,QGXFWLYH UHDVRQLQJ V\OORJLVPV HDV\ PHWKRG WLSV DQG WULFNV WR VROYH V\OORJLVPV 3RVWHG RQ $SULO WHAT IS SYLLOGISM? A syllogism is a kind of logical argument in which one proposition (the conclusion) is inferred from two or more others (the premises). example: Premise 1: All women are mothers. Premise 2: All mothers are caring. Conclusion: All women are caring. All of us, who have given or are preparing for any kind of entrance exam like CAT, SSC, MAT, XAT, SCAT and others, have come across syllogisms. Venn diagrams are used to solve syllogisms and are considered the standard way. But Alas! our exams’ time limit does not provide us with the time enough to draw the diagram, label and shade it and draw the conclusion out of it! Then!! What to do? Well there is not much to worry. Here are some basic tips, tricks and step by step method which will help you to solve a syllogism or at least make it somewhat easier. 1. Shortcut rules (if Venn Diagrams are confusing you) between Statement 1 and Statement 2 in that order All + All = All All + No = No All + Some = No Conclusion Some + All = Some Some + Some = No Conclusion Some + No = Some Not No + No = No Conclusion 7KH $OIUHVFR %ORJ Operating and Customising Alfresco Explorer and some other random stuff Follow Follow “The Alfresco Blog” Get every new post delivered to your Inbox. Join 30 other followers Enter your email address 6LJQ PH XS Build a website with WordPress.com
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Inductive reasoning: syllogisms: easy method, tips and tricks to solve syllogismsPosted on April 12, 2013
WHAT IS SYLLOGISM?
A syllogism is a kind of logical argument in which one proposition (the conclusion) is inferred from two or moreothers (the premises).
example:
Premise 1: All women are mothers.
Premise 2: All mothers are caring.
Conclusion: All women are caring.
All of us, who have given or are preparing for any kind of entrance exam like CAT, SSC, MAT, XAT, SCATand others, have come across syllogisms. Venn diagrams are used to solve syllogisms and are considered thestandard way. But Alas! our exams’ time limit does not provide us with the time enough to draw the diagram, labeland shade it and draw the conclusion out of it!
Then!! What to do?
Well there is not much to worry. Here are some basic tips, tricks and step by step method which will help you tosolve a syllogism or at least make it somewhat easier.
1. Shortcut rules (if Venn Diagrams are confusing you) between Statement 1 and Statement 2 in that order
All + All = All
All + No = No
All + Some = No Conclusion
Some + All = Some
Some + Some = No Conclusion
Some + No = Some Not
No + No = No Conclusion
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2. You can cancel out common terms in two statements given, then on the remaining terms apply the syllogismsrules and solve. E.g. Some dogs are goats. All goats are cows.out “goats” which leaves us with Some dogs are…allare cows. Important words remaining are SOME and ALL in that order. SOME + ALL = SOME, hence conclusionis SOME dogs are cows.
3. Avoid using common knowledge as Syllogisms questions usually state unnatural statements.
4. Remember some implications
All <=> Some, e.g. All A are B also implies Some A are B (being a subset) and Some B are A
Some <=> Some, e.g. Some A are B also implies Some B are A
No<=> No, e.g. No A are B also implies No B are A
STEP 1: CLASSIFICATION OF STATEMENTS:
In syllogism, each statement usually has following format:
“xyz subject is/are (not) predicate.”
For example,
Xyz Subject Is/are (+/not) Predicate
All Cats Are Dogs
Some Pigs Are not birds
Based on “xyz” and “not”, we classify the statements as following
Statement Type Codename
1. All cats are dogs Universal Positive UP
2. Some dogs are birds Particular Positive PP
3. No bird is a pig Universal Negative UN
4. Some pigs are not birds. Particular Negative PN
Please remember following words. Whenever they come, you classify the statement accordingly.
All, every, any, none, not a single, only etc. Universal (positive ornegative)
Some, many, a few, quite a few, not many, very little, most of, almost,generally, often, frequently, etc.
Particular (positive ornegative)
STEP 2: STANDARD FORMAT: CONVERSION(important: priority order for conversion is
PP>UN>UP.)
Basically, a syllogism(we consider 2 premise syllogism here) should have the following basic form:
1. A—>B
2. B—>C
If it is not, then it needs to be converted to the above format.
NOTE:
Question statements must have ONLY three terms. (A, B and C).
In the exam, if they give you two question statements with four terms then your time is saved! Just tick theanswer “no conclusion can be drawn”.
For example
Question statements Answer
1. All cats are Dogs
2. Some birds are pigs
No conclusion can be drawn. Because it has four terms (cats, dogs, birds, pigs)
A–>B
C–>D
CONVERSION:
Ok, so how to convert the statements?
Universal Positive (UP)
Given Statement Valid conversions Type
Given Statement: All Cats are Dogs Some Cats are dogs Particular Positive (PP)
Some dogs are cats Particular Positive (PP)
It means UP can be converted into PP.
Please note: if the statement is “Only Dogs are cats”, then better convert it into “All cats are dogs”. (Only A is B –>All B are A)
Universal Negative (UN)
Given Statement Valid conversions Type
Given Statement: No Cats are Dogs Some dogs are not cats Particular Negative (PN)
No dogs are cats Universal Negative (UN)
It means UN can be converted into PN or UN.
Particular Positive (PP)
Given Statement Valid conversions Type
Some Cats are Dogs Some dogs are cats Particular Positive (PP)
It means PP can be converted into PP only.
Particular Negative(PN)
Example: Some Cats are not Dogs. In Particular negative statements (PN), no conversion can be made.
To sum up the conversion rules
Type Valid Conversion
Universal Positive (UP) Only PP
Universal Negative (UN) PN or UN
Particular Positive (PP) Only PP
Particular Negative (PN) Not possible.
STEP 3: NO CONCLUSION COMBOS
Here are the nonconclusion combos when two question statements are in following format.
First statement (A to B) Second statement (B to C) Answer
Universal Positive (UP) Particular Positive (PP) No conclusion
Particular Negative (PN) No conclusion
Universal Negative (UN) Universal Negative (UN) No conclusion
Particular Negative (PN) No conclusion
Particular Positive (PP) Particular Positive (PP) No conclusion
Particular Negative (PN) No conclusion
Particular Negative (PN) Any other (UP, UN, PP, PN) No conclusion
^does it look difficult?
Not really. Let’s condense this table into mugup rules.
1. UP’s politicians hate giving particular statements (both positive and negative). E.g. they do not reveal theirclear position on FDI in retail until the 11 hour.
2. United Nations hates negativity. (both Universal and particular)
th
3. Pritish Nandy hates everybody.4. Twonegatives=no conclusion. (although implicit in 2+3)5. Two particulars=no conclusion. (although implicit in 1+3)
STEP 4: CONCLUSIVE COMBOS
First statement (A to B) Second statement (B to C) Conclusion
Universal Positive (UP) Universal Positive (UP) Universal Positive (UP) (A to C)
Universal Negative (UN) Universal Negative (UN) (A to C)
Universal Negative (UN) Universal positive (UP) Particular Negative (PN). (C to A)
Particular Positive (PP)
Particular Positive (PP) Universal Positive (UP) Particular Positive (PP) (A to C)
Universal Negative (UN) Particular Negative (PN) (A to C)
As you can see from above table,
The answer statement is usually in the format of A to C. with exception when first question statement is UniversalNegative (UN).
Let’s condense this table into mugup rules as well.
ConclusiveCombos In your head, visualize
1. UP+UP=UP If Uttar Pradesh meets Uttar Pradesh, then its size doesn’t increase.
1. UP+UN=UN If Uttar Pradesh meets United Nations then its size increases and it becomesUnited Nations.
1. UN+(UP/PP)=PN
United Nations Secretary Ban Ki Moon is in very positive mood. But he meetsanother positive person, and his attitude is totally reversed– he becomesparticularly negative! (reversed =C to A)
1. PP+(UP/UN)=PP/PN
When Mr.PP observes the universe via NASA telescope, his mood becomespositive or negative depending on the mood of universe.
Following the above mentioned 4 STEPS and remembering some tips and tricks, you will be able to solvesyllogisms in an easy and less time consuming way.
Hit like if you found the post useful… Hope it helps you!
Thanks
All the best!!!
Need a break from studies? Visit this creative blog: Kiddie Wing
This entry was posted in easy and shortcut method to solve syllogisms, reasoning, syllogism and tagged General Topics, syllogism. Bookmark the permalink.
175 Responses to Inductive reasoning: syllogisms: easy method, tips and tricks tosolve syllogisms
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vidya says:December 25, 2013 at 10:41 am
very helpful!! Thank yu so much..:)
Reply
pallavi_jain says:January 2, 2014 at 9:24 am
You are most welcome Vidya
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jahnavi says:December 30, 2013 at 5:50 am
Hi pallavi jiThanks for ur tips and tricksand really they are helping a lot in solving syllogisms in short time.can u plz explain me this ?statements : all bags are chalksall chalks are bottlesconclusion : 1.some bottles are bags2. all bags are bottles3. all bottles are bags4. some chalks are not bagsanswer for this question in rs agarwal book is con 1,2,4 followsi know conclusion 1,2 follos but how come conclusion 4 follows?plz clarify this
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pallavi_jain says:January 2, 2014 at 9:26 am
Statement 1 says “All bags are chalks”hence, Some chalks are bagshence, Some chalks are not bags.
This way conclusion 4 also followsI hope it helped you.
but maine to padha h ki positive statement k sath negative conclusion doesnt follow
aryaaditya says:May 14, 2014 at 2:15 pm
answr 1 and 2 follws..not 3 and 4….some not ke cndtn jb aayege jb not kaa reltn exist hoga..so ur anwer iscorect 1 and 2
jahnavi says:January 3, 2014 at 5:38 am
thank u very much.i understood it now
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jahnavi says:January 3, 2014 at 5:54 am
stmts : all trolleys are pulleyssome pulleys are chainsall chains are bellscon :1.some bells are trolleys2.no bell is trolley3.some pulleys are bells4.all chains are pulleysi know tat con 3 followsbut in rs agarwal they gave either 1 or 2, and 3 followscan u plz explain this tat how come con 1,2 follows?
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Tilak says:February 4, 2014 at 12:53 am
Hi Janhvi,U hav forget to chk either or pair…1 When both conclu. is worng and one positve and one negative and one must beparticular then either or case applied. Hence Either 1 or 2 as well as 3rd follow.. chek original post at mrunal.org
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pradeep says:February 20, 2014 at 7:41 pm
janvi g simpil h .. ya to bells trolleys hongi ya nhi hongi… koi 3 chij to ho nhi sakti .. so either aya..
i hav a doubt ji1.all goats r cowssome goats r lambsconc1: all goats r lambsconc2:some lambs r cows ANSWER ME ,A>B coversion must or not??and my book answer is CONC2 follows,but ur methodshows NO CONC… plz reply???!
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jafar says:January 5, 2014 at 6:35 am
answer me pls……all r getting wrong ans.SOME+SOME and ALL+SOME
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Bs Rokhum says:July 15, 2014 at 4:59 pm
Venn diagram will help u in this case..sometimes we have to follow the rules & tricks, at the same time wehave to have alternative solution too.There are some statement which we can easily conclude even before applying methodssee if all goats are lambs, i am sure about the possibility of some lambs are cow Because All goats are cow…everything which has a relation with goats will effect Cow.
KARTHI says:August 6, 2014 at 2:19 pm
change the second sentence into “some lanbs are goats”now all goats are cows
now if you notice some lamps are cows must follow
Prakash Agrawal says:January 15, 2014 at 10:03 am
very nice tips and tricks….so much thanks……
Reply
Prakash Agrawal says:January 15, 2014 at 10:20 am
All the pencils are inks.Some inks are pencils.
wath is the solution of this question
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Tapas Kumar Padhan says:February 5, 2014 at 4:17 pm
hi jahnavi:therecan be two different cases1st : some pulleys are chains include trolley2nd : some pulleys are chain does not include trolley
so if 1st case is true then conclusion 1 follows and if 2nd case is true then conclusion 2 follows
in either case conclusion 3 follows and 4 doe snotso either 1 or 2 and 3 follows
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joshi says:July 17, 2014 at 2:05 pm
due but will there be a relation among 1st and 3 rd statement
Reply
Sg says:January 21, 2014 at 6:34 am
Please Give me a example of syllogism with this…No + All = Some not reversedNo + Some = Some not reversedThank you
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DAMU says:June 6, 2014 at 3:25 am
No + All = Some not reversed:::
Statement : No table is a furniture, All furniture are toysConclusion : some toys are not tables
No + Some = Some not reversed:::
Statement : No chair is a table, Some tables are furnitureConclusion : Some furniture are not chairs
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Sg says:January 21, 2014 at 6:53 am
Please help me to solve this1.All apartments are huts.2. No hut is a building.3 . All buildings are cottageConclusion.*1 .No apartment is a cottage*2 Some buildings being apartment is a possibility.Conclusion..*1Some cottages being apartment is a possibility.
Conclusion::Only Some buildings being apartment is a possibility follows..
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Sri says:January 22, 2014 at 12:05 pm
Jahnavi Ji,
In this case we must go with venn diagram process
Reply
Anu says:January 23, 2014 at 10:46 am
1.A) ALL BIRDS ARE CATSB) SOME CATS ARE CRAZYC) SOME DOGS ARE BIRDSD) BIRDS ARE CRAZY2. Which of these FORM pair so that the conclusion can be derived from them?1) AB 2) BC 3)CD 4)AD
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Jay says:February 6, 2014 at 5:42 am
First option..use t venn diagram u can find it
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Karan says:January 29, 2014 at 10:20 am
Hi Jahnavi, if you by venndiagram.
Then u can find ur answer.
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Shilpa says:January 30, 2014 at 5:42 pm
if UP+PP gives no conclusionthen how all+some=some is possibleit should be all+some=no conlusionplz rply…
THAT IS NOT ALL+SOMETHAT IS SOME +ALL =SOMEPP+UP=PP
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Shilpa says:January 30, 2014 at 6:06 pm
most teachers are boys.some boys are students.answer is some students are boys.can u explain me howcz its some+some or particular +particular which leads to no conclusion
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karthik says:May 26, 2014 at 2:29 am
look at the sentencesome boys are students=PPPP–>PPhenceboys=A,students=BA to B —>B to Asome students are boysmost teachers are boys –i think its a PPso PP cannot mingle with PP that is PP–PP=no conclusionso u can avoid that sentence and check with the conclusionshope it helps u..
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Shilpa says:January 30, 2014 at 6:12 pm
all bags are cakes .all lamps are cakes.conclu:some lamps are bagsno lamp is bag.what will b the answer and how
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karthik says:May 26, 2014 at 2:35 am
all bags are cakes=UPall lamps are cakes=UPA—>BC—>B
no conclusion can be drawn
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Shilpa says:January 30, 2014 at 6:35 pm
all fishes are grey in color.some fishes are heavy should give no conclusion since its all+some but the answer is given allheavy fishes are grey in color…is it right???
all jungles are tigers.some tigers are horses.conclusions:some horses are jungle .no horse is jungleanswer given is: Either a or b followsis it right?n how?
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Sandy says:February 3, 2014 at 1:15 am
thanks very helpful…
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pallavi_jain says:March 14, 2014 at 9:59 am
Thank you Sandy
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THOMAS LIVIMBO says:February 28, 2014 at 9:06 pm
THANKS FOR YOUR EASIEST WAYS IN DEALING WITH SYLLOGISM
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pallavi_jain says:March 14, 2014 at 9:59 am
Thanks Thomas..
Reply
SEO says:March 8, 2014 at 8:37 pm
I think this is one of the most important info for me.And i’m glad reading your article. But should remark on some general things, Theweb site style is perfect, the articles is really great : D.Good job, cheers
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Amish says:March 31, 2014 at 1:04 pm
If example is : All cats are dogs . All cows are dogs.Answer is : No conclusion.How to explain this on above rules ?
All cats are dogsAll cows are dogs > Some Cows are dogs >Some dogs are cows.So , Now,All cats are dogs + Some dogs are cows = No Conclusion …..since All + Some = No Conclusion.
Reply
Abhijeet says:April 21, 2014 at 4:58 pm
Statements: All pens are books
Some pencils are pens
Conclusions: 1. some books are pencils
2. Some pencils are books
3. All pens are pencils
4. None
A.) 1 B.) 2C.) 3 D.) 4
Reply
Abhijeet says:April 21, 2014 at 5:00 pm
Can someone help me with the above question. The answer says only conclusion B) is right. Whereas in my opinion A) and B)both follows….kindly help!
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gee says:April 26, 2014 at 3:44 am
what exactly does some not reversed mean?
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Nikhil says:June 19, 2014 at 12:43 pm
Means… let , say ” No A’s are B’s + Some B’s are C’s = Some C’s are A’s”Details..Normal order for conclusion would have to be A>B then B>C = A>C so reversed would have to be “C>A”
Reply
Avinash says:May 8, 2014 at 3:49 pm
If some x are y then can we say that some x are not y?
STATEMENT:SOME APPLES ARE FRUITSOME FRUITS ARE SOURCONCLUSION:SOME APPLES ARE SOURSOME SOURS ARE FRUIT
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Nikhil says:June 19, 2014 at 12:41 pm
Some +Some = No conclusion . right?
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banks says:May 17, 2014 at 2:10 pm
This article is good, however it needs some emphasis on the middle term distribution aspect. Article is incomplete.
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Soniya says:May 29, 2014 at 7:17 am
Thanks this is really very helpful.
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Soniya says:May 30, 2014 at 8:00 am
Thanks these rules are very important to solve problems.
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rohit says:June 4, 2014 at 12:23 pm
hey guys help me with this and thank you for shortcutsa. All ambulances are life savers.b. No ambulances are bumper cars.1.No life savers are bumper cars2.No bumper cars are life savers3.Some life savers are no bumper cars4.None of the above
@rohit:: Only 3 Follows..EXP:: Rewrite 1st(a) statement as SOME LIFE SAVERS ARE AMBULANCES then apply (SOME +NO= SOME NOT )rules ..
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Nikhil says:June 19, 2014 at 12:39 pm
Option 3 is the answer.Details….All ambulances are life savers > Some ambulances are life savers > Some life savers are ambulances + Noambulances are bumper cars = Some life savers are not bumper cars.
i.e. uses the rule > Some + No = Some not.Hope it helped.
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rohit says:June 4, 2014 at 12:46 pm
all+some=no conclusion but in wiki(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Syllogism) it says thisAll rabbits have fur. (MaP)Some pets are rabbits. (SiM)∴ Some pets have fur. (SiP)
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DAMU says:June 6, 2014 at 3:07 am
@Rohit ::: That is not All+Some….you have to take SiM first (Some pets are rabbits.).. So [Some +All= Some]
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Anonymous :P says:June 10, 2014 at 8:50 am
Dear friend this is combination of Some + all, not all + someso as given: some+all = some
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ankit says:June 5, 2014 at 5:02 pm
sir these type of que r easily solve by van diagram method but problem m there conclusion r in posibility so plz provided theshort methed of it
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maithli says:June 5, 2014 at 8:34 pm
how to solve this…this doesnot contains the words all,some,no..A. Grass eats lionB.lion eats mammalC.meat eats grass
A very helpful , to the point post. Loved it. Keep up the great work!
Reply
jenjen says:July 2, 2014 at 6:03 pm
Stmt: I. All men are women. II. All women are girlsConc: 1. Some men are girls. 2. Some women are men.Ans: (a) 1 only (b) 2 only (c) both (d) eitherWhats the ans? Pls help.
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N Raju says:July 15, 2014 at 11:33 am
Thank u so much…its really very helpfulthanks once again…
Reply
N Raju says:July 15, 2014 at 11:35 am
Thank u so much its really very helpful…thank u once again
i want full material for syllogism plz any of u send it
Reply
THOMAS LIVIMBO says:July 16, 2014 at 10:28 am
WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN WHEN AND ONLY WHEN AND IF AND ONLY IF
Reply
dipali says:August 1, 2014 at 1:25 pm
Cn u explain me whn we use either or ?
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rupesh says:August 21, 2014 at 10:55 pm
suppose four statements are given in which 1st statement follows, 2nd, 3rd and 4th not followed now check thesubject and predicate of the statements which are not followed, to fall under the category of either condition…1) the subject and the predicate of any two statement should be same.(note: if it satisfy the first condition then go forsecond condition)2) if the statement which have same subject and predicate are in the combination of (A+O) or (E+I) or (I+O) thenthat two statement will fall under either or condition ….
