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Syllogism — Questions and Answers

Syllogism gives you two or more premises about categories and asks which conclusions necessarily follow. Venn diagrams settle every question definitively: draw the least-restrictive arrangement consistent with the premises, and reject any conclusion that fails in even one valid diagram. "Possibility" questions reverse the test — they hold if the arrangement can be drawn at all.

16 solved questionsVerbal ReasoningFree · no signup

Syllogism— Concepts, Formulas & Shortcuts

  • Draw Venn diagrams; never rely on intuition about what "sounds right".
  • A conclusion follows only if it is true in EVERY diagram consistent with the premises.
  • Two particular premises ("some… some…") can never produce a definite conclusion.
  • Two negative premises can never produce a definite conclusion.
  • "All A are B" always yields "Some B are A" as a valid converse.
  • "No A is B" always yields "No B is A" and "Some B are not A".

Syllogism Practice Questions with Answers

Attempt each question first, then open the explanation. All 16 questions below are free to read and require no signup.

  1. Q1.Statements: All cats are dogs. All dogs are animals. Conclusions: I. All cats are animals. II. All animals are cats.

    Easy
    • AOnly I follows
    • BOnly II follows
    • CBoth follow
    • DNeither follows
    +Show Answer & Explanation

    Answer: A. Only I follows

    Explanation: The chain All cats → dogs → animals gives I. II reverses a universal statement, which is invalid.

    Syllogism question 1 of 16

  2. Q2.Statements: Some books are pens. All pens are pencils. Conclusions: I. Some books are pencils. II. All pencils are books.

    Moderate
    • AOnly I follows
    • BOnly II follows
    • CBoth follow
    • DNeither follows
    +Show Answer & Explanation

    Answer: A. Only I follows

    Explanation: The books that are pens must also be pencils, so I follows. II is an invalid reversal.

    Syllogism question 2 of 16

  3. Q3.Statements: No man is a machine. All machines are tools. Conclusions: I. No man is a tool. II. Some tools are not men.

    Difficult
    • AOnly I follows
    • BOnly II follows
    • CBoth follow
    • DNeither follows
    +Show Answer & Explanation

    Answer: B. Only II follows

    Explanation: Machines are tools and no man is a machine, so those tools are not men — II follows. Some other tools could still be men, so I does not.

    Syllogism question 3 of 16

  4. Q4.Statements: All flowers are trees. No tree is a house. Conclusions: I. No flower is a house. II. Some trees are flowers.

    Moderate
    • AOnly I follows
    • BOnly II follows
    • CBoth follow
    • DNeither follows
    +Show Answer & Explanation

    Answer: C. Both follow

    Explanation: Flowers lie inside trees and trees are disjoint from houses, so I follows. II is the valid converse of "All flowers are trees".

    Syllogism question 4 of 16

  5. Q5.Statements: Some pens are books. Some books are tables. Conclusions: I. Some pens are tables. II. Some tables are pens.

    Moderate
    • AOnly I follows
    • BOnly II follows
    • CBoth follow
    • DNeither follows
    +Show Answer & Explanation

    Answer: D. Neither follows

    Explanation: Two particular premises give no definite conclusion — the overlapping regions need not coincide.

    Syllogism question 5 of 16

  6. Q6.Statements: All students are boys. No boy is dull. Conclusions: I. No student is dull. II. All boys are students.

    Moderate
    • AOnly I follows
    • BOnly II follows
    • CBoth follow
    • DNeither follows
    +Show Answer & Explanation

    Answer: A. Only I follows

    Explanation: Students are a subset of boys and no boy is dull, so no student is dull. II reverses a universal statement and is invalid.

    Syllogism question 6 of 16

  7. Q7.Statements: All fruits are sweet. All mangoes are fruits. Conclusion: All mangoes are sweet.

    Easy
    • AFollows
    • BDoes not follow
    • CCannot be determined
    • DPartially follows
    +Show Answer & Explanation

    Answer: A. Follows

    Explanation: The chain mangoes → fruits → sweet makes the conclusion valid.

    Syllogism question 7 of 16

  8. Q8.Statements: Some chairs are tables. All tables are wooden. Conclusion: Some chairs are wooden.

    Moderate
    • AFollows
    • BDoes not follow
    • CCannot be determined
    • DNever follows
    +Show Answer & Explanation

    Answer: A. Follows

    Explanation: The chairs that are tables must be wooden.

    Syllogism question 8 of 16

  9. Q9.Statements: No cat is a dog. Some dogs are pets. Conclusion: Some pets are not cats.

    Difficult
    • AFollows
    • BDoes not follow
    • CCannot be determined
    • DInvalid
    +Show Answer & Explanation

    Answer: A. Follows

    Explanation: The pets that are dogs cannot be cats, so some pets are certainly not cats.

    Syllogism question 9 of 16

  10. Q10.Statements: All pens are blue. Conclusion: Some blue things are pens.

    Moderate
    • AFollows
    • BDoes not follow
    • CCannot be determined
    • DInvalid conversion
    +Show Answer & Explanation

    Answer: A. Follows

    Explanation: "All A are B" validly converts to "Some B are A".

    Syllogism question 10 of 16

  11. Q11.Statements: Some men are doctors. Some doctors are rich. Conclusion: Some men are rich.

    Moderate
    • AFollows
    • BDoes not follow
    • CCannot be determined
    • DAlways follows
    +Show Answer & Explanation

    Answer: B. Does not follow

    Explanation: Two particular premises give no definite conclusion — the overlaps need not coincide.

    Syllogism question 11 of 16

  12. Q12.Statements: All apples are red. No red thing is bitter. Conclusion: No apple is bitter.

    Moderate
    • AFollows
    • BDoes not follow
    • CCannot be determined
    • DPartially follows
    +Show Answer & Explanation

    Answer: A. Follows

    Explanation: Apples lie inside the red group, which is wholly excluded from bitter things.

    Syllogism question 12 of 16

  13. Q13.Statements: All birds fly. Penguins are birds. Conclusion: Penguins fly.

    Difficult
    • AFollows from the premises
    • BDoes not follow
    • CIs factually true
    • DCannot be determined
    +Show Answer & Explanation

    Answer: A. Follows from the premises

    Explanation: Within the logic of the premises the conclusion follows, even though it is false in the real world. Syllogism tests form, not fact.

    Syllogism question 13 of 16

  14. Q14.Statements: No metal is wood. All wood is solid. Conclusion: Some solids are not metals.

    Difficult
    • AFollows
    • BDoes not follow
    • CCannot be determined
    • DInvalid
    +Show Answer & Explanation

    Answer: A. Follows

    Explanation: Wood is solid and excluded from metal, so some solids are certainly not metals.

    Syllogism question 14 of 16

  15. Q15.Statements: All squares are figures. Some figures are circles. Conclusion: Some squares are circles.

    Moderate
    • AFollows
    • BDoes not follow
    • CCannot be determined
    • DAlways follows
    +Show Answer & Explanation

    Answer: B. Does not follow

    Explanation: The circles may lie entirely outside the square group.

    Syllogism question 15 of 16

  16. Q16.Statements: No A is B. Conclusion: No B is A.

    Easy
    • AFollows
    • BDoes not follow
    • CCannot be determined
    • DInvalid
    +Show Answer & Explanation

    Answer: A. Follows

    Explanation: Universal negative statements convert validly: exclusion is symmetric.

    Syllogism question 16 of 16

Syllogism — Frequently Asked Questions

What is the "some-some" rule?+

If both premises are particular — "Some A are B" and "Some B are C" — no definite conclusion follows, because the overlapping regions need not be the same. This single rule answers a large share of exam questions.

How do I handle "either–or" answer options?+

When two conclusions are individually uncertain but together exhaust all possibilities (typically an "All" and a "Some not" pair on the same subject), the correct answer is that either one or the other follows.

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