Civil Service Verbal Test: 35 Cannot Say Questions
Chapters
- The Cannot Say drill
- Part 1: Outside Knowledge: Questions 1 to 6
- Part 2: Some, Most and All: Questions 7 to 12
- Part 3: Cause or Just a Link: Questions 13 to 18
- Part 4: Time and Plans: Questions 19 to 24
- Part 5: One-Way Rules: Questions 25 to 30
- Part 6: Missing Numbers: Questions 31 to 35
- Score yourself
Audio from the Open Exam Hub video of the same name; the video shows the numbers and practice questions on screen.
Civil Service Verbal Test drill: 35 original questions on the trickiest judgement, Cannot Say, every answer explained. Part 1, Outside Knowledge (6: things true in real life but not in the passage). Part 2, Some, Most and All (6: 'at least some', overlapping 'mosts'). Part 3, Cause or Just a Link (6: 'after' vs 'because', and one passage that does state a cause). Part 4, Time and Plans (6: 'due to', 'applied for', last year's habit). Part 5, One-Way Rules (6: if, only, only when, unless). Part 6, Missing Numbers (5: percentages without totals, comparisons never made). As of October 2026, per the gov.uk guidance: the Civil Service Verbal Test shows a text passage followed by a statement, and you decide whether the statement is true, false or cannot say based on the information given; it measures the ability to identify relevant information and draw logical conclusions from written information. It is untimed (most people take 15 to 45 minutes; allow at least an hour), adaptive (length varies, every question must be answered, no skipping or going back) and includes unscored trial items. Your score is a percentile against a representative group; each job level has a minimum standard, the recruiter may raise the pass mark after the deadline, and a pass is banked for six months for jobs in the same grade group. No fixed pass mark is published. Real items have three answer choices; every question here has four options, so you practise the same judgements in a different format. The six groups are ours. Our 28-of-35 target is a planning estimate, not an official pass mark. Questions are original, not real test questions. Not affiliated with the Civil Service or the Cabinet Office.
Full guide
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Chapters
0:00 The Cannot Say drill
1:35 Part 1: Outside Knowledge: Questions 1 to 6
5:42 Part 2: Some, Most and All: Questions 7 to 12
10:16 Part 3: Cause or Just a Link: Questions 13 to 18
14:37 Part 4: Time and Plans: Questions 19 to 24
19:07 Part 5: One-Way Rules: Questions 25 to 30
23:11 Part 6: Missing Numbers: Questions 31 to 35
26:51 Score yourself
Exam facts are from the official UK Civil Service (Cabinet Office), Civil Service Verbal Test pages as of 2026-10-26. Fees and rules can change, so confirm on the official site before you enroll. Open Exam Hub is an independent study resource, not affiliated with UK Civil Service (Cabinet Office), Civil Service Verbal Test. Practice questions are not from a real exam. Narration is an AI-generated voice.
Music
"Fresh Air" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License
creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
"Carefree" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License
creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
"Reminiscing" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License
creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
"Almost Bliss" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License
creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
Sound effects: Kenney (kenney.nl), CC0.
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