SHL General Ability Test (Verify G+): Format and Answers
The SHL general ability test explained: Verify G+ is 30 questions in 36 minutes across numerical, inductive and deductive reasoning. Worked examples included.
SHL·Aptitude Test Prep Team · Sep 2, 2026 · 7 min read
The SHL general ability test, sold as Verify G+, measures general mental ability by mixing three reasoning types in one sitting. SHL describes it as assessing problem-solving and critical reasoning capability. The standard multiple choice form is 30 questions in 36 minutes. The interactive form is 24 activity-based tasks in the same 36 minutes and adapts as you go: answer correctly and the next item gets harder, answer wrongly and it gets easier. The three strands are numerical reasoning, inductive reasoning and deductive reasoning, at roughly eight to 10 items each. Questions are shuffled rather than grouped, so you switch reasoning mode item by item. There is no verbal section. That surprises candidates who revised comprehension passages and then met a scheduling puzzle.
TL;DR
- Verify G+ standard: 30 multiple choice questions in 36 minutes, fixed difficulty. Verify G+ Interactive: 24 tasks in 36 minutes, adaptive.
- Three strands only: numerical, inductive and deductive reasoning. No verbal section.
- Items are shuffled, not grouped, so you change reasoning type between consecutive questions.
- The pace is about 72 seconds per item on the standard form and 90 seconds on the interactive form.
- Scores are percentiles against a norm group. One prep publisher reports employers commonly set the bar near the 80th percentile for competitive roles.
- SHL’s separate 12-question General Ability screen is a different, shorter product. Check which one your invitation names.
What is the SHL Verify G+ test?
Verify G+ is SHL’s single-score cognitive assessment. Rather than sending you three separate tests, an employer sends one, and gets one general ability figure plus strand detail. It is common in banking, graduate schemes, corporate rotational programmes, technology and Big Four audit and tax intakes, where a single sift number has to rank thousands of applicants.
Because numerical reasoning is one of the three strands and the one most candidates find hardest to pace, it is worth calibrating early. Try five free timed numerical questions and check whether you finish inside 90 seconds each before you plan anything else.
How long is the SHL general ability test?
| Form | Items | Time | Difficulty |
|---|---|---|---|
| Verify G+ standard | 30 | 36 minutes | Fixed |
| Verify G+ Interactive | 24 | 36 minutes | Adaptive |
| SHL General Ability screen | 12 | 12 minutes | Fixed |
The middle row matters most. On the adaptive form, difficulty rises after correct answers, so a run of hard items late in the test is a good sign, not a bad one. Candidates who panic at that point and rush tend to slide back down the difficulty ladder and lose the score they had earned.
The bottom row is a different product with a different purpose: a fast 12-question screen used for high-volume roles. If your email names a 12 minute test, none of the 36 minute pacing advice applies to you.
What does each strand test?
| Strand | Roughly how many items | What it asks |
|---|---|---|
| Numerical | 8 to 10 | Extract figures from charts and tables, calculate, and spot number sequences |
| Inductive | 8 to 10 | Find the rule behind shapes, colours, positions, letter sequences, plans and maps |
| Deductive | 8 to 10 | Draw a conclusion from given constraints: schedules, orderings, what must or cannot be true |
The deductive strand is the one candidates neglect. It is not maths and it is not pattern-spotting. It is constraint handling, and it rewards writing the constraints down instead of holding them in your head.
What do SHL general ability questions look like?
Three items in the SHL house style, one per strand, with full working.
Worked example 1: numerical, output per head
A manufacturer reports two sites.
| Site | Staff on shift | Units produced per day |
|---|---|---|
| X | 24 | 3,600 |
| Y | 15 | 2,400 |
Question: which site produces more units per staff member, and by how many units?
Working. Site X: 3,600 divided by 24 is 150 units per staff member. Site Y: 2,400 divided by 15 is 160 units per staff member. Site Y is higher by 10 units.
Answer: Site Y, by 10 units per staff member.
The trap is the headline number. Site X produces 50 percent more in total, so a rushed reader answers X. Per-head questions always need the division, never the raw total.
Worked example 2: numerical, sequence
Question: what number comes next in this sequence? 3, 6, 11, 18, 27.
Working. Take the differences between consecutive terms: 6 minus 3 is 3, 11 minus 6 is 5, 18 minus 11 is 7, 27 minus 18 is 9. The differences increase by 2 each time, so the next difference is 11. Then 27 plus 11 is 38.
Answer: 38.
Sequence items appear in the numerical strand alongside chart questions. When a sequence does not have a constant ratio, take first differences before anything else.
Worked example 3: deductive, ordering
Five runners finish a race. Priya finishes ahead of Tom. Tom finishes ahead of Ravi. Sara finishes last. Nadia finishes immediately behind Priya.
Question: who finishes third?
Working. Sara is fifth, so Priya, Nadia, Tom and Ravi hold positions one to four. Nadia is immediately behind Priya, so they are adjacent with Priya first. Try Priya second and Nadia third: then Tom and Ravi take positions one and four, but Priya must finish ahead of Tom, so Tom cannot be first. That fails. Try Priya third and Nadia fourth: then Tom must be after Priya, and only position five remains, which Sara holds. That fails too. So Priya is first and Nadia is second, leaving Tom third and Ravi fourth, which satisfies Priya ahead of Tom and Tom ahead of Ravi.
Answer: Tom.
That is the whole deductive method. Fix the certain constraint first, in this case Sara in fifth, then test the positions of the linked pair until only one arrangement survives.
How is the SHL general ability test scored?
Your result is converted into a percentile against a norm group of comparable applicants, so it describes your rank rather than your marks. One prep publisher reports that employers using Verify G+ for competitive roles often expect a score around the 80th percentile, meaning you outperformed roughly 80 percent of that comparison group, and that results are typically treated as valid for about a year before a retest is expected. Treat those as vendor guidance rather than an SHL published rule, and assume the employer’s own cut is what actually decides your application.
SHL also notes a partial-scoring method behind its interactive assessments, which is how the interactive form can ask 24 tasks instead of 30 questions and still report a reliable score.
How should you prepare for Verify G+?
Do not split your revision evenly. Split it by your own error rate.
- Sit one timed 30 item mixed set. Record correct answers by strand.
- Give the weakest strand half your remaining practice time and the other two a quarter each.
- Practise switching. Do sets that alternate strands every item, because that switching cost is unique to G+ and no single-strand practice trains it.
- Write deductive constraints down. Every time. It is the cheapest score gain available.
- Leave nothing blank on the standard form. There is no published penalty for a wrong answer.
Strand-by-strand drilling is covered in the SHL numerical reasoning test practice guide and the SHL inductive reasoning test guide. For constraint puzzles specifically, work through logical reasoning test practice. The practical side of sitting an online sift, including your setup on the day, is in how to pass online assessment tests.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does the SHL general ability test include verbal reasoning?
No. Verify G+ covers numerical, inductive and deductive reasoning only. If your process also includes a verbal stage, it will be a separate SHL product. See the SHL verbal reasoning test guide.
Is Verify G+ adaptive?
The interactive form is. Difficulty rises after correct answers and falls after incorrect ones. The standard 30 question form holds difficulty steady throughout.
Can I use a calculator?
Yes for the numerical items. It will not help on inductive or deductive items, so do not let it slow your switching between strands.
What happens if I run out of time?
Unanswered items score nothing. Because the strands are shuffled, an item you skipped early may have been easier than the one you are stuck on now. Move on quickly and return only if time allows.
Is there a supervised retest?
Some employers follow an unsupervised sitting with a supervised verification test that checks whether your score holds up under monitoring. Assume it may happen and sit the first test honestly.