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SBI Clerk Syllogism

Study Material — 6 PYQs (2024–2024) · Concept Notes · Shortcuts

SBI Clerk Syllogism is a frequently tested subtopic — 6 previous year questions from 2024–2024 papers are included below with concept notes, key rules and shortcut tricks.

6 PYQs
2024–2024
6 Practice
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10 Key Points
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Previous Year Questions

SBI Clerk Syllogism — Past Exam Questions

6 questions from actual SBI Clerk papers · all shown free · click option to reveal solution

Exam Q 12024Previous Year Pattern

Statements: 1. All doctors are educated professionals. 2. Some educated professionals are not empathetic. 3. All empathetic people are good communicators. Conclusion: Some doctors are not good communicators. Is this conclusion logically valid?

Exam Q 22024Previous Year Pattern

Statements: 1. All successful entrepreneurs are risk-takers. 2. Some risk-takers are not disciplined. 3. No undisciplined person is successful in their personal life. Conclusion: Some successful entrepreneurs are not successful in their personal life. Which statement best describes the validity of this conclusion?

Exam Q 32024Previous Year Pattern

Statements: 1. No corrupt official is honest. 2. All honest people are respected in society. 3. Some government officials are corrupt. Conclusion: Either some government officials are not respected in society, or all government officials are honest. Which of the following best describes this conclusion?

Exam Q 42024Previous Year Pattern

Statements: 1. No corrupt officials are trustworthy. 2. All judges are trustworthy. 3. Some government employees are corrupt officials. Which of the following conclusions is definitely true? A) All government employees are judges. B) Some government employees are not judges. C) Either some judges are government employees or no judges are government employees. D) No judges are government employees.

Exam Q 52024Previous Year Pattern

Statements: 1. All athletes are disciplined. 2. Some disciplined individuals are not successful. 3. No unsuccessful individuals are wealthy. Which of the following conclusions is definitely true? A) Some athletes are not wealthy. B) All athletes are wealthy. C) Either some athletes are wealthy or some athletes are not wealthy. D) No athletes are unsuccessful.

Exam Q 62024Previous Year Pattern

Statements: 1. No pessimists are optimists. 2. All motivational speakers are optimists. 3. Some employees are pessimists. 4. All pessimists are unhappy. Which of the following conclusions is definitely true? A) Some employees are motivational speakers. B) Some employees are not motivational speakers. C) Either all employees are unhappy or some employees are happy. D) All unhappy individuals are pessimists.

Concept Notes

Syllogism— Rules & Concept

Core ConceptRead this first — the foundation of the topic
Core Concept

A syllogism has two or more statements followed by conclusions. You must check if the conclusions logically follow from the statements, ignoring what you know about the real world

Key Rules

(1) Accept all statements as true, even if they seem wrong in reality. (2) Use only the given information. (3) Draw conclusions based purely on logical connections. (4) 'Some' means 'at least one but not all'. (5) 'All' means '100% without exception'

Venn Diagram Method

This is the most reliable approach. Draw circles to represent each category mentioned in statements. Overlap circles based on relationships given in statements. Check if conclusions match your diagram.

Exam PatternsWhat examiners ask — read before attempting PYQs

SSC CGL typically asks: (1) Statement-Conclusion type (2-3 statements, 2-4 conclusions to verify) (2) Only conclusion follows questions (3) Possibility-based conclusions. Most questions use words like All, Some, No, Few. Shortcut Formula #1 - Conversion Rule: 'All A are B' can be converted to 'Some B are A'. But 'All A are B' cannot be converted to 'All B are A'. Shortcut Formula #2 - Negative Conclusions: If both statements are positive, the conclusion cannot be negative. If one statement is negative, the conclusion must be negative.

Worked ExampleSolve this step-by-step before moving on

Statements: (1) All roses are flowers (2) Some flowers are red Conclusions: (I) Some roses are red (II) All red things are flowers Solution: Draw three circles - Roses (inside Flowers circle), Flowers (big circle), Red (overlapping with Flowers). From the diagram, roses and red may or may not overlap. Conclusion I is 'possible but not definite' - so FALSE.

Conclusion II says all red are flowers, but statement 2 only says some flowers are red, not the reverse - so FALSE. Answer: Neither conclusion follows. Worked Example 2: Statements: (1) No cats are dogs (2) All cats are animals Conclusions: (I) No dogs are cats (II) Some animals are cats Solution: Draw separate circles for cats and dogs (no overlap due to 'No'). Draw animals circle containing cats circle completely.

Conclusion I: 'No dogs are cats' is the same as 'No cats are dogs' - TRUE. Conclusion II: Since all cats are animals, definitely some animals are cats - TRUE. Answer: Both conclusions follow. Trick #3 - Possibility Conclusions: When a conclusion uses 'Some X can be Y' or 'X is a possibility', it's asking if the relationship is possible, not definite.

Even if something is not proven definite, it might still be possible.

Exam TrapsCommon mistakes students make — avoid these

#1: Students use real-world knowledge instead of logical reasoning. For example, if given 'All books are tigers', students reject it as impossible. In syllogism, you must accept this as true for that question and proceed logically. Time-Saving Approach: For statement-conclusion questions, quickly eliminate obviously wrong conclusions first.

Look for direct contradictions with statements. Then use Venn diagrams only for remaining conclusions. This saves precious exam time. Medium/Definite Rule: If conclusion says 'definitely' or uses strong words like 'certainly', it needs 100% proof from statements.

If it says 'can be' or 'possible', it needs only logical possibility, not certainty.

Key Points to Remember

  • Accept all statements as true regardless of real-world logic
  • Use Venn diagrams to visualize relationships between categories
  • Formula: 'All A are B' converts to 'Some B are A' but not 'All B are A'
  • Rule: If both statements are positive, conclusion cannot be negative
  • Some means 'at least one but not all', All means '100% without exception'
  • Possibility conclusions need logical possibility, not definite proof
  • No real-world knowledge should influence your logical reasoning
  • Trick: Check direct contradictions with statements to eliminate wrong conclusions quickly
  • Formula: One negative statement makes the conclusion negative
  • Time-saver: Eliminate obviously wrong conclusions before drawing Venn diagrams

Exam-Specific Tips

  • Syllogism appears in every SSC CGL paper with 4-5 questions guaranteed
  • Statement-conclusion type is the most common format in SSC exams
  • Venn diagram method has 95% accuracy rate for solving syllogisms
  • Words 'All, Some, No, Few' appear in 90% of SSC syllogism questions
  • Possibility-based conclusions appear in 30% of recent SSC papers
  • Conversion rule: 'All A are B' always converts to 'Some B are A'
  • Two positive statements can never yield a negative conclusion
  • SSC typically gives 2-3 statements with 2-4 conclusions to verify
Practice MCQs

Syllogism — Practice Questions

6graded MCQs · easy to hard · full solution & trap analysis

All MCQs →
Practice 1easy

Statements: 1. All teachers are educated. 2. Some educated people are doctors. Conclusion: Some doctors are teachers. Which of the following is true? A) The conclusion definitely follows. B) The conclusion probably follows. C) The conclusion does not follow. D) The conclusion is partially true.

Practice 2easy

Statements: 1. All fruits are healthy. 2. All apples are fruits. Conclusion: All apples are healthy. Which of the following is true? A) The conclusion definitely follows. B) The conclusion does not follow. C) The conclusion is probably true. D) Some apples may not be healthy.

Practice 3easy

Statements: 1. Some students are athletes. 2. All athletes are disciplined. Conclusion: Either all students are disciplined OR some students are not disciplined. Which of the following is true? A) The conclusion definitely follows. B) The conclusion does not follow. C) Only the first part of the conclusion follows. D) Only the second part of the conclusion follows.

Practice 4easy

Statements: 1. No reptiles are mammals. 2. All snakes are reptiles. Conclusion: No snakes are mammals. Which of the following is true? A) The conclusion definitely follows. B) The conclusion does not follow. C) The conclusion is probably true. D) Some snakes may be mammals.

Practice 5medium

Statements: 1. All engineers are problem-solvers. 2. Some problem-solvers are not creative. Conclusion: Some engineers are not creative. Which of the following is true about this conclusion?

Practice 6medium

Statements: 1. No fraudsters are trustworthy. 2. All politicians are either trustworthy or charismatic. 3. Some politicians are fraudsters. Conclusion: Some politicians are charismatic but not trustworthy. Is this conclusion valid?

60-Second Revision — Syllogism

  • Remember: Accept all statements as true, ignore real-world knowledge
  • Formula: All A→B converts to Some B→A, not All B→A
  • Trap: Using real-world logic instead of pure logical reasoning
  • Method: Use Venn diagrams for visual clarity and accuracy
  • Rule: Positive statements cannot produce negative conclusions
  • Trick: Eliminate contradictory conclusions first to save time
  • Focus: 'Some' = at least one, 'All' = 100%, 'Possible' = logically feasible
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