79 replies to this topic

[rookie1ja]

What is Correct - Back to the Cool Math Games
Is it correct that seven and five is thirteen or seven and five are thirteen?

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Spoiler for Solution

What is Correct - solution
Of course, adding seven to five makes twelve and not thirteen.

[ryan__]

no really any 1 who can add knows that u ****

[rookie1ja]

Just a little catch. Maybe there is someone who fell for it.

[warpath]

I don't really think it's a question entirely about math. Wouldn't the word "makes" or "equals" need to be in there to make you add? or "the sum of seven and five is..."

The words is and are imply a state of being which numbers by themselves do not have. To me the only way this statement makes sense is to say that seven and five are numbers of some kind of nouns. I guess they would be pronouns in the statement. And 13 is another sort of designation.

Apples and oranges are fruit.

That being said I didn't see it as asking me to add the numbers together. I saw them as seperate objects. Maybe 13 year old students (wouldn't that be about right for the age group of this sort of question?)

Seven and five are thirteen.

Seven is thirteen
Five is thirteen

Seven and five equal twelve...
The sum of seven and five is twelve...

Also, another point. The information given by the question supports my logic. I just made up my own story as to how either statement could be correct. To me it asks which statement is correct. Not if 7+5=13.

If I had a teacher ask my kid this, then tell him he was wrong because he answered "ARE" I would be pretty pissed.

This question is probably why half of people that speak english say "apples IS good" instead of "apples ARE good"

[rookie1ja]

To warpath:
Good point. You can have a look at the other puzzles as well and correct the terrible English since I am not a native speaker.

[warpath]

To warpath:
Good point. I have amended the puzzle accordingly. You can have a look at the other puzzles as well and correct the terrible English since I am not a native speaker.

I was asked this question as a youth, and you did nothing wrong in the wording. It just a trick in more than one way. I eventually was able to explain why I said the correct statement was seven and five are thirteen to my teacher. I am pretty sure my teacher worded it exacttly like you did before, maybe it had different numbers. After some embarassment due to being made fun of by other kids.

I just found it to be a grammar question and not a math one. An english teacher asked me this.

I think it needs to be worded with is and are like it was before.

[sameer_info2003]

kindly provide answer

[comperr]

A a linguist I have to say that you got this one wrong. Just because something is not true does not make it incorrect grammar and vice versa:

The sky [is | are] red.
The answer is "is" despite the statement being incorrect.

[Tap_521]

tricky tricky! have to use that one on my math teacher! hehehe good one!

[larryhl]

kindly provide answer

the answer is neither because seven plus five is twelve. and correct english is "seven and five is twelve." well, even if it isn't "correct," that is the colloquial way of saying it. why? because we say seven plus five IS twelve, so why would you say seven and five are twelve? it just sounds weird.