Translating an English sentence into predicate logic
I have a question where I was given the following atomic propositions:
Let H(x) = x can ski
Let P(x) = x plays soccer
Note: The universe of discourse is all humans
I was tasked to translate the following sentence logically:
No one who can ski plays soccer
I came up with two solutions for this sentence and I'm unsure if one is considered more correct:
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∀x(¬(P(x)∧H(x))
∀x (H(x) -> ~p(x))
2 Answers
$\begingroup$Your second sentence can be rescued by removing the negation at the beginning: $$\forall x (H(x)\to\neg P(x)).$$ This translates to, For every person, if they ski, they don't play soccer. This is equivalent in English to saying that nobody who skis plays soccer.
$\endgroup$ 5 $\begingroup$According to my professor the following are equivalent ways to express no one who can ski plays soccer in logic.
¬∃xH(x) ∧ P(x)
≡ ∀x¬(H(x) ∧ P(x)) De Morgan's Law
≡ ∀x(¬H(x) ∨ ¬P(x)) De Morgan's Law
≡ ∀x(H(x) → ¬P(x)) Implication Relation
≡ ∀x(P(x) → ¬H(x)) Contrapositive
Thus, both my proposed options in the current version of this question are correct!
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