Verbal Reasoning Test: 20 Questions, 20 Minutes
Twenty statements, twenty minutes. Each one comes with a short passage, and you judge it using only what the passage says — not what you know, and not what seems likely. True means it follows; False means the passage contradicts it; Cannot say means the passage settles neither way. Nothing is marked while you work; the report at the end explains every verdict, including why the tempting answer is wrong.
A verbal reasoning test in the True / False / Cannot Say format gives you a short passage and a statement, and asks you to judge the statement using only the passage. True means it follows from what you were given. False means the passage contradicts it. Cannot say means the passage settles it neither way — and that third verdict is where most of the marks are won and lost.
This is the paper employers reach for most often. SHL and Talent Q verbal reasoning, Watson Glaser critical thinking, and the civil service verbal test all work this way, and it is the standard first screen for graduate schemes, consulting and finance. It is also good preparation for reading-based reasoning on the GRE and GMAT, where the same discipline is asked for in a different wrapper.
Twenty statements in 20 minutes, one point each, no penalty for a wrong answer. You see no feedback while the clock runs. The report explains every verdict afterwards, and pays particular attention to the two calls that decide the score: False versus Cannot say, and the causal statement that quietly turns two things a passage reported in sequence into cause and effect.
Timed mock test
Sit the timed paper
True, False or Cannot Say — 20 passages against the clock.
- Questions
- 20 questions
- Time limit
- 20:00
- Scoring
- 1 point per question, no penalty for wrong answers
- Feedback
- No right/wrong shown mid-test
The clock starts the moment you hit start. You can jump between questions and change answers.
Where to go after the report
Frequently asked questions
When is the answer Cannot say rather than False?
False is reserved for statements the passage actually contradicts — it says something that cannot both be true with the statement. Cannot say is for everything the passage simply does not settle, however likely the statement sounds. If you find yourself reasoning 'well, it probably would be', that is Cannot say.
Can I use what I already know about the topic?
No, and this is the rule the whole format is built on. The passages are written so that outside knowledge points the wrong way on several items. Judge only against the text; if a word in the statement cannot be traced back to the passage, treat that as a signal.
How long is it, and is that realistic?
20 questions in 20 minutes. Commercial papers are often a little tighter than that — around 45 to 60 seconds per statement — so if you finish this comfortably inside the limit you are in reasonable shape for the real thing.
Which tests use this format?
SHL and Talent Q verbal reasoning, Watson Glaser critical thinking, the civil service verbal test, and a large number of in-house graduate-scheme papers built on the same template. The passages differ; the three-way judgement does not.
Are the passages about real organisations?
No. All 20 passages are original and the places, studies and companies in them are invented, so no answer can be looked up or recalled. Every topic is deliberately neutral — planning, ecology, retail, logistics — so nothing turns on your opinions.
Do I need an account?
No. The test and the full explanations are free and need no sign-up. Signing up only matters if you want your score and mistakes kept between attempts.