कथन और पूर्वधारणा

हिंदी में पढ़ें

Statement & Assumption

1. Outline & Learning Goals

By the end of this chapter, you will be able to:

• Understand what a Statement and an Assumption really mean.
• Identify whether an assumption is implicit (hidden inside the statement) or not.
• Spot the difference between an assumption and a conclusion.
• Avoid the 3 most common traps examiners set in SSC, Banking, Railway and State exams.
• Solve any Statement–Assumption question in under 40 seconds with a fixed method.

2. The Hook: The Invisible Sentence

Read this sentence:

> "The Principal announced: 'All students must wear the new uniform from Monday.'"

Now answer honestly — did the Principal *say* that students are able to buy the new uniform? No. Did he *say* that a new uniform exists? No.

But wait… if students could not get the new uniform, would his announcement make any sense? Never.

So even though he never said it, he assumed it. That invisible, unsaid sentence hiding behind his words — that is an Assumption. And finding it is the entire game of this chapter.

Every day, people around you speak half-sentences and assume the other half. Advertisers do it. Politicians do it. And in your exam, the paper-setter does it — and asks *you* to catch it.

3. The Common Struggle (You Are Not Alone)

Most students lose marks here for one simple reason: they use their heart instead of the statement.

They read: *"Buy Shine Soap for glowing skin"* and think — "Well, soap doesn't really make skin glow, so the assumption is false." Wrong approach! The question is not whether the assumption is *true in real life*. The question is whether the speaker believed it while making the statement.

The second struggle: students think "more assumptions = better answer." No. An assumption is valid only if the statement collapses without it. We will master this test soon.

Take a breath. This chapter has no formulas to memorise — only one skill to build: *reading the speaker's mind.*

4. Chunk 1: What Is a Statement? What Is an Assumption?

Statement (कथन): A sentence that declares something — an order, advice, suggestion, notice, or fact.

Assumption (पूर्वधारणा): Something the speaker takes for granted — accepts as true *before* speaking — without actually saying it.

Golden definition to remember:

> An assumption is the unsaid foundation on which the statement stands.

Example:

• Statement: "Join our coaching institute to clear SSC CGL."
• Assumption I: Coaching institutes help in clearing SSC CGL. ✅ (Implicit — the whole advertisement is built on this belief.)
• Assumption II: Our institute is the best in India. ❌ (Not implicit — the speaker never claimed to be the *best*; "best" is an extreme word.)

🧠 Active Recall: Without looking up, complete this: "An assumption is the _______ on which the statement _______." Now check. If you got it, move on. If not, re-read the golden definition once.

5. Chunk 2: The Collapse Test — Your Main Weapon

How do you check if an assumption is implicit? Use the Collapse Test (also called the Negation Test):

1. Take the assumption.
2. Negate it (make it opposite).
3. Ask: *Does the statement still make sense?*

• If the statement collapses / becomes meaningless → the assumption is implicit. ✅
• If the statement still survives → the assumption is not implicit. ❌

Example:

• Statement: "The teacher told the students, 'Submit your homework by Friday.'"
• Assumption: "Students are capable of submitting homework by Friday."
• Negate it: "Students are NOT capable of submitting by Friday." → Then why would the teacher give the deadline? The statement collapses. ✅ Implicit.

Counter-example:

• Assumption: "All students love homework."
• Negate it: "Students don't love homework." → Does the teacher's order collapse? No! Orders don't need love. ❌ Not implicit.

🧠 Active Recall: Statement — "Please switch off the fan when you leave." Test this assumption: "Someone will leave the room." Negate it. Does the request collapse? (Answer: Yes — if nobody leaves, the instruction is pointless. Implicit ✅)

6. Chunk 3: Assumption vs Conclusion — Don't Mix Them!

This confusion costs marks every year:

Memory trick: A comes before C — in the alphabet AND in logic. Assumption is the Ancestor (before); Conclusion is the Child (after).

Example:

• Statement: "It is raining heavily, so the match has been cancelled."
• Assumption (before): Heavy rain can disrupt a match. ✅
• Conclusion (after): The players will go home. (Possible, but that's a different chapter's job.)

🧠 Active Recall: Say the mnemonic aloud three times: *"A before C — Assumption is the Ancestor, Conclusion is the Child."*

7. Chunk 4: The 5 Types of Statements You Will See

Examiners build questions from these five moulds. Recognise the mould, and the assumption reveals itself:

Type 1 — Advertisement / Appeal:
"Buy X, use Y, join Z."
→ Hidden assumption: *People will respond to this appeal; the product/service actually delivers the promised benefit.*

Type 2 — Notice / Order / Instruction:
"Employees must reach office by 9:30 AM."
→ Hidden assumption: *The instruction can be followed; people generally obey such orders.*

Type 3 — Advice / Suggestion:
"You should practise daily to succeed."
→ Hidden assumption: *Practice leads to success; the advice will be taken seriously.*

Type 4 — Cause–Effect Statement:
"Due to fog, trains are running late."
→ Hidden assumption: *Fog affects train movement.*

Type 5 — Comparison / Claim:
"Our bike gives more mileage than any other bike."
→ Hidden assumption: *Mileage matters to buyers; such a comparison is possible.*

Notice the pattern? In every type, ask: "What must be true for the speaker to bother saying this?"

🧠 Active Recall: Cover the table above. Name the 5 types. (Advertisement, Notice, Advice, Cause–Effect, Comparison.) Uncover and check.

8. Chunk 5: Words That Almost Always Make an Assumption WRONG

The examiner hides poison in sweet words. When an assumption contains these, be suspicious:

• Extreme words: *only, all, always, never, best, completely, every, none*
• "Only our institute can make you successful." → "Only" is too extreme. Usually ❌.
• Words beyond the statement's scope: The statement talks about one school; the assumption talks about *all schools in India*. ❌
• Restating the statement: An assumption that just repeats the statement in new words is NOT an assumption — it's a paraphrase. ❌
• Moral judgements: "It is wrong to…", "One should never…" — unless the statement itself is moral, these are usually ❌.

Mnemonic — "EARS" for rejecting assumptions:

• Extreme words (only, all, best)
• Already stated (just repeats the statement)
• Remote / out of scope (goes far beyond the statement)
• Subjective judgement (moral opinions, likes/dislikes)

If an assumption has EARS, don't listen to it! 👂❌

🧠 Active Recall: What does each letter of EARS stand for? Write it on a rough sheet now — this is your first blurt.

9. Chunk 6: The 4-Step Solving Method (Use in Exam Hall)

Step 1 — Read the statement twice. Identify its type (advertisement, notice, advice…).

Step 2 — Ask the magic question: *"What did the speaker take for granted?"*

Step 3 — Apply the Collapse Test to each assumption: negate it. Statement dies → implicit. Statement survives → reject.

Step 4 — Run EARS on the survivors. Extreme, repeated, remote, or subjective? Reject.

Worked Example:
> Statement: The government has advised people to use public transport to reduce air pollution.
> Assumption I: People may follow the government's advice.
> Assumption II: Public transport is the only cause of reduced pollution.

• Step 2: The government assumes people will listen.
• Step 3: Negate I — "People will never follow advice." Then why advise? Collapse. ✅ I is implicit.
• Step 3+4: II has "only" (EARS — Extreme). Negate II — "Other measures also reduce pollution." Does the advice collapse? No, advising public transport still makes sense. ❌ II is not implicit.
• Answer: Only Assumption I is implicit.

🧠 Active Recall: Recite the 4 steps in order, eyes closed. Then write them once on paper.

10. Summary Table

📌 Review this chapter after 2 days. On review day: write the EARS mnemonic and the 4-step method from memory *before* re-reading. Whatever you forget — that is exactly what you re-read.

⚠️ Caution: Examiner's Trap

Trap 1 — The "Both Look Possible" Illusion:
The examiner writes two assumptions that *both* seem related to the statement. Only one passes the Collapse Test; the other is merely *possible*, not *necessary*. Remember: an assumption must be necessary for the statement, not just connected to it. When in doubt, negate both — the one whose negation kills the statement is your answer.

Trap 2 — Difficult / Fancy Words to Confuse You:
Statements dressed in heavy vocabulary ("The municipal corporation has promulgated a directive…") are just simple sentences in disguise. Translate the statement into your own simple words *first*, then hunt for the assumption. Never let a big word scare you into a wrong answer — the logic underneath is always Class-6 level.

Trap 3 — The Double-Relation Question:
Some questions hide a chain: Statement → Assumption → another mini-assumption. The examiner offers the *second-level* assumption as an option (e.g., statement about coaching → option about "every student wants a government job"). That deeper layer is usually remote (the R in EARS). Pick the assumption *closest* to the statement — the first brick of the foundation, not the basement.

Trap 4 — Your Real-Life Opinion:
You may personally disagree with a statement ("Cricketers should advertise paan masala"). Irrelevant! Judge only from the speaker's point of view. The moment you bring your own opinion into the exam hall, the examiner wins.