What is Modus Ponens in GMAT?

Q: What is Modus Ponens in GMAT?

Valid inference: If A then B; A; therefore B. Modus ponens is a fancy Latin name for the most natural chain of reasoning you already use every day. It says: if you know "if it rains, the ground gets wet," AND you know "it's raining," then you can be certain "the ground is wet." The idea is that once a rule and its trigger are both true, the conclusion is guaranteed, no exceptions. It's the gold standard of a valid argument: if the premises are true, the conclusion simply has to be true too.

Modus Ponens

GMAT glossary · Verbal Reasoning

Definition

Valid inference: If A then B; A; therefore B.

Modus Ponens in plain English

Modus ponens is a fancy Latin name for the most natural chain of reasoning you already use every day. It says: if you know "if it rains, the ground gets wet," AND you know "it's raining," then you can be certain "the ground is wet." The idea is that once a rule and its trigger are both true, the conclusion is guaranteed, no exceptions. It's the gold standard of a valid argument: if the premises are true, the conclusion simply has to be true too.

Related GMAT terms

Argument
Assumption
Combination
Conditional
Contrapositive
Correlation
Factor
Function
Inductive Argument
Modus Tollens

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