Syllogism
Syllogism questions for bank exam prep — free, verified practice
Syllogism questions for bank exam reasoning give you statements such as “All pens are books” and ask which conclusions definitely follow. Treat the statements as true even when they contradict the real world, then look for a diagram that satisfies every statement while breaking the conclusion. If one exists the conclusion does not follow; if none exists, it does.
Syllogism is the most reliably scoreable topic in banking reasoning: the rules are fixed, no arrangement is needed, and a set of four or five questions can be cleared in two to three minutes. The catch is that it punishes intuition harder than any other topic, because the answer often contradicts what common sense suggests.
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Every question below was generated by the same engine that mints the Deduce daily puzzle, and machine-proven to have exactly one correct answer before it reached this page. The walkthrough is the engine's own, step for step.
Question 1
Take the two statements to be true even if they differ from commonly known facts, then decide which conclusion logically follows.
Statements: No roses are players. No players are dancers.
Conclusion I: Some roses are not dancers.
Conclusion II: No dancers are roses.
- Only conclusion I follows
- Only conclusion II follows
- Either conclusion I or II follows
- Neither conclusion I nor II follows
- Both conclusions I and II follow
Show the worked solution
- Conclusion I ("Some roses are not dancers") need not follow — the statements allow a situation where it is false.
- Conclusion II ("No dancers are roses") need not follow — the statements allow a situation where it is false.
- So neither conclusion follows.
Question 2
Take the two statements to be true even if they differ from commonly known facts, then decide which conclusion logically follows.
Statements: All dogs are oranges. No oranges are artists.
Conclusion I: All dogs are artists.
Conclusion II: Some dogs are not artists.
- Only conclusion I follows
- Only conclusion II follows
- Either conclusion I or II follows
- Neither conclusion I nor II follows
- Both conclusions I and II follow
Show the worked solution
- Conclusion I ("All dogs are artists") need not follow — the statements allow a situation where it is false.
- Conclusion II ("Some dogs are not artists") need not follow — the statements allow a situation where it is false.
- Conclusions I and II are a complementary pair — exactly one must be true in every case, but the statements do not fix which. So either I or II follows.
Question 3
Take the two statements to be true even if they differ from commonly known facts, then decide which conclusion logically follows.
Statements: All tables are oranges. No oranges are artists.
Conclusion I: Some tables are not artists.
Conclusion II: Some artists are not tables.
- Only conclusion I follows
- Only conclusion II follows
- Either conclusion I or II follows
- Neither conclusion I nor II follows
- Both conclusions I and II follow
Show the worked solution
- Conclusion I ("Some tables are not artists") need not follow — the statements allow a situation where it is false.
- Conclusion II ("Some artists are not tables") need not follow — the statements allow a situation where it is false.
- So neither conclusion follows.
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How to solve syllogism questions for bank exam papers
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Accept the statements, however absurd
“All chairs are dogs” is to be treated as simply true. Marks are lost far more often to smuggled real-world knowledge than to faulty logic, so read the statements as pure set relationships.
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Draw the relationship, not the sentence
“All A are B” is a circle A inside circle B. “Some A are B” is two overlapping circles. “No A are B” is two separated circles. “Some A are not B” places part of A outside B, and says nothing about the rest.
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Look for a counter-diagram, not a confirming one
A conclusion follows only if no legal diagram breaks it. So actively try to draw the arrangement where it fails. Succeeding proves it does not follow; failing after honest attempts proves it does.
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Know the reversals that are always safe
“Some A are B” always gives “some B are A”. “All A are B” gives “some B are A”. But “all A are B” never gives “all B are A”, and “some A are not B” never reverses to “some B are not A”.
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Handle possibility conclusions separately
A conclusion phrased “some A being B is a possibility” asks the opposite question: it is true whenever at least one legal diagram allows it, and false only when every diagram forbids it.
What each statement pair can prove
What each statement pair can prove
| Statements | What follows |
|---|
| All A are B · All B are C | All A are C, and some C are A |
|---|
| All A are B · Some B are C | Nothing definite — the C part may miss A entirely |
|---|
| Some A are B · All B are C | Some A are C |
|---|
| No A are B · All C are B | No C are A |
|---|
| Some A are not B · All B are C | Nothing definite |
|---|
| Two “some” statements | Never a definite conclusion on their own |
|---|
Common mistakes
Using what you know about the world
If the statements say all birds are stones, then within the question all birds are stones. Every appeal to outside knowledge is an error, no matter how obviously true it feels.
Reading “some A are not B” as “some A are B”
They are different claims and neither implies the other. “Some A are not B” is compatible with no A being B at all, which is exactly the case that breaks most wrong answers.
Confusing definite with possible
“Some A are C” and “some A being C is a possibility” have opposite tests. The first needs every diagram to agree; the second needs only one. Check the wording before you decide.
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FAQ
Do I need Venn diagrams for syllogism questions?
You need the reasoning they represent, and for most candidates drawing them is the fastest route to it. The critical habit is not drawing one diagram but searching for a diagram that satisfies the statements and breaks the conclusion — that search is what separates a definite conclusion from a merely plausible one.
Can two “some” statements ever give a conclusion?
Not on their own. “Some A are B” and “some B are C” leave open a diagram where the A part of B and the C part of B do not overlap, so no definite link between A and C exists. You can still get valid possibility conclusions and the safe reversals such as “some B are A”.
What is a possibility conclusion?
It is a conclusion phrased as “some A being B is a possibility”. It is true when at least one diagram consistent with the statements allows it, and false only when every legal diagram forbids it. This is the exact opposite of the test for a definite conclusion, which is why the two are so often mixed up.
How much time should a syllogism set take?
Two to three minutes for a five-question set is a realistic target once the rules are automatic. Syllogism carries no arrangement work, so it is usually attempted early alongside inequality to bank marks before the longer seating and floor puzzles.
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