HSPT Verbal Skills — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Which word means the OPPOSITE of 'benevolent'?
- Charitable
- Malevolent (Correct answer)
- Kind
- Generous
Correct answer: Malevolent
Benevolent means well-meaning and kindly, while malevolent means having ill will or wishing harm to others — they are direct antonyms.
Question 2: Choose the word that best completes the analogy: Book is to Library as Painting is to ___.
- Artist
- Canvas
- Museum (Correct answer)
- Color
Correct answer: Museum
A book is housed in a library, just as a painting is housed in a museum. Both represent the relationship between an item and its collection location.
Question 3: Which sentence contains a grammatical error?
- The team has finished their project.
- She and I went to the store.
- Each of the students have completed the assignment. (Correct answer)
- The dog chased its tail.
Correct answer: Each of the students have completed the assignment.
'Each' is singular and requires a singular verb. The correct form is 'Each of the students has completed the assignment.'
Question 4: What does the word 'ubiquitous' mean?
- Rare and unusual
- Present everywhere at the same time (Correct answer)
- Extremely beautiful
- Dangerously unstable
Correct answer: Present everywhere at the same time
Ubiquitous means existing or being everywhere at the same time; omnipresent. Smartphones are a commonly cited example of something ubiquitous.
Question 5: In the sequence 'Dog, Cat, Bird, Fish,' which word does NOT belong?
- Dog
- Bird
- Fish
- All belong (Correct answer)
Correct answer: All belong
All four are animals, so they all logically belong to the same category. There is no clear outlier based on the given information.
Question 6: Which pair of words are SYNONYMS?
- Brave and Cowardly
- Happy and Elated (Correct answer)
- Dark and Light
- Fast and Slow
Correct answer: Happy and Elated
Happy and elated both mean feeling great pleasure or joy. Elated is a more intense form of happiness, but they share the same core meaning.
HSPT Verbal Skills
Which word means the OPPOSITE of 'benevolent'?