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"Cannot Say" and trick options across all test types

By Marin Devereux·6 min read·

Trick options are not random. They are engineered from the most common mistakes candidates make. If you know how they are built, you can spot them before they catch you.

Verbal: the “Cannot Say” discipline

“Cannot Say” is the hardest option because it requires you to resist drawing conclusions. Your brain wants to infer — that is how conversation works. But verbal reasoning tests are not conversation. They are evidence tests.

The golden rule
If the passage does not explicitly support or contradict the statement, the answer is Cannot Say. It does not matter how reasonable the inference seems.
Cannot Say trap
Passage: “Sales in the Northern region increased by 8% in Q3.” Statement: “The Northern region had the highest sales growth in Q3.”

Cannot Say. The passage only tells us about the Northern region. Other regions might have grown more. “Highest” requires comparison data that is not provided.

Numerical: the near-miss distractor

Numerical trick options are calculated using the mistakes you are most likely to make:

  • Dividing by the wrong base — (new − old) / new instead of / old.
  • Forgetting to convert units — answer in thousands when the question asks for millions.
  • Adding percentages instead of compounding — 10% + 10% = 20% (wrong) vs 1.1 × 1.1 = 21% (right).
Distractor anatomy
A price rises from $50 to $60. Options: (A) 16.7% (B) 20% (C) 10% (D) 83.3%. Which are distractors and why?

Correct: (B) 20% = (60−50)/50. Distractor (A): 10/60 = 16.7% — dividing by the new value. Distractor (D): 50/60 = 83.3% — computing the ratio the wrong way. Distractor (C): 10% — just the raw difference divided by 100.

Logical: the pattern red herring

In abstract reasoning, wrong options often follow one of the rules in the sequence but break another. If the pattern involves both rotation and shading change, a distractor might have the correct rotation but wrong shading.

Two-rule trap
A sequence has shapes rotating 90° and adding one side each frame (triangle → square → pentagon). A distractor shows the correct shape but rotated only 45°. Why is this effective?

Candidates who spotted the shape-change rule but missed the rotation rule will pick this distractor. Each wrong option is designed to catch candidates who identified some but not all rules.

How to defend yourself

  1. After computing your answer, check if it matches a “common mistake” option. If your answer is suspiciously close to a distractor, re-verify.
  2. In verbal, default to Cannot Say when unsure. Over-inferring is the most common error. When in doubt, stick with what the passage explicitly says.
  3. In logical, verify all rules against your answer. Write them down if needed: “Rule 1: rotate 90° CW. Rule 2: add one element. Rule 3: shading alternates.”
Cannot Say ≠ I do not know
“Cannot Say” means the passage lacks the information to evaluate the statement. It does NOT mean you personally are unsure. If you are unsure because the passage is ambiguous, the answer is probably Cannot Say. If you are unsure because you did not read carefully, re-read.

Practise ambiguity questions on forge

Verbal reasoning packs with detailed explanations for every Cannot Say and False answer — so you learn to distinguish them.

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