When translating English into quantified formulas, when should I use an implication and when should I use a conjunction?

173 Views Asked by At

English statement:

Somebody in your class is a zombie.

Assuming the domain of $x$ is all people, should this be:

$$\exists x ( C(x) \land Z(x))$$

or

$$\exists x (C(x) \rightarrow Z(x))$$

My guess would be the first one, but when the sentence changes to

All people in your class are zombies.

My guess changes to

$$\forall x (C(x) \rightarrow Z(x))$$

Are my choices correct?

1

There are 1 best solutions below

2
On BEST ANSWER

Yes, your first existential choice is correct (as is your universal choice).

The other existential choice, "$\exists x (C(x) \to Z(x))$", is equivalent to the statement "there exists someone who is either not in your class or is a zombie", which would be true, for example, as long as there existed someone somewhere who is not in your class (even if none of your actual classmates were zombies).