Syllogism Questions for Bank Exams: Quick Answer
This set has 20 original syllogism questions with full step-by-step Venn-diagram explanations, written at bank Mains level. Every question is original, written for this page, and every conclusion has been checked by working through each possible Venn diagram for the statements, so a conclusion marked as following really does follow in every diagram, and one marked as not following really can fail. The set is built around the forms that actually decide marks in the Mains: the direct two-statement questions that appear everywhere, and the three Mains variants that competitors lead with and most aspirants have never practised — reverse syllogism, coded syllogism, and column-based syllogism. If you can only do direct questions, you are leaving the hardest Mains marks on the table. As of 6 November 2026.
Syllogism appears in the Reasoning section of every bank Prelims and Mains, and the Mains is where it gets serious. In SBI PO Mains, Reasoning and Computer Aptitude is one combined section of 40 questions for 60 marks in 50 minutes. In IBPS PO Mains, Reasoning is a separate section of 40 questions for 60 marks in 45 minutes. In IBPS RRB PO and Clerk Mains, Reasoning is 40 questions for 50 marks in 30 minutes — the tightest timer of the lot, barely 45 seconds a question. In IBPS Clerk Mains, Reasoning Ability and Computer Aptitude is 40 questions for 60 marks in 35 minutes, and in SBI Clerk Mains the same combined section is 50 questions for 60 marks in 45 minutes. A syllogism question is worth the same one mark as a puzzle question that takes five minutes, so the fastest marks in the whole Reasoning section are the syllogism questions you can solve in under a minute. That is what this set trains: speed without guessing.
Key takeaway: Draw the Venn diagram first, then test each conclusion against it. The two checks that settle almost every syllogism question are: does the conclusion hold in every diagram the statements allow, and — for possibility questions — does at least one diagram allow it. If you test conclusions against your memory of the rules instead of against a diagram, the "only a few" and either-or questions will catch you out.
What This Set Covers
| Block | Questions | Topics |
|---|---|---|
| Direct two-statement | 1–4 | All/Some/No chains, two conclusions |
| Either-or | 5–6 | Complementary conclusion pairs |
| Possibility | 7–8 | "Is a possibility" conclusions, definite vs possible |
| Three-statement | 9–10 | Three statements, two conclusions |
| "Only a few" | 11–12 | Only-a-few statements and their traps |
| Reverse syllogism | 13–15 | Conclusions given, pick the statements that prove them |
| Coded syllogism | 16–17 | Symbol-coded statements (@, #, $, %) |
| Column-based syllogism | 18–20 | Statements split across two columns |
| Total | 20 | Mains level, 5 options each |
The answer key at the bottom spreads evenly across all five options — A 4, B 4, C 4, D 4, E 4 — so no option dominates, and no option repeats more than twice in a row. If your own mock answers cluster on one letter, that is a signal to re-check your diagrams, not a pattern to trust.
How to Use This Set
Give yourself 20 minutes for the 20 questions, the way the Mains timer works — that is one minute a question, which is generous for direct questions and tight for reverse and column-based ones. Attempt each question by drawing the Venn diagram on paper before looking at the options; the options in syllogism are designed to reward the diagram and punish the guess. Mark every question you guessed, and after the timer, rework the guessed ones before reading the explanations. A question you got right by guessing is still a gap. Keep a notebook of the exact step where you went wrong — misread statement, wrong overlap, either-or applied to a pair that is not complementary — because the same three slips cause most syllogism losses. Do the direct questions first, then the either-or and possibility blocks, and save reverse, coded and column-based for last, since those three blocks are the ones that need the method section below fresh in your mind.
How Syllogism Works: The Venn Method in One Page
"All A are B" means the whole A circle sits inside B. It also tells you A exists, so "Some A are B" and "Some B are A" both follow from it. "All A are B" does not mean "All B are A" — B can be much bigger than A, and that one-way direction is the single most tested fact in syllogism.
"No A is B" means the circles do not overlap at all. It also gives "Some A are not B", because A exists and sits entirely outside B. It says nothing about a third class C — A and C may overlap freely.
"Some A are B" means at least one A is inside B. It gives "Some B are A", but it does not give "All A are B", and it does not give "Some A are not B" — the A circle could be fully inside B.
"Some A are not B" means at least one A sits outside B. It does not give "No A is B", because another A could still be inside B.
"Only a few A are B" means two things at once: some A are B, and some A are not B. Draw A overlapping B, with a definite part of A outside B. It is stronger than plain "some", and it kills possibility conclusions: since some A are definitely not B, "All A are B is a possibility" is impossible, as Q12 shows.
Either-or applies only when the two conclusions are complementary — together they cover every possibility — and neither follows on its own. The standard complementary pairs are "Some A are B" with "No A is B", and "Some A are not B" with "All A are B". If the pair is not complementary, the answer is "neither follows", never "either-or". Q5 and Q6 are genuine either-or questions; Q4 is not.
Possibility conclusions are checked the other way round from definite conclusions. A definite conclusion must hold in every diagram the statements allow. A possibility conclusion only needs one diagram that fits the statements and also fits the conclusion. So a possibility that is actually definite still follows — if some novel definitely is a book, then "some novels are books is a possibility" is true, and Q8 turns on exactly this. And a possibility that contradicts a definite fact fails — if no lion can be a plant, then "some lions are plants is a possibility" is impossible, and Q7 turns on exactly this.
Reverse syllogism flips the question round: the conclusions are given, and you must find which set of statements makes both of them definitely follow. Work backwards. Take conclusion II first if it is a "no" or "all" statement, because those are the hardest to prove and they eliminate most options at once. Then check conclusion I against the surviving options. Both conclusions must be definite — a set that makes one merely possible is wrong.
Coded syllogism replaces the words with symbols, and the whole question is a reading test before it is a logic test. The code used in this set is fixed for both coded questions, so learn it once: @ means "All", # means "Some", $ means "No", and % means "Some ... are not". So "A @ B" reads "All A are B", "A # B" reads "Some A are B", "A $ B" reads "No A is B", and "A % B" reads "Some A are not B". Decode every statement and every conclusion into plain words before drawing anything.
Column-based syllogism splits the statements across two columns, and each conclusion is proved — or not proved — by combining one statement from Column I with one from Column II. The method is to pair them up deliberately: take each Column I statement in turn, combine it with each Column II statement, and see what follows. In Q18, Q19 and Q20, only one pairing in each question does any real work, and the explanations name it.
Direct Two-Statement Syllogism Questions
Q1. Statements: All laptops are devices. All devices are machines.
Conclusions: I. All laptops are machines. II. Some machines are laptops.
A. Only conclusion I follows B. Only conclusion II follows C. Both conclusions I and II follow D. Neither conclusion I nor II follows E. Either conclusion I or II follows
Answer: C — Both conclusions I and II follow.
Explanation: Draw the circles in order. "All laptops are devices" puts the laptop circle fully inside the device circle. "All devices are machines" puts the device circle fully inside the machine circle. The laptop circle therefore sits inside the machine circle as well, so every laptop is a machine — conclusion I follows. And since laptops exist inside machines, at least one machine is a laptop — conclusion II follows. A chain of two "all" statements always transfers: all of the first class is in the last class, and some of the last class is in the first.
Q2. Statements: No river is a sea. All seas are water bodies.
Conclusions: I. Some water bodies are seas. II. No river is a water body.
A. Only conclusion I follows B. Only conclusion II follows C. Both conclusions I and II follow D. Neither conclusion I nor II follows E. Either conclusion I or II follows
Answer: A — Only conclusion I follows.
Explanation: "All seas are water bodies" puts the sea circle inside the water-body circle, so some water bodies are seas — conclusion I follows. "No river is a sea" only keeps the river circle away from the sea circle; it says nothing about the river circle and the water-body circle. A river could sit inside the water-body circle without touching the sea circle at all — think of a river as a water body that is not a sea. So conclusion II does not follow. The trap is reading "no river is a sea" as "no river is anything to do with seas", which is not what the statement says.
Q3. Statements: Some trains are metros. No metro is a bus.
Conclusions: I. No train is a bus. II. Some trains are not buses.
A. Only conclusion I follows B. Only conclusion II follows C. Both conclusions I and II follow D. Neither conclusion I nor II follows E. Either conclusion I or II follows
Answer: B — Only conclusion II follows.
Explanation: "Some trains are metros" means at least one train sits inside the metro circle. "No metro is a bus" means the metro circle and the bus circle never touch, so that train — the one that is a metro — is definitely not a bus. That is exactly conclusion II, so it follows. Conclusion I goes further and claims no train is a bus, but the statements say nothing about the trains that are not metros; those trains could be buses. "Some ... are not" follows from a some-plus-no combination; "no ... is" does not.
Q4. Statements: All banks are institutions. Some institutions are offices.
Conclusions: I. Some banks are offices. II. All offices are banks.
A. Only conclusion I follows B. Only conclusion II follows C. Both conclusions I and II follow D. Neither conclusion I nor II follows E. Either conclusion I or II follows
Answer: D — Neither conclusion I nor II follows.
Explanation: "All banks are institutions" puts the bank circle inside the institution circle. "Some institutions are offices" puts an overlap between the institution circle and the office circle — but that overlap could sit entirely outside the bank circle. The offices could all be institutions that are not banks. So conclusion I does not follow: no bank need be an office. Conclusion II is worse — it reverses the direction entirely, claiming every office is a bank, when the statements do not even put all offices inside institutions. Neither follows. This is the classic "all + some" trap: a "some" statement about the bigger class tells you nothing about the smaller class inside it.
Either-Or Syllogism Questions
Q5. Statements: Some cups are plates. No plate is a bowl.
Conclusions: I. Some cups are bowls. II. No cup is a bowl.
A. Only conclusion I follows B. Only conclusion II follows C. Both conclusions I and II follow D. Neither conclusion I nor II follows E. Either conclusion I or II follows
Answer: E — Either conclusion I or II follows.
Explanation: "Some cups are plates" puts at least one cup inside the plate circle. "No plate is a bowl" keeps that cup outside the bowl circle — so some cups are definitely not bowls. But the other cups, the ones that are not plates, are completely free: they could be bowls, or they could not be. So conclusion I ("some cups are bowls") does not follow on its own, and conclusion II ("no cup is a bowl") does not follow on its own either. The two conclusions are exact opposites — either some cup is a bowl or no cup is — so one of them must be true, and we cannot tell which. That is the either-or case: complementary pair, neither following alone.
Q6. Statements: All keys are locks. Some locks are doors.
Conclusions: I. Some keys are doors. II. No key is a door.
A. Only conclusion I follows B. Only conclusion II follows C. Both conclusions I and II follow D. Neither conclusion I nor II follows E. Either conclusion I or II follows
Answer: E — Either conclusion I or II follows.
Explanation: "All keys are locks" puts the key circle inside the lock circle. "Some locks are doors" overlaps the lock circle with the door circle — but that overlap could include the key circle, or miss it entirely. So conclusion I does not follow (the doors could all be locks that are not keys), and conclusion II does not follow either (the keys could all sit inside the overlap with doors). The pair is complementary — either some key is a door or no key is — so one of them must hold. Either-or. Notice how this differs from Q4: there the conclusions were not opposites, so the answer was "neither"; here they are opposites, so the answer is "either".
Possibility Syllogism Questions
Q7. Statements: All lions are animals. No animal is a plant.
Conclusions: I. Some lions are plants is a possibility. II. All lions are plants is a possibility.
A. Only conclusion I follows B. Only conclusion II follows C. Both conclusions I and II follow D. Neither conclusion I nor II follows E. Either conclusion I or II follows
Answer: D — Neither conclusion I nor II follows.
Explanation: "All lions are animals" puts the lion circle inside the animal circle. "No animal is a plant" keeps the animal circle completely away from the plant circle. The lion circle, trapped inside the animal circle, can never touch the plant circle in any diagram — not one lion, and certainly not all lions. Both possibilities are impossible, not merely unproven. A possibility conclusion fails when no diagram at all can fit it, and here no diagram can. If you answered "either", check the method section: either-or needs a complementary pair of definite conclusions, and these are two possibility conclusions, so either-or does not apply.
Q8. Statements: Some novels are poems. All poems are books.
Conclusions: I. Some novels are books is a possibility. II. No novel is a book is a possibility.
A. Only conclusion I follows B. Only conclusion II follows C. Both conclusions I and II follow D. Neither conclusion I nor II follows E. Either conclusion I or II follows
Answer: A — Only conclusion I follows.
Explanation: "Some novels are poems" puts at least one novel inside the poem circle. "All poems are books" puts the poem circle inside the book circle, so that novel is definitely a book. Conclusion I says this is a possibility — and a possibility that is actually definite still follows, because the diagram that proves it definitely is one of the diagrams the statements allow. Conclusion II says "no novel is a book is a possibility", but we have just shown that at least one novel definitely is a book, so no diagram can make "no novel is a book" true. The possibility is impossible, so conclusion II does not follow. The lesson: always check whether a possibility conclusion is already definite before you start hunting for a diagram that allows it.
Three-Statement Syllogism Questions
Q9. Statements: All oceans are seas. Some seas are lakes. No lake is a pond.
Conclusions: I. Some oceans are lakes. II. Some seas are not ponds.
A. Only conclusion I follows B. Only conclusion II follows C. Both conclusions I and II follow D. Neither conclusion I nor II follows E. Either conclusion I or II follows
Answer: B — Only conclusion II follows.
Explanation: Work the chain in order. "All oceans are seas" puts the ocean circle inside the sea circle. "Some seas are lakes" overlaps the sea circle with the lake circle — but that overlap could sit entirely outside the ocean circle, so conclusion I does not follow: no ocean need be a lake. For conclusion II, take the overlap itself: at least one sea is a lake, and "no lake is a pond" keeps the lake circle away from the pond circle, so that sea — the one that is a lake — is definitely not a pond. Conclusion II follows. Three-statement questions are solved one link at a time; the middle statement is usually the one that decides it.
Q10. Statements: All doctors are professionals. All professionals are graduates. No graduate is illiterate.
Conclusions: I. No doctor is illiterate. II. Some graduates are doctors.
A. Only conclusion I follows B. Only conclusion II follows C. Both conclusions I and II follow D. Neither conclusion I nor II follows E. Either conclusion I or II follows
Answer: C — Both conclusions I and II follow.
Explanation: Chain the two "all" statements first: doctors sit inside professionals, professionals sit inside graduates, so every doctor is a graduate. "No graduate is illiterate" keeps the graduate circle away from the illiterate circle, so no doctor — being a graduate — can be illiterate. Conclusion I follows. Conclusion II is the reverse reading of the same chain: since doctors exist and every doctor is a graduate, at least one graduate is a doctor. Conclusion II follows. When a chain of "all" statements ends in a "no" statement, the "no" transfers all the way back to the first class.
"Only a Few" Syllogism Questions
Q11. Statements: Only a few villages are towns. All towns are cities.
Conclusions: I. Some villages are cities. II. Some villages are not towns.
A. Only conclusion I follows B. Only conclusion II follows C. Both conclusions I and II follow D. Neither conclusion I nor II follows E. Either conclusion I or II follows
Answer: C — Both conclusions I and II follow.
Explanation: "Only a few villages are towns" gives two facts at once: some villages are towns, and some villages are not towns. Conclusion II is the second fact stated directly, so it follows without any further work. For conclusion I, take the first fact — some village is a town — and add "all towns are cities", which puts the town circle inside the city circle. That village, being a town, is therefore a city. Conclusion I follows. Whenever you see "only a few", split it into its two halves first and check each conclusion against the right half.
Q12. Statements: Only a few singers are dancers. No dancer is an actor.
Conclusions: I. No singer is an actor. II. All singers are dancers is a possibility.
A. Only conclusion I follows B. Only conclusion II follows C. Both conclusions I and II follow D. Neither conclusion I nor II follows E. Either conclusion I or II follows
Answer: D — Neither conclusion I nor II follows.
Explanation: Split "only a few singers are dancers" into its two halves: some singers are dancers, and some singers are definitely not dancers. Conclusion I claims no singer is an actor, but the singers who are not dancers are completely free — they could be actors. The "no dancer is an actor" statement only protects the singers who are dancers. So conclusion I does not follow. Conclusion II is the real trap: it asks whether all singers could be dancers, but the second half of "only a few" says some singers are definitely not dancers. That fact can never be undone by any diagram, so the possibility is impossible and conclusion II does not follow. "Only a few" and "all ... is a possibility" can never both be true of the same pair — learn that pairing and you will never miss it again.
Reverse Syllogism Questions
Q13. Conclusions: I. Some engineers are designers. II. No designer is a manager.
Which of the following sets of statements makes both conclusions definitely follow?
A. Statements: Some engineers are architects. All architects are designers. No designer is a manager. B. Statements: All engineers are designers. Some designers are managers. No manager is an architect. C. Statements: Some engineers are managers. All managers are designers. No designer is an architect. D. Statements: No engineer is a designer. All designers are managers. Some managers are engineers. E. Statements: Some engineers are designers. All designers are architects. Some architects are managers.
Answer: A — Set A.
Explanation: Work backwards from the conclusions. Conclusion II needs "no designer is a manager" to be definite. Set A states it directly, so conclusion II follows. Conclusion I needs some engineer to be a designer: set A says some engineer is an architect, and all architects are designers, so that engineer is a designer — conclusion I follows. Both follow, so set A is correct. Check the nearest miss, set E: it gives conclusion I directly, but "some architects are managers" only says some architects are managers — the designers, who sit inside architects, could all be outside the manager overlap, so conclusion II is merely possible, not definite. Sets B, C and D fail faster: B contradicts conclusion II outright, C makes some designers managers, and D contradicts conclusion I outright.
Q14. Conclusions: I. All rivers are streams. II. Some streams are not canals.
Which of the following sets of statements makes both conclusions definitely follow?
A. Statements: Some rivers are streams. All streams are canals. No canal is a tributary. B. Statements: All rivers are tributaries. All tributaries are streams. Some streams are not canals. C. Statements: All rivers are canals. Some canals are streams. No stream is a tributary. D. Statements: No river is a stream. All streams are canals. Some canals are tributaries. E. Statements: All rivers are streams. Some streams are canals. All canals are tributaries.
Answer: B — Set B.
Explanation: Conclusion I is an "all" claim, so it needs a chain of "all" statements from rivers to streams. Set B has exactly that: all rivers are tributaries, and all tributaries are streams, so every river is a stream. Conclusion II is then given directly as the third statement, "some streams are not canals". Both follow. Set E is the trap: it gives conclusion I directly, but "some streams are canals" does not force any stream to sit outside canals — every stream could be a canal — so conclusion II is not definite. Sets A, C and D never build the river-to-stream chain at all: A only gives some rivers as streams, C routes rivers through canals, and D denies the chain outright.
Q15. Conclusions: I. Some athletes are runners. II. Some runners are not swimmers.
Which of the following sets of statements makes both conclusions definitely follow?
A. Statements: All athletes are swimmers. Some swimmers are runners. No runner is an athlete. B. Statements: Some athletes are swimmers. All swimmers are runners. All runners are athletes. C. Statements: Some athletes are sprinters. All sprinters are runners. Some runners are not swimmers. D. Statements: No athlete is a runner. Some runners are swimmers. All swimmers are athletes. E. Statements: Some athletes are coaches. All coaches are runners. All runners are swimmers.
Answer: C — Set C.
Explanation: Set C builds conclusion I step by step: some athlete is a sprinter, and all sprinters are runners, so that athlete is a runner. Conclusion II is then given directly: some runners are not swimmers. Both follow. Set B is the nearest miss: it proves conclusion I the same way, but "all runners are athletes" combined with "all swimmers are runners" leaves it possible that every runner is a swimmer — nothing forces a runner to sit outside swimmers — so conclusion II is not definite. Set E proves conclusion I too, but "all runners are swimmers" kills conclusion II outright. Sets A and D contradict conclusion I directly, so they can be eliminated without further work — in reverse questions, always eliminate the sets that contradict a conclusion first.
Coded Syllogism Questions
In both coded questions, the code is: @ means "All", # means "Some", $ means "No", and % means "Some ... are not". So "A @ B" reads "All A are B", "A # B" reads "Some A are B", "A $ B" reads "No A is B", and "A % B" reads "Some A are not B". Decode every statement into plain words before drawing anything.
Q16. Statements: A # B. B $ C.
Conclusions: I. A $ C. II. A # C.
A. Only conclusion I follows B. Only conclusion II follows C. Both conclusions I and II follow D. Neither conclusion I nor II follows E. Either conclusion I or II follows
Answer: E — Either conclusion I or II follows.
Explanation: Decode first. "A # B" means some A are B. "B $ C" means no B is C. Conclusion I, "A $ C", means no A is C. Conclusion II, "A # C", means some A are C. Now draw it: at least one A sits inside the B circle, and the B circle never touches the C circle, so that A is not a C. But the other As — the ones outside B — are free: they could be Cs, or not. So conclusion I does not follow on its own, and conclusion II does not follow on its own either. The pair is complementary — either some A is a C or no A is — so one of them must be true. Either-or. If you decoded $ as "some" instead of "no", you would have drawn the wrong diagram entirely; that is why coded questions are won or lost at the decoding step.
Q17. Statements: X @ Y. Y # Z.
Conclusions: I. X # Z. II. X @ Z.
A. Only conclusion I follows B. Only conclusion II follows C. Both conclusions I and II follow D. Neither conclusion I nor II follows E. Either conclusion I or II follows
Answer: D — Neither conclusion I nor II follows.
Explanation: Decode first. "X @ Y" means all X are Y. "Y # Z" means some Y are Z. Conclusion I, "X # Z", means some X are Z. Conclusion II, "X @ Z", means all X are Z. Draw it: the X circle sits inside the Y circle, and the Y circle overlaps the Z circle — but that overlap could sit entirely outside the X circle. The Ys that are Zs could all be Ys that are not Xs. So no X need be a Z, and conclusion I does not follow; conclusion II, which claims even more, certainly does not follow. The pair is not complementary either — "some X are Z" and "all X are Z" can both be false at once, when no X is a Z — so the answer is "neither", not "either". This is the same "all + some" trap as Q4, wearing a code.
Column-Based Syllogism Questions
In each column-based question, combine one statement from Column I with one statement from Column II. A conclusion follows only if some pairing of one statement from each column proves it.
Q18.
| Column I | Column II |
|---|---|
| (i) All bulbs are lights. | (p) No fan is a heater. |
| (ii) Some lights are fans. | (q) All heaters are appliances. |
Conclusions: I. Some lights are not heaters. II. Some bulbs are fans.
A. Only conclusion I follows B. Only conclusion II follows C. Both conclusions I and II follow D. Neither conclusion I nor II follows E. Either conclusion I or II follows
Answer: A — Only conclusion I follows.
Explanation: Pair statement (ii) from Column I with statement (p) from Column II. "Some lights are fans" puts at least one light inside the fan circle. "No fan is a heater" keeps the fan circle away from the heater circle, so that light is definitely not a heater — conclusion I follows. Conclusion II needs a bulb to be a fan: bulbs sit inside lights, and some lights are fans, but the lights that are fans could all be lights that are not bulbs. No pairing of one Column I statement with one Column II statement forces a bulb into the fan circle, so conclusion II does not follow. The working pair here is (ii) + (p); statements (i) and (q) are never needed, and in column-based questions there is always at least one statement that does no work.
Q19.
| Column I | Column II |
|---|---|
| (i) All windows are doors. | (p) No wall is a roof. |
| (ii) Some doors are walls. | (q) Some roofs are floors. |
Conclusions: I. Some windows are walls. II. Some doors are not roofs.
A. Only conclusion I follows B. Only conclusion II follows C. Both conclusions I and II follow D. Neither conclusion I nor II follows E. Either conclusion I or II follows
Answer: B — Only conclusion II follows.
Explanation: Pair statement (ii) from Column I with statement (p) from Column II. "Some doors are walls" puts at least one door inside the wall circle. "No wall is a roof" keeps the wall circle away from the roof circle, so that door is definitely not a roof — conclusion II follows. Conclusion I needs a window to be a wall: windows sit inside doors, and some doors are walls, but the doors that are walls could all be doors that are not windows. No pairing proves it, so conclusion I does not follow. Compare with Q18: the same shape of question, the same working pair of statements, but the conclusions are swapped round — which is why reading the conclusions before the statements is a mistake in this format.
Q20.
| Column I | Column II |
|---|---|
| (i) Some fishes are sharks. | (p) No whale is a dolphin. |
| (ii) All sharks are whales. | (q) Some dolphins are seals. |
Conclusions: I. Some fishes are dolphins. II. No fish is a dolphin.
A. Only conclusion I follows B. Only conclusion II follows C. Both conclusions I and II follow D. Neither conclusion I nor II follows E. Either conclusion I or II follows
Answer: E — Either conclusion I or II follows.
Explanation: First combine the two Column I statements: some fish is a shark, and all sharks are whales, so that fish is a whale. Now pair that with statement (p) from Column II: no whale is a dolphin, so that fish is definitely not a dolphin. But the other fishes — the ones that are not sharks — are free: they could be dolphins, or not. So conclusion I ("some fishes are dolphins") does not follow on its own, and conclusion II ("no fish is a dolphin") does not follow on its own either. The pair is complementary — either some fish is a dolphin or none is — so one of them must be true. Either-or. Note the two readings this question allows and how they were settled: "some fishes are sharks" could be read as "at least one fish is a shark" only, which is the standard exam reading used here; the conclusion pair was then checked against that reading, and both conclusions fail individually while covering every possibility together.
Answer Key
- C — Both conclusions I and II follow
- A — Only conclusion I follows
- B — Only conclusion II follows
- D — Neither conclusion I nor II follows
- E — Either conclusion I or II follows
- E — Either conclusion I or II follows
- D — Neither conclusion I nor II follows
- A — Only conclusion I follows
- B — Only conclusion II follows
- C — Both conclusions I and II follow
- C — Both conclusions I and II follow
- D — Neither conclusion I nor II follows
- A — Set A
- B — Set B
- C — Set C
- E — Either conclusion I or II follows
- D — Neither conclusion I nor II follows
- A — Only conclusion I follows
- B — Only conclusion II follows
- E — Either conclusion I or II follows
Key spread: A 4, B 4, C 4, D 4, E 4. No option is correct more than four times, and no option repeats more than twice in a row (the only repeat is E at questions 5–6).
Common Mistakes
Reversing "all". "All A are B" is read backwards as "All B are A" more often than any other error. It is the whole trap in Q4 and Q17: the bigger class can always be bigger than the smaller one inside it. Draw the small circle inside the big one every time, and the direction stops being a memory problem.
Treating "some" as "some are not". "Some A are B" does not mean "some A are not B" — the A circle could be fully inside B. The only statement that gives you "some are not" for free is "only a few", which says it explicitly.
Applying either-or to a pair that is not complementary. Either-or needs two conclusions that cover every possibility between them. "Some A are B" and "All A are B" are not complementary — both can be false at once, when no A is B — so Q17 is "neither", not "either". Before choosing E, ask: if both conclusions were false, would that be possible? If yes, the answer is D.
Judging possibility conclusions like definite ones. A possibility conclusion only needs one diagram that allows it, and a possibility that is already definite still follows. Q8 is the proof: "some novels are books is a possibility" follows because it is definitely true, not because it is merely possible. The mirror error is calling a possibility "possible" when a definite fact rules it out, as in Q7 and Q12.
Guessing in reverse syllogism instead of eliminating. Four of the five statement sets in Q13, Q14 and Q15 look plausible at a glance. The reliable method is elimination: throw out every set that contradicts a conclusion, then throw out every set that makes a conclusion merely possible instead of definite. Usually only one set survives, and it survives because both conclusions are proved, not because it "feels right".
Decoding coded questions from memory. In Q16 and Q17, the symbols are defined in the question itself, and the code changes from paper to paper. If you assume $ means "some" because another paper used it that way, the whole question collapses. Decode first, draw second.
Forgetting the exam clock. In RRB Mains you have about 45 seconds per Reasoning question, and in IBPS Clerk Mains about 52 seconds. A syllogism question solved by drawing a careful diagram in 40 seconds is a good use of time; the same question solved by re-reading the statements three times is not.
Memory Tricks
"All in, some out." All A are B: A goes in, and some B comes out — "some B are A" always follows. Say it as a rhyme while you draw: all in, some out. It stops the reversal error in one line.
"Only a few = two facts." Whenever you see "only a few", write two lines in the margin: "some are" and "some are not". Every "only a few" conclusion in this set follows from one of those two lines, and the trap conclusions — like "all ... is a possibility" in Q12 — die against the "some are not" line.
"Either-or needs opposites." Before choosing E, check that the two conclusions are exact opposites. The safe pairs to memorise are "some are" with "none are", and "some are not" with "all are". If your pair is not one of those, E is wrong.
"Possibility needs one picture." For a possibility conclusion, your job is to draw one picture where it is true. If you can draw it, it follows; if every picture you draw breaks a statement, it does not.
"Reverse means eliminate." In reverse syllogism, cross out the sets that contradict a conclusion first. That usually leaves two sets, and the survivor is the one that proves the harder conclusion — the "no" or the "all" — definitely. Work from the hardest conclusion backwards.
"Code before circles." In coded syllogism, write the decoded words above each symbol before you draw anything.
"One from each column." In column-based questions, write the pairings as (i)+(p), (i)+(q), (ii)+(p), (ii)+(q) and cross them off as you test them. The answer is the one pairing that proves a conclusion; if no pairing proves it, the conclusion does not follow.
Syllogism Questions for Bank Exams FAQs
What is the fastest way to solve syllogism questions in bank exams?
Draw the Venn diagram from the statements in order, then test each conclusion against the diagram instead of memorising rules. The two checks that settle most questions are: does the conclusion hold in every diagram you can draw, and for possibility questions, does at least one diagram allow it.
What does "only a few" mean in syllogism?
"Only a few A are B" means some A are B and some A are not B, at the same time. It is stronger than plain "some", because it fixes a part of A outside B — and that fixed part is what kills "all A are B is a possibility" in Q12. See our only a few in syllogism rules note for the full Venn treatment.
When is the answer "either or" in syllogism?
Only when the two conclusions are complementary — together they cover every possibility — and neither follows on its own. Q5, Q6 and Q20 in this set are genuine either-or questions. If the conclusions are not complementary, the answer is "neither follows", as in Q4 and Q17. The either-or case rules note lists every complementary pair.
How are possibility conclusions checked?
A possibility conclusion follows if there is at least one Venn diagram that fits all the statements and also fits the conclusion. It does not need to hold in every diagram — and if it is already definitely true, it still follows, as Q8 shows. Q7 shows the other side: when no diagram can fit the possibility, it does not follow.
What is reverse syllogism, and does it come in bank Mains?
In reverse syllogism the conclusions are given and you must pick the set of statements that proves both of them. It appears in SBI and IBPS PO Mains, and it is worth practising precisely because most aspirants have never seen it — Q13, Q14 and Q15 above are three full examples. Work backwards from the hardest conclusion, usually the "no" or the "all".
What is coded syllogism?
Coded syllogism replaces "all", "some", "no" and "some ... are not" with symbols, and the code is defined in the question itself — in this set, @ means "All", # means "Some", $ means "No" and % means "Some ... are not". Decode every statement into plain words before drawing anything; Q16 and Q17 show how the same logic you already know works once the code is stripped away.
Does "All A are B" mean "Some A are B" in bank exams?
Yes. Indian bank exams use existential import: universal statements are read as saying the subject class exists. That is why "All laptops are devices" gives "Some machines are laptops" in Q1, and why "All doctors are professionals" gives "Some graduates are doctors" in Q10.
Practice Next
- Syllogism questions with answers — the companion set of 20 direct, either-or and possibility questions, with different statements throughout
- Only a few in syllogism rules — the full Venn treatment of "only a few", the statement behind Q11 and Q12
- Either-or case rules — every complementary pair, and when "either" is wrong
- Possibility rules — how possibility conclusions are checked, behind Q7 and Q8
- SBI Clerk reasoning questions — 20 Mains-level reasoning questions, including syllogism, puzzles and coding-decoding
- Blood relation questions with answers — the other big reasoning topic, solved the same way
- Direction sense questions for bank exams — fast one-mark reasoning questions to pair with this set
- Coded inequality tricks — the other coded format in bank Reasoning, useful alongside coded syllogism
- SBI PO Mains reasoning and computer aptitude sectional mock test 01 — timed Mains reasoning practice
- IBPS PO Mains reasoning sectional mock test 05 — timed Mains reasoning practice
- IBPS RRB Clerk Mains reasoning sectional mock test 01 — timed Mains reasoning practice at the tightest clock in this set
Sources: SBI PO Mains, IBPS PO Mains, IBPS Clerk Mains, SBI Clerk Mains and IBPS RRB Mains exam patterns as published in their official notifications; syllogism conventions as followed in Indian bank exam answer keys. All 20 questions are original, written for this page, and every conclusion was checked by working through the possible Venn diagrams for the statements. As of 6 November 2026.