Four younger brothers

Question

Hi teachers,If I am the oldest of five siblings.  Peter, Matt, Jon, Luke.  Is the following correct?Peter =  my fourth youngest brotherMatt = my third youngest brotherJon =  my second / next youngest brotherLuke = my youngest brotherThank youTN

GPY · Accepted Answer

tinanam0102Peter = my fourth youngest brotherMatt = my third youngest brotherJon = my second / next youngest brotherLuke = my youngest brother

Apart from the last, I find these confusing.

There are lots of possible ways to explain this. One possiblity: "I'm the oldest of five siblings. My brother Peter is the next oldest, followed by Matt, Jon, and lastly Luke."

Anonymous Peter is younger than me, Matt is on 3rd place, Jon is younger than Matt and Luke is the youngest

"Matt is in third place"
"Peter is younger than me" is true, but it does not explicitly say where Peter lies in the order.

Tinanam0102 · Answer

Hi GPY,

This is from a book 'walk with me'. I'm a little bit confused by their order. (Can you call this order? or what do you call it?)

The oldest is Mark. Mark refers to his younger brothers in several events as follows:
Mark and Matthew are 5 years apart
My younger brother Peter
My next youngest brother Jon
My other younger brothers, Matthew and Luke. They were too young at the time.
My baby brother Luke.

Thank for your help again.
TN

GPY · Answer

I'm sorry, I cannot really understand what question you are asking. Are you asking whether it is possible to determine the birth order of the siblings from this collection of statements and phrases?

Tinanam0102 · Answer

Hi GPY,

Yes, the birth order of the siblings. When Mark (the oldest) said his next youngest brother Jon, does that mean Jon is in fourth place, with Luke being the baby brother?

Mark, Peter, Matthew, Jon, Luke

Thanks
TN

GPY · Answer

"next youngest" is relative to someone already mentioned. Normally it would be relative to the person most recently mentioned. Your phrases and statements appear to have been extracted from a longer text. Without seeing the full text, as originally written, it is hard to make a definite judgement, but, on the face of it, "next youngest" seems to be saying that Jon is next in order after Peter.

It is not possible to determine the full order from those phrases and statements in a way that is completely logically watertight. However, my guess would be Mark, Peter, Jon, Matthew, Luke.

BarbaraPA · Answer

Certainly Matthew and Luke were the youngest two, and it says Luke was the baby.
I'm not clear on the Peter/Jon order.

GPY · Answer

BarbaraPACertainly Matthew and Luke were the youngest two, and it says Luke was the baby.

Of course, being pedantic, we cannot rule out the possibility that they are both babies, and in particular that they are twins.

Anonymous · Answer

tinanam0102The oldest is Mark. Mark refers to his younger brothers in several events as follows:Mark and Matthew are 5 years apartMy younger brother PeterMy next youngest brother JonMy other younger brothers, Matthew and Luke. They were too young at the time.My baby brother Luke.

I've just tried to make the maths here but got lost. In my opinion, it doesn't make sense.

Tinanam0102 · Answer

Hi everyone,

I think I understand the sequence of the births now. According to GPY: "next youngest" is relative to someone already mentioned. Normally it would be relative to the person most recently mentioned.

Mark is the oldest. Then he mentioned Peter (my younger brother), and then he mentioned Jonathan and called him, (my next youngest). Then he went on to describe his relationship with Matthew and Luke. He talked about Matthew first and then he said my baby brother Luke.

Mark, Peter, Jon, Matthew, Luke. Do you think I got it this time?

Thanks
TN

Fivejedjon · Answer

tinanam0102If I am the oldest of five siblings. Peter, Matt, Jon, Luke. Is the following correct?Peter = my fourth youngest brother Matt = my third youngest brother Jon = my second / next youngest brother Luke = my youngest brother

I am going to throw a spanner in the works by saying that I don't agree with GPY's ordering of "Mark, Peter, Jon, Matthew, Luke."

If you are Mark, then you must be first (if you are working in descending order) or last (if you are working in ascending order. If you are going in descending order, then Luke must be the last to be named. If you are going in ascending order, then Luke must be the first.

After this, you have confused the issue by saying that you (Mark?) are the oldest and Peter is the fourth youngest.

From the information you have given in the words I quoted above, all we can be certain about is that you are the oldest and Luke is the youngest. If Luke is the (first) youngest brother, then the ascending order seems to be: Luke, Jon,, Matt, Peter, You (Mark). The descending order is therefore: You (Mark), Peter, Matt, John, Luke.

Four younger brothers

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