The general rules regarding
terms are:
- (1) Only three terms may appear in the syllogism, each of which is used in the same sense throughout the argument.
- (2) Neither the major nor minor term may be a universal in the conclusion, if it was only a particular term in the premises.
- (3) The middle term may not appear in the conclusion.
- (4) The middle term must be distributed at least once in the premises, that is, used as a universal
The general rules of quantity and quality are:
- (5) If both premises are affirmative, the conclusion must also be affirmative.
- (6) Both premises may not be negative; one at least must be affirmative.
- (7) If either premise is negative, the conclusion must be negative; if one of the premises is a particular proposition, the conclusion must be a particular proposition.
- (8) No conclusion can be drawn from two particular premises; one at least must be a universal proposition.