Complete the pair hands you a transformation and asks you to apply it. The danger is not missing the rule. It is spotting half of it and answering with total confidence.
Non-verbal and spatial reasoning together carry 25% of the marks, according to the partnership entrance test page, and it is the section nothing in primary school prepares a child for.
What the question gives you
Two shapes that go together, then a third, then five options. The relationship between the first two is the rule, and your job is to apply the same relationship to the third.
It is the visual version of a verbal analogy, and it behaves the same way: the work is in defining the relationship precisely, not in choosing.
State the whole rule
- Look at the first shape, then the second. List everything that changed.
- Say the rule in full, out loud or in the margin. Not "it turned", but "it turned a quarter clockwise and the shading moved to the inner shape".
- Check nothing else changed. Size, count, position of a dot.
- Apply the whole rule to the third shape and predict the result.
- Then look at the options.
Step two is the one that matters. A vague rule produces a wrong answer with no warning.
The half-rule trap
This is how the question type is built, and it is worth showing a child directly.
Suppose two things change between the first shape and the second: it rotates, and a dot moves inside it. The five options will typically include:
- one that rotates correctly but gets the dot wrong
- one that moves the dot correctly but does not rotate
- one that does both, which is the answer
- two that are clearly wrong
A child who noticed only the rotation finds an option that rotates, feels certain, and scores nothing. They were not careless. They were incomplete, which is harder to spot in yourself.
So the drill is simple: before choosing, ask "is there a second change?" Every time, even when the first one seems obvious.
What to check, in order
| Check | Ask |
|---|---|
| Rotation | Has it turned, and by how much? |
| Reflection | Has it flipped? Has anything swapped sides? |
| Size | Is anything bigger or smaller? |
| Shading | Has shading moved, swapped or inverted? |
| Number | Has anything been added or removed? |
| Inside and outside | Have the inner and outer shapes swapped? |
Run the list. A fixed order beats staring, and it is the same discipline that works for series questions.
the partnership's familiarisation guide demonstrates only two non-verbal types, Figures alike and Hidden shapes, and says plainly that the real test contains types it does not show. So treat any list of question types, including this one, as the best available picture rather than a syllabus.
See our guide to odd one out and analogies, which rewards the same precision.
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Always ask whether there is a second change
The thing that catches children here is not difficulty, it is incompleteness. Two things change between the first shape and the second, they notice one, and the options are built so that noticing one is not enough.
What makes it worse is that it does not feel like a guess. They find an option that matches the change they spotted and they are certain. A child who knows they are unsure will check; a child who is confidently half-right will not.
So I teach one habit above all the others on this type. Before you choose, ask out loud whether there is a second change. Every time, even when the first one looks obvious. That one question is worth more than any amount of extra practice.
Mushtaque Ahmed, Founder of GrammarPath and Bright Mentors
Frequently asked questions
What are complete the pair questions?
You are shown two shapes that go together, then a third shape and five options. The relationship between the first two is the rule, and you apply that same relationship to the third. It is the visual version of a verbal analogy.
Why does my child pick wrong answers confidently on these?
Because they spotted part of the rule. If two things change and the child notices only one, several options will match that half, so they choose one and feel certain. The fix is to ask whether there is a second change before choosing, every time.
How should a child state the rule?
In full and specifically. Not "it turned" but "it turned a quarter clockwise and the shading moved to the inner shape". A vague rule produces a wrong answer with no warning that anything went wrong.
What should my child check on a complete the pair question?
Rotation, reflection, size, shading, number, and whether inner and outer shapes have swapped. Running a fixed list is far more reliable than looking at the picture and waiting for something to stand out.
Should my child look at the options before deciding?
No. Work out the full rule, apply it to the third shape and predict the answer first. Reading the options early is what lets a half-understood rule feel like a certainty.