Reasoning practice
Syllogism Questions with Answers
Syllogism questions give two or three statements about groups of things and ask which conclusions must follow, even when the statements look odd in real life. They are asked in SSC CGL, CHSL and MTS, RRB NTPC, and in bank prelims and mains. The statements use 'all', 'some' and 'no'. The main tip is to draw a quick Venn diagram for every statement and accept a conclusion only if it holds in every possible diagram.
Rules to remember
- All A are B: circle A lies fully inside circle B. 'All B are A' does not follow, but 'Some B are A' does.
- Some A are B can be reversed: Some B are A. No A is B can also be reversed: No B is A.
- All A are B + All B are C gives: All A are C.
- Some A are B + All B are C gives: Some A are C.
- All A are B + No B is C gives: No A is C.
- Some A are B + No B is C gives: Some A are not C.
- All A are B + Some B are C gives no definite conclusion. Two 'some' statements, or two 'no' statements, also give no conclusion.
- Take the statements as true, even when they are untrue in real life. A conclusion follows only if it is true in every possible Venn diagram.
Worked examples
Q1. Statements: All pens are books. All books are tables. Conclusions: I. All pens are tables. II. Some tables are books. Options: (A) Only I (B) Only II (C) Both I and II (D) Neither
- Draw pens inside books and books inside tables. So pens are also inside tables.
- Conclusion I: All pens are tables. This follows.
- All books are tables, so at least some tables are books. Conclusion II follows by reversing 'all' to 'some'.
Answer: (C) Both I and II follow
Q2. Statements: Some cats are dogs. All dogs are birds. Conclusions: I. Some cats are birds. II. Some birds are cats. III. All cats are birds. Options: (A) Only I (B) Only I and II (C) Only III (D) All three
- Some cats are dogs, and all dogs are birds. Those cats that are dogs are inside the bird circle.
- Conclusion I: Some cats are birds. This follows.
- Conclusion II: Some birds are cats is the reverse of I. It follows.
- Conclusion III: All cats are birds. Only the cats that are dogs are known to be birds. Other cats could be outside the bird circle, so it does not follow.
Answer: (B) Only I and II follow
Q3. Statements: All A are B. No B is C. Some C are D. Conclusions: I. No A is C. II. Some D are not B. III. Some A are D. Options: (A) Only I (B) Only I and II (C) Only II and III (D) All three
- All A are B and No B is C give: No A is C. Conclusion I follows.
- Some C are D. Those D that are C cannot be in B, because no B is C. So some D are not B. Conclusion II follows.
- Conclusion III: Some A are D. A sits inside B. The D that is linked to C lies outside B. Nothing forces any D to be in A. A and D can be completely separate, so III does not follow.
- So only I and II follow.
Answer: (B) Only I and II follow
Shortcuts that save time
- Memorise the six conclusion rules in the formula box. Most easy and medium questions can be solved from them in seconds without drawing, which leaves time for the hard ones.
- For each conclusion, try to draw one diagram where it is false. If you can, it does not follow. Mark only the conclusions that survive this test. This avoids the usual mistake of marking 'possible' as 'definite'.
- Watch for opposite pairs in the options, such as 'Some A are B' and 'No A is B'. Check the either-or rule before you choose 'neither', and skip the question if you are not sure.
Where this appears
| SSC CGL Tier-1 | General Intelligence & Reasoning section |
| SSC CHSL Tier-1 | General Intelligence section |
| RRB NTPC CBT-1 | General Intelligence & Reasoning section |
| IBPS PO Prelims | Reasoning Ability section |
| SBI PO Prelims | Reasoning Ability section |
Syllogism
Practice SetAttempted: 0Correct: 0Incorrect: 0
1 of 25
Statements: All scientists are pens. All pens are books.
Conclusions:
I. Some scientists are books.
II. No books is a scientists.
Which of the conclusions logically follow(s) from the statements?
Reasoning · stress-free practice · answers reveal instantly
Syllogism questions with answers
10 sample questions from this topic with the correct option and the solution.
Q1. Statements: Some doctors are students. Some students are not tables. Conclusions: I. All doctors are tables. II. No tables is a doctors. Which of the conclusions logically follow(s) from the statements?
- Only conclusion I follows
- Only conclusion II follows
- Both conclusions I and II follow
- Neither conclusion I nor II follows
Answer: (D) Neither conclusion I nor II follows
Solution
Testing all logically possible arrangements consistent with the two statements: conclusion I is not always true; conclusion II is not always true. Hence, 'Neither conclusion I nor II follows'.Q2. Statements: Some books are mountains. All mountains are chairs. Conclusions: I. All books are chairs. II. All books are chairs. Which of the conclusions logically follow(s) from the statements?
- Only conclusion I follows
- Neither conclusion I nor II follows
- Both conclusions I and II follow
- Only conclusion II follows
Answer: (B) Neither conclusion I nor II follows
Solution
Testing all logically possible arrangements consistent with the two statements: conclusion I is not always true; conclusion II is not always true. Hence, 'Neither conclusion I nor II follows'.Q3. Statements: No phones is a flowers. All flowers are players. Conclusions: I. Some players are not phones. II. Some phones are not players. Which of the conclusions logically follow(s) from the statements?
- Only conclusion II follows
- Only conclusion I follows
- Both conclusions I and II follow
- Neither conclusion I nor II follows
Answer: (B) Only conclusion I follows
Solution
Testing all logically possible arrangements consistent with the two statements: conclusion I is always true; conclusion II is not always true. Hence, 'Only conclusion I follows'.Q4. Statements: No chairs is a books. Some books are farmers. Conclusions: I. Some chairs are farmers. II. Some chairs are not farmers. Which of the conclusions logically follow(s) from the statements?
- Only conclusion II follows
- Only conclusion I follows
- Neither conclusion I nor II follows
- Both conclusions I and II follow
Answer: (C) Neither conclusion I nor II follows
Solution
Testing all logically possible arrangements consistent with the two statements: conclusion I is not always true; conclusion II is not always true. Hence, 'Neither conclusion I nor II follows'.Q5. Statements: All scientists are engineers. Some engineers are cats. Conclusions: I. Some scientists are cats. II. No cats is a scientists. Which of the conclusions logically follow(s) from the statements?
- Only conclusion I follows
- Only conclusion II follows
- Neither conclusion I nor II follows
- Both conclusions I and II follow
Answer: (C) Neither conclusion I nor II follows
Solution
Testing all logically possible arrangements consistent with the two statements: conclusion I is not always true; conclusion II is not always true. Hence, 'Neither conclusion I nor II follows'.Q6. Statements: No mountains is a clerks. Some clerks are doctors. Conclusions: I. No mountains is a doctors. II. All mountains are doctors. Which of the conclusions logically follow(s) from the statements?
- Only conclusion I follows
- Neither conclusion I nor II follows
- Both conclusions I and II follow
- Only conclusion II follows
Answer: (B) Neither conclusion I nor II follows
Solution
Testing all logically possible arrangements consistent with the two statements: conclusion I is not always true; conclusion II is not always true. Hence, 'Neither conclusion I nor II follows'.Q7. Statements: Some artists are not mountains. All mountains are scientists. Conclusions: I. All artists are scientists. II. Some scientists are artists. Which of the conclusions logically follow(s) from the statements?
- Only conclusion II follows
- Both conclusions I and II follow
- Neither conclusion I nor II follows
- Only conclusion I follows
Answer: (C) Neither conclusion I nor II follows
Solution
Testing all logically possible arrangements consistent with the two statements: conclusion I is not always true; conclusion II is not always true. Hence, 'Neither conclusion I nor II follows'.Q8. Statements: Some dogs are not phones. All phones are actors. Conclusions: I. Some dogs are actors. II. All dogs are actors. Which of the conclusions logically follow(s) from the statements?
- Only conclusion I follows
- Only conclusion II follows
- Both conclusions I and II follow
- Neither conclusion I nor II follows
Answer: (D) Neither conclusion I nor II follows
Solution
Testing all logically possible arrangements consistent with the two statements: conclusion I is not always true; conclusion II is not always true. Hence, 'Neither conclusion I nor II follows'.Q9. Statements: Some clerks are tables. Some tables are pens. Conclusions: I. Some pens are not clerks. II. No pens is a clerks. Which of the conclusions logically follow(s) from the statements?
- Both conclusions I and II follow
- Neither conclusion I nor II follows
- Only conclusion I follows
- Only conclusion II follows
Answer: (B) Neither conclusion I nor II follows
Solution
Testing all logically possible arrangements consistent with the two statements: conclusion I is not always true; conclusion II is not always true. Hence, 'Neither conclusion I nor II follows'.Q10. Statements: Some flowers are students. No students is a players. Conclusions: I. No players is a flowers. II. Some players are flowers. Which of the conclusions logically follow(s) from the statements?
- Only conclusion II follows
- Only conclusion I follows
- Neither conclusion I nor II follows
- Both conclusions I and II follow
Answer: (C) Neither conclusion I nor II follows
Solution
Testing all logically possible arrangements consistent with the two statements: conclusion I is not always true; conclusion II is not always true. Hence, 'Neither conclusion I nor II follows'.