its own against a norm group at MBO or HBO/WO level.
How to solve a word analogy
At 21 seconds an item, use one routine every time:
- Put the first pair into a short sentence: “a pen is used to write”.
- Use the same sentence with the third word: “a knife is used to ...”.
- Pick the option that completes that sentence, not the one that merely feels related to the third word.
- If two options fit, make the sentence more precise: is it what the thing does, what it is made of, or where it belongs?
- Common relations: tool and use, maker and product, part and whole, opposites, degree, and cause and effect.
Worked example
pen : schrijven = mes : ? (snijden / vork / scherp / keuken). In English: pen is to write as knife is to ? (cut / fork / sharp / kitchen).
The relation is tool to what it is used for. A knife is used to cut, so the answer is snijden. Vork goes with mes at the table, scherp describes a knife and keuken is where you find one, but none of them is what a knife is for.
Tips for the real subtest
- If your test is in Dutch and Dutch is not your first language, practise Dutch word pairs too. The format transfers from English; the words do not.
- Commit to an answer and move on. There is little time to come back.
- Watch the direction. Tool to use on the left must be tool to use on the right, not use to tool.
- Answer every item. No source mentions marks taken off for a wrong answer.
Practise Logisch Taal Inzicht on CogniPrep
Our version follows TMA’s single-blank format: 20 analogies on a 7-minute clock, four options each, easiest first. Tapping an option moves you on, with a Skip and no going back, and it scores the number right. The items are in English, so add some Dutch word practice if your test is in Dutch. You get a 1 to 9 practice score with TMA’s Dutch label, against people practising here.