Which one of the following statements can be true?

Hans March 28, 2017

Not necessarily true?

Why is it that not necessarily true can not be true. Seems to me that something that is not necessarily true could be true. Thank you

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Mehran April 1, 2017

@Hans "not necessarily true" is the logical opposite of "must be true."

So "not necessarily true" means there is a possibility that the statement does not have to be true.

This is different from the concept of "could be true," which means that it is possible that the statement is true.

The logical opposite of "could be true" is "cannot be true."

Make sure you watch the True v. False section of our Intro to Logical Reasoning video lesson (available for free in-app and online) for a more in-depth discussion of these concepts.

Hope that helps! Please let us know if you have any other questions.

Anca-Soric July 4, 2018

I don't understand why must be true is not the correct answer.

Christopher July 6, 2018

@Anca-Soric, the stimulus is that something "can be true." That means it's possible that it be true or "could be true." Just because something "can be true" does not mean that it IS true or "must be true." Does that help?