SHL verbal reasoning test: free practice
SHL's verbal test is reported at at most 30 questions in 19 minutes, about 38 seconds each: a short passage, then a statement you mark True, False or Cannot say from the passage alone. This free practice set is 16 original statements on four passages in 10 minutes, the same pace, with the deciding sentence for every answer.
Last checked
16
questions
10 min
time limit
Free
score and answers
No sign-up. Every answer is explained at the end.
By the LifeScore Editorial Team · Updated · How we check facts · How the questions are made
How many questions are on the SHL verbal reasoning test?
Reported at up to 30 in 19 minutes for Verify Verbal Reasoning, which is about 38 seconds a statement. Passages are short, so the time goes on reading carefully and checking each statement against one sentence.
SHL publishes the figure in a fact sheet we could only read through search text, so we mark it reported. The product name in your invitation decides the exact format.
| Verify Verbal Reasoning | At most 30 questions in 19 minutes; each passage is followed by a statement to mark True, False or Cannot SayReportedSHL, "Verify Verbal Reasoning" fact sheet (PDF) |
|---|---|
| How the score is reported | A percentile against a comparison group, plus standardised scores such as a T-score (mean 50, standard deviation 10)ReportedSHL, sample "Verify Ability Test Report" (verbal ability, PDF) |
| Pass mark | None from SHL: the employer chooses its own cut-off, and rarely publishes itReported |
What do True, False and Cannot say mean?
Every answer comes from the passage alone. If the passage settles it, True or False; if it does not, Cannot say, however likely the statement is in real life.
True
The passage says it, or it follows directly from what it says
The trap: Choosing it because it is true in real life but not stated.
False
The passage says the opposite, or its figures make the statement impossible
The trap: Choosing it when the passage simply does not mention the matter.
Cannot say
The passage does not give enough to decide either way
The trap: Avoiding it because it feels like giving up.
How do I answer SHL verbal reasoning questions?
Read the statement first, then find the one sentence in the passage that bears on it. If you cannot point to a sentence, the answer is Cannot say.
- Read the statement first, then read the passage looking for the one sentence that bears on it.
- Quote that sentence to yourself before you choose: if you cannot, the answer is Cannot say.
- Watch the qualifiers: "all", "only", "most", "at least", "unless". Changing one is how a true statement becomes a false one.
- Do the arithmetic when the statement contains a number: the passage may give the parts and leave you to find the total.
- Never use what you know. If you need outside knowledge to answer, the answer is Cannot say.
What do SHL-style verbal questions look like?
One True, one False and one Cannot say, each with the reason. The second and third come from the same passage as statements in the free set, so read them after you have taken it if you want a clean first try.
Example 1 · City bike hire
Since its launch four years ago, the city's public bike hire scheme has grown to 2,400 bikes at 310 docking stations. Riders pay a fixed fee for the first 30 minutes and a further charge for each extra 30 minutes or part of it. Last year the scheme added 600 electric bikes, which cost more to hire, and electric bikes now account for more than half of all journeys. The council, which subsidises the scheme, has said it will review the subsidy next year, after the operator's contract ends.
Statement: "On average, each electric bike is used for more journeys than each non-electric bike."
- A. True
- B. False
- C. Cannot say
Example 2 · City bike hire
Since its launch four years ago, the city's public bike hire scheme has grown to 2,400 bikes at 310 docking stations. Riders pay a fixed fee for the first 30 minutes and a further charge for each extra 30 minutes or part of it. Last year the scheme added 600 electric bikes, which cost more to hire, and electric bikes now account for more than half of all journeys. The council, which subsidises the scheme, has said it will review the subsidy next year, after the operator's contract ends.
Statement: "Electric bikes make up more than half of the scheme's bikes."
- A. True
- B. False
- C. Cannot say
Example 3 · Halden Foods
Halden Foods, a family-owned bakery business, supplies bread to independent shops across the north of England. Until last year it delivered to every one of its 140 shops each morning. It now delivers to each shop three times a week, using larger loads and a new range of longer-life loaves. The company says the change has cut its fuel use by a third and its delivery staff hours by a quarter. Eleven shops stopped buying from Halden after the change, but the company has since gained nine new shops, so it now supplies 138.
Statement: "Halden's spending on fuel has fallen by a third."
- A. True
- B. False
- C. Cannot say
Want more passages than one free set?
Sixteen statements show you the traps. Full timed mocks show whether you can avoid them for a whole test.
The Reasoning Pass Pack gives you 6 full mocks on the real clock, 8 drills of 12 questions for the sections that cost you points, and a predictor that turns your mocks into the odds of reaching your target. One payment, no subscription, and your free score stays free.
The Reasoning Pass Pack is 396 questions: 6 timed mocks of 25 verbal and 25 numerical, plus 8 topic drills, with the deciding reason for every answer.
Prep courses for these tests usually cost $19 to $129. The Reasoning Pass Pack is US$39 (£29), once.
- 6
- timed mocks
- 8
- topic drills
- 1
- score predictor
Which words decide SHL verbal answers?
A statement that is nearly what the passage says, with one word changed, is usually False or Cannot say. These are the words to check.
Passage: "some", "a number of"
Statement: "all", "every"
Usually: Cannot say, unless the passage rules out the rest
Passage: "use fell by a third"
Statement: "spending fell by a third"
Usually: Cannot say: use and cost are different things
Passage: "within 2%"
Statement: "fell by 2%"
Usually: Cannot say: within means either direction
Passage: "after the change"
Statement: "because of the change"
Usually: Cannot say: timing is not cause
Passage: "will review"
Statement: "will cut"
Usually: Cannot say: a review can go either way
Passage: A figure
Statement: A share or comparison of figures
Usually: Work it out: it is often True or False
Is the Civil Service verbal test the same?
The answer layout is the same, True, False or Cannot say, but the UK Civil Service test is untimed and adaptive, and you cannot skip or go back.
| Timing | Not timed: your score does not depend on how long you take. Most people take 15 to 45 minutes, and GOV.UK suggests setting aside an hourPublished by the ownerGOV.UK, "Preparing for the Civil Service Verbal and Numerical tests" |
|---|---|
| Adaptive | A correct answer brings a harder next question and a wrong one an easier one, so the number of questions variesPublished by the ownerUK Civil Service, "Verbal and numerical reasoning tests: a guide for candidates" (PDF) |
| Calculator | Allowed in the numerical testPublished by the ownerUK Civil Service, "Verbal and numerical reasoning tests: frequently asked questions" (PDF) |
| Skipping and going back | You must answer every question and cannot skip or returnPublished by the ownerGOV.UK, "Preparing for the Civil Service Verbal and Numerical tests" |
| Verbal format | A passage, then a statement to mark true, false or cannot say from the passage alonePublished by the ownerGOV.UK, "Preparing for the Civil Service Verbal and Numerical tests" |
| How you are scored | Compared with a norm group of people who took the same test, to give a percentile: a 44 means you did better than 44% of the groupPublished by the ownerUK Civil Service, "Verbal and numerical reasoning tests: a guide for candidates" (PDF) |
| Pass mark | Not fixed in advance: after the deadline the recruiter sees every applicant's score and sets it, weighing the places available at the next stage and the effect on protected groupsPublished by the ownerUK Civil Service, "Verbal and numerical reasoning tests: a guide for candidates" (PDF) |
| Retakes and banking | You can retake in a later application; a pass at the minimum standard set in Civil Service Jobs is banked for six monthsPublished by the ownerUK Civil Service, "Verbal and numerical reasoning tests: a guide for candidates" (PDF) |
Where do I practise next?
For more passages, work through the verbal reasoning questions, each with the sentence that settles it, then sit the full 50-question reasoning test, which has 25 verbal statements after 25 numerical tables.
If your application is for a law firm, you may face the Watson-Glaser instead of, or as well as, a verbal test. It rewards the same habit with five different question types. For the numbers half, try the SHL numerical reasoning test.
Frequently asked questions
How long is the SHL verbal reasoning test?
What is the difference between False and Cannot say?
Can I use what I know about the topic?
Are these real SHL questions?
How is the SHL verbal test scored?
Practising for a specific employer?
- Civil Service assessmentUK, public sector
- Deloitte assessmentUK, professional services
- KPMG assessmentUK, professional services
- PwC assessmentUK, professional services
- EY assessmentUK, professional services
- HSBC assessmentUK, banking
- All employer assessmentsWhat each employer states and what candidates report
LifeScore is not affiliated with SHL. SHL and Verify are trademarks of SHL. These are original passages and statements written by LifeScore, not SHL questions, and our score is not an SHL score. Reviewed 12 November 2026 by the LifeScore Editorial Team.