Which form is universal negative?

• A. A
• B. I
• C. O
• D. No S are P

Answer: (D)

Universal negative is the statement that none of the members of the subject class belong to the predicate class. It claims something about every S, and it denies membership in P. That is exactly what “No S are P” expresses—the S group has zero overlap with P.

Think of S as cats and P as dogs: “No cats are dogs” says that every cat is not a dog. This differs from the other forms: universal affirmative would be “All S are P,” particular affirmative would be “Some S are P,” and particular negative would be “Some S are not P.” The universal negative uniquely uses a universal scope with negation.