Where verbal reasoning shows up in Bain's test
Bain's careers page says its digital assessment runs on SOVA or TestGorilla, and the email you get after applying tells you which. Bain doesn't list the sections. Prep sites that collect candidate reports (IGotAnOffer, CaseBasix, MConsultingPrep, MyConsultingCoach and MBB Gorilla) agree that the SOVA version includes a true, false or cannot say verbal section, alongside numerical, logical and situational judgement. Not every candidate gets every section, and question counts are disputed: some sources report about 15 per section, others 25 to 30 across the whole test.
Neither TestGorilla mix reported for Bain includes a verbal passages test, so if your email says TestGorilla, this page is lower priority.
What each answer means
Judge every statement against the passage alone. General knowledge doesn't count.
| Answer | Meaning | Quick test |
|---|---|---|
| True | The statement follows from the passage: the passage says it, or it follows from what the passage says without adding outside facts | Can you point to the sentence that makes it so? |
| False | The passage contradicts the statement | Is there a sentence that can't be true at the same time as the statement? |
| Cannot say | The passage neither confirms nor contradicts it | Could the statement be either true or false without changing a word of the passage? |
A common error is choosing false for "the passage doesn't mention this". Not mentioned is cannot say. False needs a conflict you can point to.
How to read a passage: statement first
- Read the statement first. It tells you what to look for, so you don't read the passage twice.
- Find the sentence it's about. Look for the names, numbers and time words the statement uses.
- Compare the exact words. Check quantity words (all, most, some, only), whose behavior it is (members, customers, respondents), tense (did, will, plans to) and cause words (because, led to, raised).
- Ask in order. Does the passage make it true? If not, does it contradict it? If neither, it's cannot say.
The cannot say traps
Many wrong answers come from a statement that sounds like the passage but claims slightly more.
- Outside knowledge. The passage says an airline cut fares on a route; the statement says ticket sales on that route rose. They probably did, but the passage doesn't say so.
- Some versus all. "Some stores open on Sundays" doesn't tell you whether all do. "Most" isn't "all", and "not all" isn't "none".
- Members versus trips. "Most members commute by bike" doesn't mean most trips are commutes, because a few members may ride far more often than the rest. The same goes for customers and orders, and for survey respondents and all members.
- Correlation versus cause. "Stores with self-checkout had higher sales" doesn't mean self-checkout raised sales; the busiest stores may have been chosen for it. "After X, Y happened" doesn't prove X caused Y either.
- A plan versus a fact. "Plans to", "expects" and "has said it will" describe intentions. A statement that the thing happened, or will happen, is cannot say.
- A condition versus an outcome. "It will expand if the loan is refinanced" tells you nothing about whether it will expand.
- Percent versus percentage points. "Rose by 6 percentage points" doesn't give you the percentage rise unless you know the starting level. When the passage gives both levels, you can work it out, and the answer can be true or false.
Timing: no clock, but time counts
Prep sites (MConsultingPrep, MyConsultingCoach and IGotAnOffer) and PrepLounge candidate posts report that SOVA shows no visible time limit but records how long you take, and that response time counts. SOVA hasn't confirmed this, but it's reported consistently enough to act on.
A workable target is 30 to 45 seconds per statement, a little longer for the first one on each passage. If you're going back and forth between false and cannot say, the answer is usually cannot say: a real contradiction is easy to point to. Bain says SOVA can be done across more than one sitting; if you split it, stop between sections. A calculator is allowed, and passages with numbers sometimes need one.
Worked passage 1: a co-working company
Passage
"Tallis Workspace runs nine co-working sites in three cities. Across the company, average occupancy rose by six percentage points in 2025. Every site offers month-to-month memberships, and only four of the nine also rent fixed desks on annual contracts. In a survey, most members who responded said they chose Tallis for its locations rather than its prices. The sites that ran evening networking events in 2025 had higher average occupancy than those that did not. Tallis plans to open two more sites in 2026 if it can refinance a loan that falls due in March. Its chief executive has said that membership prices will not rise before the end of the year."
Statement 1. "Most Tallis sites do not rent fixed desks on annual contracts."
Only four of the nine do, so five don't, and five of nine is more than half. Answer: True.
Statement 2. "At least one Tallis site offers annual contracts only."
Every site offers month-to-month memberships, so no site can offer annual contracts only. Answer: False.
Statement 3. "Evening networking events raised occupancy at the sites that ran them."
The passage compares sites with and without events. That's a correlation, not a cause: the sites that ran events may already have been the busier ones. Answer: Cannot say.
Statement 4. "Average occupancy across the company rose by more than 10% in 2025."
The percentage rise is 6 ÷ (the 2024 level), and the passage doesn't give the 2024 level. At 55%, the rise was 6 ÷ 55 = 10.9%. At 70%, it was 6 ÷ 70 = 8.6%. Both fit the passage. Answer: Cannot say.
"Tallis will open two sites in 2026" would also be cannot say: the plan depends on a refinancing that may not happen.
Worked passage 2: a grocery delivery company
Passage
"Fennick is a grocery delivery company that completed 1.2 million deliveries last year. Deliveries to addresses inside the city boundary were free, while those outside it carried a fee; fee-paying deliveries made up a fifth of the total. After Fennick switched to a new routing system in June, its late-delivery rate fell from 9% to 6%. The company has signed a contract to supply a hospital group, which takes effect when the group's current contract with another supplier expires. Its board has approved the purchase of chilled vans next spring and expects them to cut food waste by a third. The managing director has said the company will not raise its delivery fee this year."
Statement 1. "Four in five of Fennick's deliveries last year were free."
Fee-paying deliveries were a fifth of the total, and the rest went inside the boundary for free: four fifths, or 1.2 million × 0.8 = 960,000. Answer: True.
Statement 2. "Fennick's late-delivery rate halved after it changed its routing system."
Half of 9% would be 4.5%. The rate fell to 6%, a drop of 3 points, which is a third of the starting level (3 ÷ 9 = 33%). The passage gives both levels, so you can check it. Answer: False.
Statement 3. "Most of Fennick's customers live inside the city boundary."
The passage says where deliveries went, not where customers live. Customers outside the boundary might order less often, and a delivery address isn't necessarily a home. It's the members versus trips trap in another form. Answer: Cannot say.
Statement 4. "Fennick will start supplying the hospital group before the end of next year."
The contract starts when the group's current contract expires, and the passage doesn't say when that is. Answer: Cannot say.
"Chilled vans will cut Fennick's food waste by a third" would also be cannot say. The board expects it, and an expectation isn't a fact.
How to practise in the week before
Do your first set untimed and, for every wrong answer, name the trap that caught you. Once you can name a trap you spot it faster. Then practise at pace.
The free verbal set on our Bain practice page is 8 statements with a 6-minute cap, 45 seconds each. A Bain pass ($29 one-time, 30 days) adds the full bank of 10 passages and 40 statements, plus a SOVA-style mock with no countdown that records your time per question. The passages are ours, not real test items. Bain publishes no pass mark, and a practice score doesn't predict what Bain will see.
FAQ
What's the difference between false and cannot say?
False means the passage says something that conflicts with the statement. Cannot say means the passage neither confirms nor contradicts it. If the passage doesn't mention the point, the answer is cannot say.
Does Bain's TestGorilla test include verbal reasoning?
Not in the two mixes candidates report. The true, false or cannot say format is reported in the SOVA version. Your email from Bain tells you which platform you'll get.
Is the Bain SOVA verbal section timed?
Prep sites and candidate posts report no visible timer, but say response time is recorded and counts. SOVA hasn't confirmed this, so work at a steady 30 to 45 seconds a statement.
Can I use general knowledge to answer?
No. Judge every statement against the passage alone, even when you know the statement is true in real life.
What score do I need on the verbal section?
No pass mark is public for Bain's assessment on either platform. Aim to get as many right as you can at a steady pace.
Keep going
Back to the Bain online assessment overview. The full platform guide: the Bain SOVA guide. Practise it: Bain practice, verbal section. The other Bain sections: numerical reasoning, logical reasoning and situational judgement.
Sources we checked: Bain's digital assessment careers page; prep-site reports from IGotAnOffer, CaseBasix, MConsultingPrep, MyConsultingCoach and MBB Gorilla, and a PrepLounge forum thread on SOVA timings; and, for the TestGorilla mixes, Prepmatter, Hacking the Case Interview, IGotAnOffer and a PrepLounge candidate post from June 2026.
SolveForge is an independent practice tool and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or connected to Bain & Company, SOVA or TestGorilla. Every passage and statement on this page was written by us; none is a real test item. "Bain", "SOVA" and "TestGorilla" are trademarks of their owners. Practising here does not guarantee any assessment result.