The Conditional

and Related
Statements
MS. MARIE SHANNE F. MARIANO, LPT.
Equivalent Forms of the Conditional
A conditional statement can stated in many equivalent forms. The
table below gives some of the equivalent statements that can be used
to state a conditional statement.
Example

Write the following in “If 𝑝, then 𝑞” statement.

1. A number is divisible by 3, only if the sum of its
digits is divisible by 3.
➢ If the sum of its digits of a number is divisible by
3, then the number is divisible by 3.
2. Every square is a quadrilateral.
➢ If it is a square, then it is a quadrilateral.
The Converse, the Inverse, and the
Contrapositive
There are three statements related to
conditional statements. These are the converse,
the inverse, and the contrapositive.
Definition. Let 𝑝 and 𝑞 are statements. Then the
following are the statements related to 𝑝 → 𝑞.
1. The converse of 𝑝 → 𝑞 is 𝑞 → 𝑝.
2. The inverse of 𝑝 → 𝑞 is ∼ 𝑝 →∼ 𝑞.
3. The contrapositive of 𝑝 → 𝑞 is∼ 𝑞 →∼ 𝑝.
Example

Write the converse, inverse, and contrapositive of

If 𝑆 is a square, then 𝑆 is a rectangle.

Solution.
1. Converse: If 𝑆 is a rectangle, then 𝑆 is a square.
2. Inverse: If 𝑆 is not a square, then 𝑆 is a not a
rectangle.
3. Contrapositive: If 𝑆 is not a rectangle, then 𝑆 is not
a square.
 All three related statements of the conditional statement
𝑝 → 𝑞 are not all equivalent to 𝑝 → 𝑞. However, using the
truth table for each related statements, it can be verified
that some of them are related to one another. These are
the following.

Remark 9. Let 𝑝 and 𝑞 are statements. Then the following

hold:
1. 𝑝 → 𝑞 ≡∼ 𝑞 →∼ 𝑝; and
2. ∼ 𝑝 →∼ 𝑞 ≡ 𝑞 → 𝑝.
Example
Determine whether each pair of statements are equivalent.
1. If you see a man and a woman holding each others hands,
then are they are in a relationship with each other.
If the man and a woman are not in a relationship with each
other, then they are not holding each other’s hands.
2. If 3𝑥 = 15, then 𝑥 = 5.
If 3𝑥 ≠ 15, then 𝑥 ≠ 5
Solution.
1. The second statement is the innverse of the first statement.
By Remark 9, they are not equivalent.
2. The second statement is the inverse of the first statement.
They are not equivalent, in view of Remark 9.