Consider two Statements and four Conclusions given below. You have to take the Statements to be true even if they seem to be at variance from the commonly known facts. Read all Conclusions and then decide which of the given Conclusion(s) logically follows/follow from the Statements, disregarding the commonly known facts.
- Statement-1: Some greens are blues.
- Statement-2: Some blues are blacks.
- Conclusion-1: Some greens are blacks.
- Conclusion-2: No green is black.
- Conclusion-3: All greens are blacks.
- Conclusion-4: All blacks are greens.
Which one of the following is correct?
Answer & explanation
Answer: (d) Neither Conclusion 1 nor 2 nor 3 nor 4
Two 'some' statements joined only through blues give no definite link between greens and blacks. None of the four conclusions follows on its own; at most, 1 and 2 form an either-or pair, which no option offers.
- Both statements are particular ('some') and meet only in blues, so no definite relation between greens and blacks can be drawn.
- Conclusion-1 and Conclusion-2 are each possible, but neither is certain.
- Conclusions 3 and 4 ('all') cannot come from 'some' premises.
- None follows. (1 and 2 together make an either-or pair, but option (a) claims both follow, which is impossible.)
- ✗ Conclusion-1 Greens and blacks may or may not overlap; nothing forces it.
- ✗ Conclusion-2 A diagram with some greens being blacks fits the statements, so 'no green is black' is not certain.
- ✗ Conclusion-3 An 'all' conclusion cannot follow from two 'some' statements.
- ✗ Conclusion-4 Likewise, nothing says every black is green.
Remember · Two particular ('some') premises never give a definite conclusion; use the either-or rule only when an option offers 'either … or'.
Question and answer: UPSC's official GS Paper II (2021, Series A) — paper ↗ · answer key ↗. Explanation: Minimalist IAS, checked 30 Sept 2026 (how we verify). ·