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Verbal Reasoning · Word relationships
Insert a letter
A free preview from the Athena Learning Library — the same lesson registered students learn from.
In this lesson: Find the letter that ends one word and begins another.
The idea
In these questions one letter has been taken out from between two words. The missing letter ends the first word and begins the second word — the same letter does both jobs.
Try each letter you are given in both places at once. The letter only works if BOTH results are real words: putting L at the end of WEL makes 'well', and the same L at the start of _INES makes 'lines'.
If a letter completes only one of the two words, it is a trap — keep testing until one letter completes both. Reading the two finished words aloud helps you feel whether they are real.
Worked example
Which letter ends the first word and begins the second word? WEL_ _INES
- Try L at the end of the first word: WEL + L = well, a real word.
- The same letter must begin the second word: L + INES = lines, also a real word.
- No other letter completes both words.
Answer: L
Watch out
- Choosing a letter that completes the first word but leaves the second word as nonsense.
- Forgetting the letter must begin the second word, not just appear somewhere in it.
- Stopping at the first letter that makes one real word instead of testing both words every time.
Quick check
Try these on your own first — then reveal each answer.
1. Which letter ends the first word and begins the second word? CAR_ _ARK
2. Which letter ends the first word and begins the second word? COA_ _EAM
Practise this concept
Reading is the first step — the concept sticks when your child answers questions on it. Registered students practise graded questions for this lesson, with instant marking and worked explanations, and the lesson is marked complete in their progress.