Verbal Reasoning &
Quantitative Reasoning
Sample
GRE® Verbal Questions
Reasoning with
Explanations
and Quantitative Reasoning
Sample Questions with Explanations
,Verbal Reasoning Question Types ..........................................................................................................................3
Reading Comprehension Questions ...................................................................................................................3
Text Completion Questions ..................................................................................................................................6
Text Completion Sample Questions....................................................................................................................7
Sentence Equivalence Questions ........................................................................................................................8
Sentence Equivalence Sample Questions ..........................................................................................................9
Quantitative Reasoning Question Types ............................................................................................................. 11
Quantitative Comparison Questions ............................................................................................................... 11
Quantitative Comparison Sample Questions ................................................................................................. 13
Multiple-choice Questions — Select One Answer Choice ............................................................................. 20
Multiple-choice Questions — Select One Answer Choice Sample Questions ............................................ 21
Multiple-choice Questions — Select One or More Answer Choices ............................................................ 24
Multiple-choice Questions — Select One or More Answer Choices Sample Questions ........................... 25
Numeric Entry Questions .................................................................................................................................. 28
Numeric Entry Sample Questions .................................................................................................................... 28
Data Interpretation Sets .................................................................................................................................... 32
Data Interpretation Sample Questions ........................................................................................................... 32
2
,The Verbal Reasoning measure contains three types of questions: Reading Comprehension, Text
Completion and Sentence Equivalence. Click here to get a closer look at each, including sample
questions with explanations.
Reading Comprehension questions are designed to test a wide range of abilities that are required
in order to read and understand the kinds of prose commonly encountered in graduate school.
Those abilities include:
• understanding the meaning of individual words and sentences
• understanding the meaning of paragraphs and larger bodies of text
• distinguishing between minor and major points
• summarizing a passage
• drawing conclusions from the information provided
• reasoning from incomplete data to infer missing information
• understanding the structure of a text in terms of how the parts relate to one another
• identifying the author’s assumptions and perspective
• analyzing a text and reaching conclusions about it
• identifying strengths and weaknesses of a position
• developing and considering alternative explanations
As this list implies, reading and understanding a piece of text requires far more than a passive
understanding of the words and sentences it contains; it requires active engagement with the text,
asking questions, formulating and evaluating hypotheses and reflecting on the relationship of the
particular text to other texts and information.
Typically, about half of the questions on the test are based on passages; each passage has one to
six questions associated with it. Most passages are one paragraph long, and one or two are
several paragraphs long. Passages are drawn from the physical sciences, biological sciences, social
sciences, business, arts and humanities and everyday topics and are based on material found in
books and periodicals, both academic and nonacademic.
Questions can cover any of the topics listed above, from the meaning of a particular word to
assessing evidence that might support or weaken points made in the passage. Many, but not all,
of the questions are standard multiple-choice questions, in which you are required to select a
single correct answer; others ask you to select multiple correct answers; and still others ask you
to select a sentence from the passage.
3
, Description
These are traditional multiple-choice questions with five answer choices, of which you must select
one.
Tips for Answering
• Read all the answer choices before making your selection, even if you think you know
the correct answer in advance.
• The correct answer is the one that most accurately and most completely answers the
question posed; be careful not to be misled by answer choices that are only partially true
or that only partially answer the question. Also, be careful not to pick an answer choice
simply because it is a true statement.
• When the question asks about the meaning of a word in the passage, be sure the answer
choice you select correctly represents the way the word is being used in the passage.
Many words have different meanings when used in different contexts.
Description
These questions provide three answer choices and ask you to select all that are correct; one, two
or all three of the answer choices may be correct. To gain credit for these questions, you must
select all the correct answers, and only those; there is no credit for partially correct answers.
Tips for Answering
• Evaluate each answer choice separately on its own merits; when evaluating one answer
choice, do not take the others into account.
• A correct answer choice accurately and completely answers the question posed; be careful
not to be misled by answer choices that are only partially true or that only partially answer
the question. Also, be careful not to pick an answer choice simply because it is a true
statement.
• Do not be disturbed if you think all three answer choices are correct, since questions of this
type can have up to three correct answer choices.
Description
These questions ask you to select the sentence in the passage that meets a certain description. To
select a sentence, click on any word in the sentence or select the sentence with the keyboard. In
longer passages, the question will usually apply to only one or two specified paragraphs; you will
not be able to select a sentence elsewhere in the passage.
4
Quantitative Reasoning
Sample
GRE® Verbal Questions
Reasoning with
Explanations
and Quantitative Reasoning
Sample Questions with Explanations
,Verbal Reasoning Question Types ..........................................................................................................................3
Reading Comprehension Questions ...................................................................................................................3
Text Completion Questions ..................................................................................................................................6
Text Completion Sample Questions....................................................................................................................7
Sentence Equivalence Questions ........................................................................................................................8
Sentence Equivalence Sample Questions ..........................................................................................................9
Quantitative Reasoning Question Types ............................................................................................................. 11
Quantitative Comparison Questions ............................................................................................................... 11
Quantitative Comparison Sample Questions ................................................................................................. 13
Multiple-choice Questions — Select One Answer Choice ............................................................................. 20
Multiple-choice Questions — Select One Answer Choice Sample Questions ............................................ 21
Multiple-choice Questions — Select One or More Answer Choices ............................................................ 24
Multiple-choice Questions — Select One or More Answer Choices Sample Questions ........................... 25
Numeric Entry Questions .................................................................................................................................. 28
Numeric Entry Sample Questions .................................................................................................................... 28
Data Interpretation Sets .................................................................................................................................... 32
Data Interpretation Sample Questions ........................................................................................................... 32
2
,The Verbal Reasoning measure contains three types of questions: Reading Comprehension, Text
Completion and Sentence Equivalence. Click here to get a closer look at each, including sample
questions with explanations.
Reading Comprehension questions are designed to test a wide range of abilities that are required
in order to read and understand the kinds of prose commonly encountered in graduate school.
Those abilities include:
• understanding the meaning of individual words and sentences
• understanding the meaning of paragraphs and larger bodies of text
• distinguishing between minor and major points
• summarizing a passage
• drawing conclusions from the information provided
• reasoning from incomplete data to infer missing information
• understanding the structure of a text in terms of how the parts relate to one another
• identifying the author’s assumptions and perspective
• analyzing a text and reaching conclusions about it
• identifying strengths and weaknesses of a position
• developing and considering alternative explanations
As this list implies, reading and understanding a piece of text requires far more than a passive
understanding of the words and sentences it contains; it requires active engagement with the text,
asking questions, formulating and evaluating hypotheses and reflecting on the relationship of the
particular text to other texts and information.
Typically, about half of the questions on the test are based on passages; each passage has one to
six questions associated with it. Most passages are one paragraph long, and one or two are
several paragraphs long. Passages are drawn from the physical sciences, biological sciences, social
sciences, business, arts and humanities and everyday topics and are based on material found in
books and periodicals, both academic and nonacademic.
Questions can cover any of the topics listed above, from the meaning of a particular word to
assessing evidence that might support or weaken points made in the passage. Many, but not all,
of the questions are standard multiple-choice questions, in which you are required to select a
single correct answer; others ask you to select multiple correct answers; and still others ask you
to select a sentence from the passage.
3
, Description
These are traditional multiple-choice questions with five answer choices, of which you must select
one.
Tips for Answering
• Read all the answer choices before making your selection, even if you think you know
the correct answer in advance.
• The correct answer is the one that most accurately and most completely answers the
question posed; be careful not to be misled by answer choices that are only partially true
or that only partially answer the question. Also, be careful not to pick an answer choice
simply because it is a true statement.
• When the question asks about the meaning of a word in the passage, be sure the answer
choice you select correctly represents the way the word is being used in the passage.
Many words have different meanings when used in different contexts.
Description
These questions provide three answer choices and ask you to select all that are correct; one, two
or all three of the answer choices may be correct. To gain credit for these questions, you must
select all the correct answers, and only those; there is no credit for partially correct answers.
Tips for Answering
• Evaluate each answer choice separately on its own merits; when evaluating one answer
choice, do not take the others into account.
• A correct answer choice accurately and completely answers the question posed; be careful
not to be misled by answer choices that are only partially true or that only partially answer
the question. Also, be careful not to pick an answer choice simply because it is a true
statement.
• Do not be disturbed if you think all three answer choices are correct, since questions of this
type can have up to three correct answer choices.
Description
These questions ask you to select the sentence in the passage that meets a certain description. To
select a sentence, click on any word in the sentence or select the sentence with the keyboard. In
longer passages, the question will usually apply to only one or two specified paragraphs; you will
not be able to select a sentence elsewhere in the passage.
4
