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SSC CGL Reasoning · Syllogism

Three-Statement Syllogism

Three statements that link four groups in a chain, with two or three conclusions to test, some of them about what is possible rather than what is certain.

All Syllogism notes

Why this matters

Ninety-four questions in the bank, 41 from the 2023 shifts, 40 from the 2024 shifts and 13 from the 2025 shifts, with 62 EASY and 32 MODERATE. The rules are the two-statement ones used twice along the chain, so the work is finding which pair of statements each conclusion depends on.

Concept 1 of 3: Following a chain of All and Some

Three statements usually form a chain: A with B, B with C, C with D. A conclusion about two groups depends only on the statements that connect them. Find that path, apply the joining rules step by step, and stop as soon as a step gives nothing definite.

Definition

1. Write the chain in order: A, B, C, D, with All or Some between each pair. 2. For each conclusion, find the two groups it names and the statements between them. 3. Join step by step. All then All stays All; Some then All gives Some; a Some followed by a Some, or an All followed by a Some, breaks the chain. 4. Many conclusions are just one statement turned round ("Some C are B" from "Some B are C"). Check those first: they follow at once.

  • Fast route: once one conclusion fails, strike every option that includes it, and test only the conclusions the remaining options differ on.

Worked example

Statements: All bats are balls. Some balls are bells. All bells are books. Conclusions: I. Some balls are books. II. Some bats are bells. III. Some books are balls. Which conclusions follow?
Practice this conceptself-check · 4 quick reps

The same idea in a real exam question:

SSC CGL · 2025 · Tier I, 26 Sep 2025, Shift 3 · Q14Moderate

Example 1 · Syllogism · Three-Statement Syllogism

Read the following statement carefully and identify the conclusion that follows. Statement: All poets are writers. Some writers are thinkers. All thinkers are critics. Conclusions: I. Some poets are critics. II. Some writers are critics.

Carrying an All across a Some

All bats are balls and some balls are bells does not put any bat among the bells. Once the chain reaches a Some after an All, nothing definite carries past it.

Taking the order of the words for the order of the chain

"Some books are balls" and "Some balls are books" say the same thing. Read which groups a conclusion links, not which comes first in the sentence.
Drill 59 more on following a chain of all and some

Concept 2 of 3: Chains with a No statement

A No statement in the chain keeps two groups apart. Whatever lies inside one of them is kept apart from the other, but things outside them are not, so the safe conclusions are a No for groups inside, or a Some ... are not.

Definition

  • Inside a group kept apart: if All A are B and No B is C, then No A is C.
  • Overlapping a group kept apart: if Some A are B and No B is C, then Some A are not C.
  • Beyond the No: a No statement says nothing about groups that only overlap the far side. In "Some A are B, No B is C, Some C are D", nothing definite links A and D.
  • A conclusion that contradicts a No statement ("Some B are C" against "No B is C") never follows.
  • Fast route: find the No statement first, then ask for each conclusion whether its groups are fully inside the two kept apart.

Worked example

Statements: Some keys are locks. All locks are doors. No door is a window. Conclusions: I. Some keys are doors. II. Some keys are not windows. III. No lock is a window. Which conclusions follow?
Practice this conceptself-check · 4 quick reps

The same idea in a real exam question:

SSC CGL · 2025 · Tier I, 24 Sep 2025, Shift 1 · Q14Easy

Example 2 · Syllogism · Three-Statement Syllogism

Read the following statement carefully and identify the conclusion that follows. Statement: All men are intelligent. No intelligent person is poor. Some poor are hardworking. Conclusions: I. Some men are hardworking. II. No man is poor.

Spreading a No to the whole group

Some A are B and No B is C keeps only the As that are B away from C. Other As may still be C, so "No A is C" does not follow.

Drawing a conclusion across the No

A No statement separates two groups; it does not link the groups on either side. Groups joined to the far side by Some statements stay unlinked.
Drill 25 more on chains with a no statement

Concept 3 of 3: Conclusions about what is possible

Some conclusions do not claim a fact; they claim a possibility: "Some A can be C" or "All A being C is a possibility". Such a conclusion follows unless a statement rules it out, which only a No statement, or an All that forces the opposite, can do.

Definition

  • A possibility follows when the statements leave room for it: there is no definite link either way, and nothing forbids it.
  • It does not follow when a statement rules it out: "Some A can be C" fails if No A is C is already certain.
  • "All A can never be C" follows when some A are certainly not C, or when No A is C.
  • "At least some A are C" is a definite claim, not a possibility; test it with the joining rules.
  • Fast route: for each possibility conclusion, look only for a No statement that forbids it. If there is none, it follows.

Worked example

Statements: All dogs are pets. Some pets are cats. Conclusions: I. Some dogs can be cats. II. All cats being pets is a possibility. Which conclusions follow?
Practice this conceptself-check · 4 quick reps

The same idea in a real exam question:

SSC CGL · 2025 · Tier I, 21 Sep 2025, Shift 3 · Q18Moderate

Example 3 · Syllogism · Three-Statement Syllogism

Read the following statement carefully and identify the conclusion that follows. Statement: All kids are students. Some students are athletes. No athlete is a scholar. Conclusions: I. Some kids may be athletes. II. No kid is a scholar.

Rejecting a possibility because it is not certain

"Some A can be C" does not need a definite link. It follows as long as no statement forbids it, which is exactly the case when the chain breaks.

Treating "At least some" as a possibility

"At least some A are C" claims that it is true, not that it could be. Test it like any definite conclusion.
Drill 7 more on conclusions about what is possible

Summary — formulas & gotchas at a glance

A revision cheat-sheet for the formulas and gotchas above. Click any concept name to jump back to its full explanation.

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Test yourself on Syllogism

20 past SSC CGL questions from this chapter, timed at 12 minutes and marked the way the exam marks it. You see your score and every answer the moment you finish. Free to start.

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