Language of Subtraction Sign
Difference in Meaning and Saying
Think about the subtraction sign (-). What does it mean?
Write down all the words you can think of that have the same meaning as the subtraction sign.
Share your words with a classmate. Write down different words you hear.
Now, write the ways people say this sign in a math equation.
One-Word Way to say the Subtraction Sign
The word “minus” is the only one-word way to say the subtraction sign for a math equation.
For example,
9 – 5 = 4 is said as, “nine minus five equals four”.
23 – 15 = 8 “23 minus 15 is 8”.
Your Turn — Practice using the word “minus” for the subtraction sign (-)
Phrases to say the Subtraction Sign
Phrases have more than one word.
Phrases that keep the same number order as the written subtraction problem
There are two common phrases to say a subtraction equation. The first one is:
- subtracted by
For example,
14 – 8 = 6 is said as, “14 subtracted by 8 equals 6”
78 – 54 = 24 “78 subtracted by 54 is 24”
Your Turn — Practice using the phrase “subtracted by” in subtraction equations.
The next phrase is very common with children learning to subtract. Many elementary school teachers use the phrase “take away” for the first subtraction lessons. Adults also use this phrase in casual conversations.
For example:
10 – 8 = 2 is said as, “10 take away 8 equals 2”
12 – 8 = 4 “12 take away 8 is 4”
Your Turn — Practice using the phrase “take away” in a subtraction equation
Before we continue with another phrase, let’s identify the parts of a subtraction operation.
For example:
11 – 4
These two numbers must be in order.
The first number, 11, is called the “minuend”. The minuend is the first number in a subtraction operation. It is the number that will be subtracted from.
The second number, 4, is called the “subtrahend”. The subtrahend is the second number in a subtraction operation. It is the number that will be taken away from the minuend.
Phrases that reverse the number order of the written subtraction problem
Writing a subtraction operation in numbers requires that the minuend is first and the subtrahend is the second number.
In language, it is possible to talk about the subtrahend first.
For example,
11 – 4 can be said as, “four subtracted from 11”.
It cannot be written as, 4 – 11. This is incorrect.
Did you notice the phrase “subtracted from”?
Let’s look at a couple of examples.
14 – 5 = 9 can be said as, “5 subtracted from 14 equals 9”
13 – 7 = 6 is said as, “7 subtracted from 13 is 6”
54 – 17 = 37 “17 subtracted from 54 is equal to 37”
Your Turn — Practice using the phrase “subtracted from” in a subtraction equation
A second two-word phrase also reverses the subtraction numbers.
- taken from
For example:
32 – 28 = 4 can be said as, “28 taken from 32 is 4”
12 – 7 = 5 can be said as, “7 taken from 12 equals 5”
Your Turn — Practice using the phrase “taken from” in a subtraction equation
The third and final phrase said with the subtraction sign has three words in it. It is, “taken away from”.
For example:
13 – 6 = 7 can be said as, “6 taken away from 13 equals 7”.
21 – 11 = 10 can be said as, 11 taken away from 21 is 10″.
Your Turn–Practice using the phrase “taken away from” in a subtraction equation
We will learn about other phrases in the Word Problems section later in this book.
Summary:
- The subtraction symbol ( – ) can be said many ways.
- The order of the numbers is the same as written problem.
- with one word
- minus
- two-word phrases
- subtracted by
- take away
- with one word
- The order of the numbers in a written problem can be reversed with phrases using the word “from”.
- subtracted from
- taken from
- taken away from
- The order of the numbers is the same as written problem.
