A conditional statement has which form?

A conditional statement has which form?

• A. If p, then q
• B. If q, then p
• C. If not p, then not q
• D. If not q, then not p

Answer: (A)

The main idea is that a conditional statement expresses that the hypothesis p leads to the conclusion q. The standard form is “If p, then q,” meaning that whenever p is true, q follows. The other forms shift or negate parts: swapping p and q becomes the converse, which isn’t the same as the original conditional; negating both parts gives the inverse, which isn’t guaranteed by the original; and the contrapositive, “If not q, then not p,” is a statement that is logically equivalent to the original. So the familiar conditional form is exactly “If p, then q.”

The main idea is that a conditional statement expresses that the hypothesis p leads to the conclusion q. The standard form is “If p, then q,” meaning that whenever p is true, q follows. The other forms shift or negate parts: swapping p and q becomes the converse, which isn’t the same as the original conditional; negating both parts gives the inverse, which isn’t guaranteed by the original; and the contrapositive, “If not q, then not p,” is a statement that is logically equivalent to the original. So the familiar conditional form is exactly “If p, then q.”