Understanding Letter Analogies in Verbal Reasoning

Letter analogy questions test your ability to identify the relationship between a pair of letters or groups of letters and apply that same relationship to another given letter or group to find the missing term. In this specific question, we are given the analogy MAN : PDQ :: WAN : ?

Our task is to figure out how MAN is related to PDQ and then apply that same rule to WAN to find the corresponding group of letters.

Analyzing the Relationship between MAN and PDQ

Let's look at the position of each letter in the English alphabet:

• A is the 1st letter
• B is the 2nd letter
• ...
• Z is the 26th letter

Now, let's compare the letters in MAN with the letters in PDQ:

• The first letter of MAN is M. The first letter of PDQ is P. What is the difference in their positions?
• M is the 13th letter. P is the 16th letter. The difference is \(16 - 13 = 3\). So, M moves to P by adding 3 to its position.
• The second letter of MAN is A. The second letter of PDQ is D. What is the difference in their positions?
• A is the 1st letter. D is the 4th letter. The difference is \(4 - 1 = 3\). So, A moves to D by adding 3 to its position.
• The third letter of MAN is N. The third letter of PDQ is Q. What is the difference in their positions?
• N is the 14th letter. Q is the 17th letter. The difference is \(17 - 14 = 3\). So, N moves to Q by adding 3 to its position.

It appears the rule is to add 3 to the alphabetical position of each letter in the first group to get the corresponding letter in the second group.

Relationship: \( \text{Letter} \rightarrow \text{Letter at Position (Original Position} + 3) \)

Applying the Relationship to WAN

Now, let's apply this same rule to WAN:

• The first letter of WAN is W. Its position is 23rd.
• New position = \(23 + 3 = 26\). The 26th letter is Z.
• The second letter of WAN is A. Its position is 1st.
• New position = \(1 + 3 = 4\). The 4th letter is D.
• The third letter of WAN is N. Its position is 14th.
• New position = \(14 + 3 = 17\). The 17th letter is Q.

Applying the rule \( +3 \) to each letter in WAN gives us ZDQ.

Comparing with Options

Let's look at the given options:

1. NAW
2. ZDQ
3. YDQ
4. YQD

Our calculated result is ZDQ, which matches Option 2.

Conclusion for the Analogy

The analogy MAN : PDQ follows the rule of adding 3 to the alphabetical position of each letter. Applying this rule to WAN results in ZDQ. Therefore, the correct alternative is ZDQ.

Revision Table: Letter Analogy Pattern

Additional Information on Verbal Reasoning Analogies

Verbal reasoning analogies can appear in various forms, including letter analogies, word analogies, number analogies, and mixed analogies. Letter analogies often involve patterns related to:

• Adding or subtracting a fixed number from the alphabetical position (like in this problem).
• Skipping letters.
• Reversing the order of letters.
• Using opposite letters (e.g., A and Z, B and Y).
• Vowel/consonant patterns.
• Combining multiple rules.

Solving these questions requires familiarity with the alphabet's order and positions, attention to detail, and systematic checking of potential rules. Practicing different types of analogy questions helps improve speed and accuracy for competitive exams.