Mr Smith had 4 daughters

Here is a riddle that can be a bit tricky, so think carefully before looking at the answer.

Mr Smith had 4 daughters, each daughter had a brother. How many children does Mr Smith have?

The answer to the riddle «Mr Smith had 4 daughters, each daughter had a brother. How many children does Mr Smith have?» is quite simple, but it is important to know that this puzzle plays on the meaning of words.

Mr smith had 4 daughter answer

In this riddle, the word ‘had’ is of great significance. It is an interesting puzzle game that plays around with people’s minds and by tricking people’s perception of words.

If emphasized on the word ‘had’, then it means that Mr Smith currently does not have any kids. The sentence is formed in past-tense which confirms that Mr Smith does not have any kids now.
On the other hand, there is another version of the riddle that changes the answer completely.

«Mr Smith has 4 daughters. Each of his daughters has a brother. How many children does Mr Smith have?»

In this riddle, the sentence is formed in the present tense, which ensures that Mr Smith currently has all his children with him. If each sister has a brother, Mr Smith has a total of five children.
This is easy as each daughter has the same brother.

This riddle confuses people with the use of words and sentence formation.


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