Statement and Conclusion
About 7 min · General Intelligence and Reasoning · English
Time worked out from the lesson's 504 words at 150 words a minute, plus a minute for each question.
Statement and Conclusion questions test your ability to draw logically valid inferences from given information. In RRB NTPC, you'll typically see 1–2 statements followed by 2–4 possible conclusions, and you must identify which conclusions logically follow from the statements. This is not about whether the conclusion is factually true in the real world—it's about whether the conclusion can be validly derived from what's stated, assuming the statements are true.
Key ideas
- Statement: A declarative sentence assumed to be true for the purpose of the question. You must accept it as given, even if it contradicts reality.
- Conclusion: A proposition that may or may not follow logically from the statement(s). A conclusion "follows" if it must be true whenever the statements are true.
- Logical Following vs. Possibly True: A conclusion follows only if the statements guarantee it. If a conclusion could be true or could be false based on the statements, it does not follow.
- Definite vs. Probable: Conclusions using words like "all," "no," "definitely" make strong claims. Conclusions with "some," "may," "possibly" make weaker claims. Weaker claims are easier to satisfy but still must be logically supported.
- Complementary Pairs: If one conclusion says "All X are Y" and another says "Some X are not Y," both cannot follow simultaneously. Watch for mutually exclusive conclusion pairs.
Watch out for
- Bringing Real-World Knowledge: Mistake—Rejecting "All pens are elephants" because it's absurd. Fix—Treat every statement as true within the problem universe; logic doesn't care about real-world plausibility.
- Confusing "Some" with "Only Some": Mistake—Thinking "Some X are Y" means "Some X are not Y." Fix—"Some" means "at least one," not "only a few." It allows for the possibility that all X are Y.
- Assuming Converse Statements: Mistake—From "All A are B," concluding "All B are A." Fix—Universal affirmatives do not convert. Only conclude what the direction of implication allows.
Quick reference
- Accept all statements as true; ignore real-world facts.
- "All X are Y" → "Some Y are X," but NOT "All Y are X."
- "Some X are Y" → "Some Y are X," does NOT imply "Some X are not Y."
- Chain universal statements: All A→B, All B→C ⇒ All A→C.
- Complementary conclusions: if one must be true but you can't tell which, answer "Either-or."
Check yourself: 3 questions
1. Statement: All government employees get paid leave. Conclusions: I. Some people who get paid leave are government employees. II. No private employee gets paid leave. Which conclusion logically follows?
2. Statement: Some doctors are teachers. All teachers are scholars. Conclusions: I. Some doctors are scholars. II. All scholars are teachers. Which conclusion logically follows?
3. Statement: No politician is honest. Some honest people are wealthy. Conclusions: I. No politician is wealthy. II. Some wealthy people are not politicians. Which conclusion logically follows?
This lesson is cut from the topic's note, not rewritten. Fact-checked on 18 Oct 2026: an AI-assisted check of this note against cited sources; the errors it found were corrected that day. Some errors may remain. The questions are from Shishya's validated question bank.
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