Translating into Categorical Statements

A-Statement – All S are P

1. Synonyms for ‘All’ – ‘Every’, ‘Any’, ‘Something’, ‘Whatever’

E.g., “Every dog is a mammal” is equivalent to “All dogs are mammals.”

2. Lack of a Quantifier – If a subject of a statement is a category without a quantifier, then it means ‘All ..’.

E.g., “Dogs are mammals” is equivalent to “All dogs are mammals.”

3. Affirmative Singular Statements – The subject is translated into “All things identical with …”, even though it sounds awkward.

E.g., “Kofi Annan is a world leader” is equivalent to “All people identical with Kofi Annan are world leaders.

E-Statement – No S are P

1. Synonyms for ‘No’ – ‘Nothing’, ‘None’

E.g., “Nothing is that room is a valuable item” is equivalent to “No things in that room are valuable items.

2. Universal statements with Negated Predicates – If a universal statement has a negated predicate, restate it as an E-Statement.

E.g., “All dogs are not reptiles,” “Dogs are not reptiles” are equivalent to “No dogs are reptiles. Also, “Mark is not an athlete” is equivalent to “No people identical with Mark are athletes.”

I-Statement – Some S are P

1. Synonyms for “Some” – ‘A few’, ‘Many’, ‘Several’ ‘Most’, ‘23%’, ‘At least one’, ‘There are’

E.g., ‘A few students are senior citizens, and ‘There are students who are senior citizens” are equivalent to “Some students are senior citizens.”

O-Statement – Some S are not P

1. Particular Statements with Negated Predicates – If a particular statement has a negated subject predicate, restate it as an O-Statement.

E.g., “Some professionals are nonadults” is equivalent to “Some professionals are not adults.”

2. Negation of ‘All’ – If the word ‘All’ or its equivalent is negated, translate the statement into an O-Statement.

E.g., “Not all textbooks are expensive items” is equivalent to “Some textbooks are not expensive items.