DeducePuzzlesONE-ANSWER DAILY REASONING
Syllogism · only a few

Only a few syllogism questions — the two-part rule, with verified practice

Only a few syllogism questions use the statement “Only a few A are B”, which makes two claims at once: some A are B, and some A are not B. So “Some A are B” and “Some A are not B” both follow, while “All A are B” is definitely false and even “All A being B is a possibility” does not follow.

“Only a few” arrived in the new-pattern syllogism sets of IBPS and SBI papers and now appears in most mains-level sets. It is easy marks once the two-part meaning is automatic, and a trap when it is read as a plain “some”: the hidden “some are not” half is exactly what the wrong options rely on you forgetting. Start with the basic syllogism rules if the four standard statements are not yet second nature.

How to solve only a few syllogism questions, step by step

  1. Split the statement into its two halves

    Rewrite “Only a few A are B” as two lines before you draw anything: “Some A are B” and “Some A are not B”. Every later step works on these two ordinary statements, which you already know how to handle.

  2. Draw both regions as definitely occupied

    Draw A overlapping B, then mark two regions as non-empty: the part of A inside B, and the part of A outside B. Unlike a plain “some”, the diagram where A sits wholly inside B is not allowed.

  3. Chain each half separately

    Take the next statement and combine it with each half on its own. With “All B are C”, the inside half gives “Some A are C”. With “No B are C”, the inside half gives “Some A are not C”.

  4. Strike out the universal and its possibility

    Because some A are definitely not B, “All A are B” can never be true, so it does not follow and nor does “All A being B is a possibility”. “No A are B” fails too, because some A definitely are B.

  5. Check an “only a few” conclusion against both halves

    When the conclusion itself says “Only a few A are C”, it follows only if “Some A are C” AND “Some A are not C” are both definite from the statements. One definite half is not enough.

What an only a few statement proves

What an only a few statement proves
StatementsWhat follows
Only a few A are BSome A are B · Some A are not B · Some B are A
Only a few A are BNot “All A are B”, not “No A are B”, not “All A being B is a possibility”
Only a few A are B · All B are CSome A are C (the A inside B is inside C)
Only a few A are B · No B are CSome A are not C (the A inside B is outside C)
All A are B · Only a few B are CSome C are B — but nothing definite between A and C

Practise only a few syllogism right now

Every question below was generated by the same engine that mints the DeducePuzzles daily puzzle, and machine-proven to have exactly one correct answer before it reached this page. The walkthrough is the engine's own, step for step.

Question 1

Take the three statements to be true even if they differ from commonly known facts, then decide which conclusion logically follows.

Statements: Some orchids are not flowers. All flowers are marigolds. Some marigolds are lotuses.

Conclusion I: Some orchids are marigolds.

Conclusion II: Only a few orchids are flowers.

  1. Only conclusion I follows
  2. Only conclusion II follows
  3. Either conclusion I or II follows
  4. Neither conclusion I nor II follows
  5. Both conclusions I and II follow
Show the worked solution
  1. Conclusion I ("Some orchids are marigolds") need not follow — the statements allow a situation where it is false.
  2. Conclusion II ("Only a few orchids are flowers") need not follow — the statements allow a situation where it is false.
  3. So neither conclusion follows.

Question 2

Take the three statements to be true even if they differ from commonly known facts, then decide which conclusion logically follows.

Statements: Some dogs are not cats. No horses are dogs. Only a few cows are horses.

Conclusion I: All dogs being horses is a possibility.

Conclusion II: Some horses are cows.

  1. Only conclusion I follows
  2. Only conclusion II follows
  3. Either conclusion I or II follows
  4. Neither conclusion I nor II follows
  5. Both conclusions I and II follow
Show the worked solution
  1. Conclusion I ("All dogs being horses is a possibility") does not follow — no situation the statements allow makes it true.
  2. Conclusion II ("Some horses are cows") is true in every situation the statements allow.
  3. So only conclusion II follows.

Question 3

Take the three statements to be true even if they differ from commonly known facts, then decide which conclusion logically follows.

Statements: No painters are writers. No artists are painters. Only a few players are artists.

Conclusion I: No writers are artists.

Conclusion II: Some writers are players.

  1. Only conclusion I follows
  2. Only conclusion II follows
  3. Either conclusion I or II follows
  4. Neither conclusion I nor II follows
  5. Both conclusions I and II follow
Show the worked solution
  1. Conclusion I ("No writers are artists") need not follow — the statements allow a situation where it is false.
  2. Conclusion II ("Some writers are players") need not follow — the statements allow a situation where it is false.
  3. So neither conclusion follows.
Play today's puzzle free — no sign-up →

Common mistakes

Reading “only a few” as a plain “some”

A plain “Some A are B” allows every A to be B. “Only a few” forbids that. Treat the two as the same and you will wrongly accept “All A being B is a possibility”, a favourite distractor.

Chaining the wrong half

Only the half inside B carries forward through a statement about B. The half outside B says nothing about C at all, so “Only a few A are B · All B are C” gives no “Some A are not C”.

Accepting an “only a few” conclusion on one half

If the statements prove “Some A are C” but leave open whether every A is C, the conclusion “Only a few A are C” does not follow. Both halves must be forced.

Keep the streak going

One puzzle a day, timed on the server, with a national and state leaderboard and a streak that survives as long as you do. Practising a topic once is worth little; the aspirants who move are the ones who show up daily. See what DeducePuzzles does or read the rules first.

Start your streak free →

FAQ

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, both at once. It is stronger than “some”, because it rules out the case where every A is B, and stronger than “some are not”, because it rules out the case where no A is B.

Does “only a few A are B” give “some B are A”?

Yes. Its first half, “Some A are B”, reverses safely to “Some B are A”. Its second half, “Some A are not B”, does not reverse — it tells you nothing about whether some B are not A.

Is “all A being B is a possibility” true after an only a few statement?

No. The statement guarantees that some A are outside B, so there is no diagram in which every A is inside B. With no such diagram, the possibility conclusion does not follow.

How are only a few questions different in the exam?

They mostly appear in mains-level sets with three statements and four terms, mixed with ordinary statements. The method does not change: split “only a few” into its two halves, then solve the rest exactly as a standard syllogism.

Practise the next topic

DeducePuzzles is not affiliated with IBPS, SBI, SSC or RBI.