24 Artificial-Language Reasoning Practice Questions & Answers
Every Artificial-Language Reasoning practice question from the Border Patrol Entrance Exam Practice Test, with the correct answer and a short explanation.
Start practice test →1. In an invented language, every infinitive verb ends in -dra, and the stem is the infinitive minus -dra. A noun naming the person who performs the action is formed from the stem plus -mul. If gondra means "to build", which word means "a builder"?
- A.gonmu
- B.gonmulshi
- C.gondramul
- D.gonmul✓ Answer
The stem of gondra is gon (the infinitive minus its suffix -dra), and the agent-noun rule adds -mul to that stem, producing gonmul. gondramul violates the stem rule by leaving the infinitive suffix in place before adding a derivational ending, while gonmu and gonmulshi attach endings that belong to other parts of speech rather than to the noun rung.
Source: CBP Preparation Manual for the U.S. Border Patrol Test (Prep 1896, June 2005), Artificial Language Test — Rule 4 (stem = infinitive minus its suffix) and Rule 9 (noun from verb = stem + noun suffix); affixes here are invented, as the manual states the real test uses different onesReport a problem with this question
2. In an invented language, a noun naming the doer of an action ends in -mul. To turn such a noun into an adjective, the ending -mul is REPLACED by -mu. If faskumul means "a friend", which word means "friendly"?
- A.faskumu✓ Answer
- B.faskumushi
- C.faskumulmu
- D.faskul
The adjective rule is a replacement, not an addition: -mul is deleted and -mu takes its place, so faskumul becomes faskumu. faskumulmu adds the adjective ending without deleting the noun ending, faskumushi is the adverb rung (adjective + -shi), and faskul is not produced by any stated rule.
Source: CBP Preparation Manual for the U.S. Border Patrol Test (Prep 1896, June 2005), Artificial Language Test — Rule 10 (adjective from noun: replace the noun-forming suffix with the adjective suffix)Report a problem with this question
3. Rules of an invented language: the stem is the infinitive minus -dra; stem + -mul makes a noun naming the doer; that noun's -mul is replaced by -mu to make an adjective; the adjective plus -shi makes an adverb. If murdra means "to work", which word means "in a hard-working manner"?
- A.murmulshi
- B.murdrashi
- C.murmushi✓ Answer
- D.murshi
The derivation must climb every rung in order: mur (stem) → murmul (noun) → murmu (adjective) → murmushi (adverb), because the adverb suffix -shi attaches only to an adjective. murshi skips the noun and adjective steps, murmulshi attaches -shi to a noun, and murdrashi attaches it to an un-stemmed infinitive.
Source: CBP Preparation Manual for the U.S. Border Patrol Test (Prep 1896, June 2005), Artificial Language Test — Rules 9, 10 and 11 (verb → noun → adjective → adverb derivational chain)Report a problem with this question
4. An invented language has four related forms: kishdra "to guide" (infinitive), kishmul "a guide" (noun), kishmu "helpful" (adjective), and kishmushi (the adverb, formed from the adjective plus -shi). In this language an adjective may modify only a noun, and an adverb may modify only a verb. Which form correctly fills the blank in a sentence meaning "The guide speaks ___ (helpfully)"?
- A.kishdra
- B.kishmushi✓ Answer
- C.kishmu
- D.kishmul
The blank modifies the verb "speaks", and only an adverb may modify a verb, so the adverb rung kishmushi is required. Choosing kishmu puts an adjective where no noun is being modified, kishmul supplies a noun, and kishdra supplies an infinitive — all correct words of the language, but at the wrong rung of the derivational chain.
Source: CBP Preparation Manual for the U.S. Border Patrol Test (Prep 1896, June 2005), Artificial Language Test — Rule 11 and the Supplemental Booklet glossary (in this language adverbs modify verbs only)Report a problem with this question
5. Rules of an invented language: the feminine is the masculine plus -nel; only nouns, pronouns, adjectives and articles take gender endings; verbs agree in NUMBER only, using -us for a singular subject and -ir for a plural subject. Vocabulary: shom = "the", gilba = "teacher", ron- = the stem of "read". Which is the correct rendering of "The female teacher reads"?
- A.shomnel gilbanel ronus✓ Answer
- B.shomnel gilbanel ronir
- C.shom gilba ronus
- D.shomnel gilbanel ronusnel
The article and the noun both take the feminine -nel because articles agree with their noun in gender, and the verb takes the singular ending -us with no gender marker at all. Option 2 puts -nel on the verb, which the rules forbid; option 3 leaves both article and noun masculine; option 4 uses the plural verb ending with a singular subject.
Source: CBP Preparation Manual for the U.S. Border Patrol Test (Prep 1896, June 2005), Artificial Language Test — Rules 1 (feminine), 3 (article agreement), 5 (subject–verb agreement in number only) and 6 (present tense)Report a problem with this question
6. Rules of an invented language: an adverb is formed from an adjective plus -zi, and adverbs NEVER take the feminine ending -nel or the plural ending -ta. Vocabulary: trela = "quick" (adjective). In the sentence meaning "The female teachers work quickly", which is the correct word for "quickly"?
- A.trelazinel
- B.trelazi✓ Answer
- C.trelanelzi
- D.trelazita
An adverb is invariable in this language, so it keeps the bare form trelazi no matter how feminine or plural the surrounding words are. trelazinel and trelazita wrongly copy the gender and number of the subject onto an adverb, and trelanelzi builds the adverb on a feminine adjective instead of on the plain (masculine) adjective.
Source: CBP Preparation Manual for the U.S. Border Patrol Test (Prep 1896, June 2005), Artificial Language Test — Rule 11 (adverb = masculine adjective + adverb suffix; adverbs do not change to agree in gender or number)Report a problem with this question
7. Rules of an invented language: nouns and articles form the plural with -ta; verbs show number with -us (singular subject) and -ir (plural subject). A verb never takes -ta and a noun never takes a verb ending. Vocabulary: shom = "the", gilba = "teacher", ron- = stem of "read". Which is the correct rendering of "The teachers read"?
- A.shomta gilbata ronta
- B.shomta gilbair ronta
- C.shomta gilbata ronir✓ Answer
- D.shom gilbair ronus
Two different plural markers are in play: the article and the noun take the noun plural -ta (shomta gilbata) while the verb takes its own plural ending -ir (ronir). Every other option swaps the two systems — putting the verb ending -ir on the noun, or the noun ending -ta on the verb — which the rules explicitly forbid.
Source: CBP Preparation Manual for the U.S. Border Patrol Test (Prep 1896, June 2005), Artificial Language Test — Rules 2 (noun plural), 5 (subject–verb agreement) and 6 (present tense endings)Report a problem with this question
8. Rules of an invented language: brek = "a/an"; the feminine of any noun, adjective or article is formed by adding -nel; an article must agree with its noun in gender and number. Vocabulary: kordu = "pilot". Which is the correct rendering of "a female pilot"?
- A.breknel kordunel✓ Answer
- B.breknel kordu
- C.brekta kordunel
- D.brek kordunel
Because the article agrees with its noun, the feminine ending must appear twice — on the article and on the noun — giving breknel kordunel. Option 1 is the classic English-speaker error of leaving the article uninflected, option 3 marks only the article, and option 4 marks the article as plural when the phrase is singular.
Source: CBP Preparation Manual for the U.S. Border Patrol Test (Prep 1896, June 2005), Artificial Language Test — Rules 1 and 3 (articles and adjectives must agree with their noun in gender and number)Report a problem with this question
9. Rules of an invented language: nirka = "this" and behaves like an adjective, agreeing with its noun; the feminine ending -nel is added first, and the plural ending -ta is added after it. Vocabulary: kordu = "pilot". Which is the correct rendering of "these female pilots"?
- A.nirkanelta kordunelta✓ Answer
- B.nirkatanel kordutanel
- C.nirka kordunelta
- D.nirkanel kordunel
The plural suffix attaches to the correct SINGULAR form, so the feminine -nel comes first and -ta second, on both the demonstrative and the noun: nirkanelta kordunelta. Option 2 reverses the two suffixes, option 3 fails to inflect the demonstrative, and option 4 omits the plural entirely.
Source: CBP Preparation Manual for the U.S. Border Patrol Test (Prep 1896, June 2005), Artificial Language Test — Rules 1, 2 and 3 (plural is added to the correct singular form; demonstratives inflect like adjectives)Report a problem with this question
10. Rules of an invented language: infinitives end in -tek and the suffix must be dropped before any tense ending; the past tense is the stem plus -vak, followed by the number ending (-us for a singular subject, -ir for a plural subject). Vocabulary: rontek = "to read" (stem ron-). Which word means "they read" (past tense, plural subject)?
- A.ronvakir✓ Answer
- B.ronvakus
- C.ronirvak
- D.rontekvakir
The order of the two verb suffixes is fixed: the tense marker -vak attaches to the stem first and the number ending follows it, giving ronvakir. ronirvak reverses that order, ronvakus uses the singular ending with a plural subject, and rontekvakir conjugates a form that still carries its infinitive suffix.
Source: CBP Preparation Manual for the U.S. Border Patrol Test (Prep 1896, June 2005), Artificial Language Test — Rules 4 and 7 (past tense: stem + past marker, then the person/number suffix)Report a problem with this question
11. Rules of an invented language: infinitives end in -tek; when a modal verb governs a second verb, ONLY the modal is conjugated (-us singular, -ir plural) and the second verb stays in the infinitive. Vocabulary: kelltek = "must" (stem kell-), rontek = "to read" (stem ron-). Which is the correct rendering of "They must read"?
- A.kellir ronir
- B.kellir ronus
- C.kelltek ronir
- D.kellir rontek✓ Answer
Only one verb in the pair carries agreement: the modal takes the plural ending (kellir) and the governed verb must remain the untouched infinitive rontek. Options 1 and 3 over-inflect the second verb, and option 2 leaves the modal itself in the infinitive so that nothing agrees with the plural subject.
Source: CBP Preparation Manual for the U.S. Border Patrol Test (Prep 1896, June 2005), Artificial Language Test — Rule 4 and the official rationale to practice item 36 (a governed verb keeps its infinitive form)Report a problem with this question
12. Rules of an invented language: the past participle is the stem plus -on. In a compound tense with hovtek "to have" (stem hov-), only hovtek is conjugated (-us singular, -ir plural) and the participle NEVER changes form. Vocabulary: ron- = stem of "read". Which is the correct rendering of "They have read"?
- A.hovir ronon✓ Answer
- B.hovir rononta
- C.hovir rontek
- D.hovon ronir
In a compound tense with "to have", the auxiliary carries all the agreement (hovir for a plural subject) while the participle stays invariant as ronon. rononta wrongly pluralizes the participle, hovon ronir swaps the two verbs' roles, and rontek leaves the main verb in the infinitive instead of the participle.
Source: CBP Preparation Manual for the U.S. Border Patrol Test (Prep 1896, June 2005), Artificial Language Test — Rule 8, compound-tense use (the participle does not change when used with the verb "to have")Report a problem with this question
13. Rules of an invented language: the past participle is the stem plus -on; the past tense is the stem plus -vak plus -us (singular) or -ir (plural); verbs never take gender endings, but a participle used as a PREDICATE with seftek "to be" (stem sef-) agrees in gender and number (feminine -nel, plural -ta). Vocabulary: pik- = stem of "choose". Which is the correct rendering of "She was chosen"?
- A.sefvakus pikon
- B.sefvakusnel pikon
- C.sefvakir pikonelta
- D.sefvakus pikonel✓ Answer
With "to be" the participle behaves like a predicate adjective and must agree with the feminine singular subject, giving pikonel, while the verb itself shows past tense and singular number only: sefvakus. Option 1 leaves the participle masculine, option 2 illegally puts gender on the verb, and option 4 makes both verb and participle plural for a singular subject.
Source: CBP Preparation Manual for the U.S. Border Patrol Test (Prep 1896, June 2005), Artificial Language Test — Rule 8, predicate use with the verb "to be" (participle agrees) and Rule 5 (verbs agree in number only)Report a problem with this question
14. Rules of an invented language: the past participle is the stem plus -on; used as an ADJECTIVE it stands before its noun and agrees in gender and number, with the plural -ta added after -on. Vocabulary: shom = "the" (plural shomta), dran = "door" (plural dranta), shul- = stem of "close". Which is the correct rendering of "the closed doors"?
- A.shomta shulon dranta
- B.shomta shultekta dranta
- C.shomta shulonta dranta✓ Answer
- D.shom shulonta dranta
A participle used adjectivally agrees with its noun, so all three words carry the plural -ta: shomta shulonta dranta. Option 1 leaves the participle singular, option 3 fails to pluralize the article, and option 4 pluralizes an infinitive instead of building the participle with -on.
Source: CBP Preparation Manual for the U.S. Border Patrol Test (Prep 1896, June 2005), Artificial Language Test — Rule 8, adjectival use of the past participle, with Rules 2 and 3 (agreement in number)Report a problem with this question
15. Rules of an invented language: an adjective is formed from a noun by adding -le; an adverb is formed from an adjective by adding -zi; negation is the prefix pu- placed in FRONT of the fully formed word. Vocabulary: kolvu = "law" (noun). Which word means "illegally"?
- A.pukolvuzile
- B.pukolvulezi✓ Answer
- C.pukolvule
- D.kolvulezipu
Build the affirmative word completely first — kolvu → kolvule ("legal") → kolvulezi ("legally") — and only then attach the negative prefix, giving pukolvulezi. pukolvule negates an adjective rather than an adverb, kolvulezipu turns the prefix into a suffix, and pukolvuzile reverses the order of the derivational suffixes.
Source: CBP Preparation Manual for the U.S. Border Patrol Test (Prep 1896, June 2005), Artificial Language Test — Rules 10, 11 and 13 (negation = prefix + the correct affirmative form)Report a problem with this question
16. Rules of an invented language: the feminine ending is -nel, the plural ending is -ta, and the possessive ending is -ip, which is added LAST, after any feminine and plural endings. Vocabulary: kordu = "pilot". Which form means "the female pilots'" (possessive)?
- A.korduipnelta
- B.kordunelipta
- C.kordutanelip
- D.korduneltaip✓ Answer
The suffixes stack in a fixed order — stem + feminine + plural + possessive — so kordu becomes kordunelta and only then korduneltaip. The other three options use exactly the same morphemes but permute them, which the ordering rule forbids; suffix order, not suffix choice, is what makes this item hard.
Source: CBP Preparation Manual for the U.S. Border Patrol Test (Prep 1896, June 2005), Artificial Language Test — Rule 12 (possessive suffix is added after the plural and feminine suffixes), with Rules 1 and 2Report a problem with this question
17. Rules of an invented language: the possessive ending -ip marks the POSSESSOR only; the thing possessed takes no possessive ending. Vocabulary: gilba = "teacher" (feminine gilbanel), dran = "door" (plural dranta). Which is the correct rendering of "the female teacher's doors"?
- A.gilbanel drantaip
- B.gilbanelip dranta✓ Answer
- C.gilbaip drantanel
- D.gilbanelip drantaip
Only the possessor is marked, so gilbanel takes -ip and the possessed noun stays in its ordinary plural form: gilbanelip dranta. Option 1 doubles the possessive, option 2 attaches it to the wrong word, and option 4 moves both the possessive and the feminine ending onto the wrong nouns.
Source: CBP Preparation Manual for the U.S. Border Patrol Test (Prep 1896, June 2005), Artificial Language Test — Rule 12 (the possessive suffix attaches to the noun or pronoun that possesses)Report a problem with this question
18. Rules of an invented language: negation is expressed by the prefix pu- attached to the FRONT of the fully inflected verb; verbs take number endings only (-us singular, -ir plural) and never take the feminine ending -nel; the infinitive suffix -tek must be dropped before any tense ending. Vocabulary: ron- = stem of "read". Which is the correct rendering of "She does not read"?
- A.purontek
- B.puronusnel
- C.puronus✓ Answer
- D.ronuspu
Conjugate first (ron + -us = ronus) and then attach the negative element as a PREFIX, giving puronus. ronuspu treats the negator as a suffix — the single most common error of this type — purontek negates an unconjugated infinitive, and puronusnel adds a feminine ending to a verb, which the rules never permit.
Source: CBP Preparation Manual for the U.S. Border Patrol Test (Prep 1896, June 2005), Artificial Language Test — Rule 13 (negation = prefix + correct affirmative form) and Rule 5 (verbs agree in number only)Report a problem with this question
19. Rules of an invented language: build the fully inflected affirmative form first — feminine -nel, then plural -ta — and only then attach the negative prefix pu-, which never disturbs the suffixes. Vocabulary: trela = "quick" (adjective). Which is the feminine plural adjective meaning "not quick"?
- A.putrelanelta✓ Answer
- B.putrelatanel
- C.punelta trela
- D.trelaneltapu
The affirmative feminine plural is trelanelta, and the prefix simply attaches to the front of that finished word: putrelanelta. trelaneltapu makes the negator a suffix, punelta trela detaches the prefix and drags the endings along with it, and putrelatanel reverses the feminine and plural suffixes.
Source: CBP Preparation Manual for the U.S. Border Patrol Test (Prep 1896, June 2005), Artificial Language Test — Rule 13 (the negative prefix is added to the correct, fully inflected affirmative form), with Rules 1 and 2Report a problem with this question
20. Rules of an invented language: nouns, pronouns, adjectives and articles take the gender ending -nel and the plural ending -ta; verbs agree in number ONLY, using -us (singular) and -ir (plural), with the past marker -vak before them; adverbs formed with -zi take no endings at all; the possessive -ip attaches to nouns and pronouns after all other endings. Which of the following forms could NOT exist in this language?
- A.gilbaneltaip
- B.trelazi
- C.ronvakir
- D.ronvakirnel✓ Answer
ronvakirnel is a verb (past, plural) carrying the feminine ending, and the rules state that verbs agree in number only, so no verb form may ever end in -nel. The other three are all legal: a feminine plural possessive noun, a plural past-tense verb, and an uninflected adverb.
Source: CBP Preparation Manual for the U.S. Border Patrol Test (Prep 1896, June 2005), Artificial Language Test — Rules 1, 2, 5, 11 and 12 (only nouns, pronouns, adjectives and articles take gender; verbs take number only)Report a problem with this question
21. An invented language has a fixed word order. Study these sentences and their meanings: (1) kelvu zerin dovash = "the small bird flies" (2) malku zerin tunash = "the small dog sleeps" (3) malku brendu tunash = "the large dog sleeps" How would you say "the large bird flies"?
- A.kelvu brendu dovash✓ Answer
- B.kelvu dovash brendu
- C.dovash kelvu brendu
- D.brendu kelvu dovash
Comparing (1) with (2) shows that the first word is the noun (kelvu = bird, malku = dog) and the last word is the verb (dovash = flies, tunash = sleeps); comparing (2) with (3) shows that the middle word is the modifier (zerin = small, brendu = large). The order is therefore noun + modifier + verb, which yields kelvu brendu dovash.
Source: CBP Preparation Manual for the U.S. Border Patrol Test (Prep 1896, June 2005), Artificial Language Test — stated purpose of the test (measuring the ability to learn a language by deducing and applying its rules) and Rule 3 (modifier placement relative to the noun)Report a problem with this question
22. In an invented language, compare these three sentences with their meanings: (1) nurvo shanti pelkash = "the child eats the fruit" (2) nurvo drimu pelkash = "the child eats the bread" (3) gorlan shanti pelkash = "the farmer eats the fruit" What does gorlan mean?
- A.fruit
- B.farmer✓ Answer
- C.eats
- D.bread
Sentences (1) and (3) differ in exactly one word, nurvo versus gorlan, and their English meanings differ in exactly one word, "child" versus "farmer", so gorlan must mean "farmer". The same minimal-pair reasoning applied to (1) and (2) fixes drimu as "bread" and leaves pelkash, the word common to all three, as "eats".
Source: CBP Preparation Manual for the U.S. Border Patrol Test (Prep 1896, June 2005), Artificial Language Test — directions to question groups 2 and 3 (meaning is deduced from the surrounding context of parallel sentences)Report a problem with this question
23. In an invented language, study these paired forms: velka = "river", velkazik = "rivers" pordu = "mountain", porduzik = "mountains" nadresh = "he sings", nadreshkun = "he sang" gorvesh = "he walks", gorveshkun = "he walked" If shelvesh means "he swims", how would you say "he swam"?
- A.shelveshzik
- B.kunshelvesh
- C.shelvezikkun
- D.shelveshkun✓ Answer
The paired forms isolate two different suffixes: -zik marks the plural of nouns and -kun marks past time on verbs, and both are added at the end of the word, never in front of it. Since "he swam" is a past-tense verb, the past suffix applies: shelvesh + -kun = shelveshkun.
Source: CBP Preparation Manual for the U.S. Border Patrol Test (Prep 1896, June 2005), Artificial Language Test — Rules 2 and 7 (distinct suffixes mark noun plural and verb tense) and the test's stated aim of applying deduced affix rules to new stemsReport a problem with this question
24. Rules of an invented language: shom = "the" (feminine shomnel; the plural -ta is added after -nel); adjectives precede their noun and agree with it in gender and number; verbs agree in NUMBER only (-us singular, -ir plural); adverbs ending in -zi are invariable. Vocabulary: kordu = "pilot", zirka = "small", mur- = stem of "work", trelazi = "quickly". Which sentence correctly means "The small female pilots work quickly"?
- A.shomnelta zirkanelta kordunelta murir trelazi✓ Answer
- B.shomnelta zirkanelta kordunelta murirnel trelazi
- C.shomta zirkanelta kordunelta murir trelazi
- D.shomnelta zirkanelta kordunelta murus trelazinelta
Article, adjective and noun must all show feminine plural (shomnelta zirkanelta kordunelta), the verb shows plural number alone (murir), and the adverb stays bare (trelazi). Option 1 leaves the article without its feminine ending, option 2 puts gender on the verb, and option 4 uses a singular verb with a plural subject and wrongly inflects the adverb.
Source: CBP Preparation Manual for the U.S. Border Patrol Test (Prep 1896, June 2005), Artificial Language Test — Rules 1, 2, 3, 5, 6 and 11 combined (article/adjective agreement, verb number agreement, invariable adverbs)Report a problem with this question
Practice questions modeled on the general aptitude domains of the CBP Border Patrol Agent entrance exam (logical reasoning, reading comprehension, artificial-language test, situational reasoning). Not legal or immigration advice and not affiliated with or endorsed by U.S. Customs and Border Protection. Check the official announcement for the current exam format. CBP Careers →