Introduction
Word Formation questions give a word and ask whether a proposed shorter word can be formed using
only the letters present in the original word — and only as many times as each letter appears.
Solving Approach
- List out every letter of the original word, including repeated letters, as a simple pool.
- Check the proposed word letter by letter against this pool, crossing off each letter as it's used.
- If any letter in the proposed word isn't available in the pool (or is needed more times than it appears), the word CANNOT be formed.
- The proposed word doesn't need to use every letter of the original — only the letters it uses must all be available.
Q. Can the word "RENT" be formed from the letters of "GOVERNMENT"?
Letters in GOVERNMENT: G, O, V, E, R, N, M, E, N, T. Check R-E-N-T: R (available), E (available), N (available),
T (available). All four letters exist in the pool.
Answer: Yes, "RENT" can be formed.
Q. Can the word "STONE" be formed from the letters of "TENSION"?
Letters in TENSION: T, E, N, S, I, O, N. Check S-T-O-N-E: S (available), T (available), O (available), N
(available), E (available). All five letters are present.
Answer: Yes, "STONE" can be formed.
⚠️ Key Insight: Pay close attention to letter COUNT, not just presence — if the proposed word
needs a letter twice (e.g., two "E"s) but the original word contains that letter only once, the word cannot be
formed.
✅ Practice Focus: Letter-pool cross-checking method · Repeated-letter count verification ·
Quickly spotting an unavailable letter to rule out a word early.