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Statement and Conclusions: Deciding What Definitely Follows

What 'follows' means • Restatements • 'Only' and 'unless' • Numerical statements • Either-or pairs

SSC Banking 📅 Last updated: 2026-10-24

In statement and conclusion questions you get a short statement and two or more conclusions. A conclusion follows only if it must be true whenever the statement is true. Anything that is merely likely, or that needs information the statement does not give, does not follow.

Treat the statement as true even if it sounds wrong, and do not use outside knowledge. A conclusion may say the same thing in different words; that still follows. A conclusion that adds a new idea, such as a cause, a prediction or a comparison the statement never made, does not.

With two conclusions, each either follows or does not, so there are 2 × 2 = 4 basic outcomes.

Many papers add 'either I or II follows', giving 5 answer choices in all.

Worked example 1: a restatement

'All the students of Class X passed the exam this year.' I. No student of Class X failed this year. II. The exam was easy.

I is the same fact in other words, so it follows. II offers a reason the statement never gives. Only I follows.

Most wrong conclusions fail in one of three ways: they predict what the statement does not, they explain why something happened, or they generalise beyond the statement with words like all, always or completely.

Worked example 2: a prediction too far

'Rainfall in the region was 40% below normal this monsoon.' I. The region received less rain than normal. II. Crops in the region will fail completely.

I follows directly. II predicts an outcome and adds the extreme word 'completely'. Only I follows.

Three small words decide many questions.

  • All A are B lets you apply B to any particular A. It cannot be reversed: not every B need be an A.
  • Only A can do X means anyone who did X is an A. It does not mean every A does X.
  • X unless Y means if Y does not happen, X happens. So at least one of X and Y must be true.

Worked example 3: an 'only' statement

'Only those with a valid pass are allowed into the stadium.' I. Ramesh, who was allowed in, has a valid pass. II. Everyone with a valid pass was allowed in.

I follows from the 'only' rule. II turns the statement round; some pass holders may have been refused for other reasons. Only I follows.

When the statement contains numbers, work out any percentage or comparison in a conclusion before judging it. A conclusion with the wrong base or a rounded figure does not follow.

Worked example 4: a percentage conclusion

'A shop sold 120 shirts in March and 150 in April.' I. Sales rose by 25% from March to April. II. The shop will sell 180 shirts in May.

The rise is 30 on a base of 120: 30 ÷ 120 × 100 = 25%, so I follows. II is a prediction. Only I follows.

Worked example 5: both follow

'The price of tomatoes doubled from ₹30 to ₹60 per kg within a week.' I. Tomatoes cost ₹60 per kg at the end of the week. II. The price rose by 100% in a week.

I is stated outright. For II, the rise is 30 on a base of 30, which is 100%. Both follow.

Choose 'either I or II' only when two conditions hold together: neither conclusion follows on its own, and the statement guarantees that at least one of them is true. The two conclusions usually concern the same subject and cover all the possibilities between them.

Worked example 6: either-or

'The train will leave on time unless the signal fails.' I. The train will leave on time. II. The signal will fail.

Neither is certain alone. But if the signal does not fail, the train leaves on time, so one of the two must happen. Either I or II follows.

If two conclusions merely sound opposite but the statement does not force one of them, the answer is 'neither', not 'either'.

  • ✘ Accepting a conclusion because it is likely or true in real life.
  • ✘ Reversing an 'all' or 'only' statement.
  • ✘ Using the wrong base in a percentage conclusion.
  • ✘ Choosing 'either-or' for any pair that sounds opposite.

Compare this topic with statement and assumptions, where restatements do not count, and with syllogism, which handles all/some/no statements with diagrams. For decision questions, see course of action.

Q1. Statement: 'All trains from Station X to Station Y run via Station Z.' Conclusions: I. A train going from X to Y passes through Z. II. Every train that passes through Z is going to Y. easy

✅ Answer: (a) Only I follows

💡 Explanation: I applies the 'all' statement to one train, so it follows. II reverses the statement: trains to other places may also pass through Z. Only I follows.

Q2. Statement: 'The number of visitors to a museum fell from 500 on Saturday to 400 on Sunday.' Conclusions: I. Visitors fell by 25% from Saturday to Sunday. II. Visitors fell by 20% from Saturday to Sunday. medium

✅ Answer: (b) Only II follows

💡 Explanation: The fall is 100 on a base of 500, which is 20%, so II follows. 25% divides by Sunday's 400 instead of the starting value, so I does not follow.

Q3. Statement: 'The prices of all vegetables in the market rose this week. Onions are sold in this market.' Conclusions: I. Onion prices in the market rose this week. II. Some items in the market became costlier this week. easy

✅ Answer: (c) Both follow

💡 Explanation: Onions are vegetables sold in this market, so their price rose: I follows. And since at least the vegetables became costlier, some items did: II follows too.

Q4. Statement: 'Many people in the city now prefer online shopping.' Conclusions: I. Shops in the city will close down. II. Online shopping is cheaper than shopping in stores. easy

✅ Answer: (d) Neither follows

💡 Explanation: The statement says nothing about shops closing or about prices. Both conclusions bring in ideas the statement does not contain, so neither follows.

Q5. Statement: 'Only members can borrow books from the club library. Anita borrowed a book from the club library.' Conclusions: I. Anita is a member of the club. II. Every member of the club borrows books. medium

✅ Answer: (a) Only I follows

💡 Explanation: 'Only members can borrow' means anyone who borrowed is a member, so I follows. It does not say that members must borrow, so II does not.

Q6. Statement: 'The match will be played today unless it rains.' Conclusions: I. The match will be played today. II. It will rain today. hard

✅ Answer: (c) Either I or II follows

💡 Explanation: Neither conclusion is certain on its own. But if it does not rain, the match is played, so at least one of the two must be true. That is the either-or case.

Should I use general knowledge to judge a conclusion?

No. Treat the statement as the only source of truth, even if it conflicts with what you know. A conclusion follows only if it can be derived from the statement itself; real-world facts that the statement does not contain are a common trap.

Does a conclusion that just restates the statement follow?

Yes. If a conclusion says the same thing in different words, it is certainly true whenever the statement is true, so it follows. This is the opposite of assumption questions, where a restatement is not an assumption.

All problems and solutions on this page are original. No outside facts are relied on; every numeric answer is recomputed by software before publishing.

How this page was prepared. Drafted with AI assistance (Claude (Anthropic AI model)) from the sources listed above. 6 calculations on this page were recomputed by software and matched. Automated checks also covered structure, internal links and duplicate text. Software checks cannot confirm facts. Reviewed by praveenkumar on 2026-10-24 against the sources listed above.

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