Last reviewed 22 Sept 2026 · 5 min read
Which picture fits the words
The first family of questions gives three or four words and asks which diagram represents them.
| Relationship | Picture |
|---|---|
| Family, Mother, Father | one big circle containing two separate smaller ones |
| Vegetables, Potato, Onion | same shape — two distinct kinds inside one class |
| India, Delhi, Mumbai | one circle containing two separate ones |
| Men, Fathers, Doctors | men containing fathers, doctors overlapping both (a doctor may be a woman) |
| Pen, Pencil, Stationery | stationery containing two separate circles |
| Animals, Dogs, Cats | animals containing two separate circles |
| Teachers, Women, Engineers | three mutually overlapping circles |
| Sun, Moon, Star | three separate circles (for this purpose) |
| Doctor, Surgeon, Human | human ⊃ doctor ⊃ surgeon, fully nested |
Exam TipAsk two questions about each pair
"Can something be both?" — if never, draw them apart; if always, nest them; if sometimes, overlap them. Do it for each of the three pairs and the diagram draws itself.
Reading a numbered diagram
A diagram of three overlapping circles has seven regions. Name them carefully:
- Only A — inside A alone.
- A and B but not C — the two-circle overlap, excluding the middle.
- All three — the central region.
- At least two — the three pairwise overlaps plus the centre.
- Exactly two — the three pairwise overlaps without the centre.
- Neither / none — outside all three circles.
Most marks lost here come from "at least two" being read as "exactly two".
The counting formulas
FormulaTwo and three sets
And with a universal set of people, those in none of the three .
Useful derived counts:
- Exactly two
- Exactly one