A shepherd had 17 sheep, and all but eight died. How many sheep was he left with alive?

Introduction / Context:
This question is a classic logical riddle often used in verbal reasoning. It is designed to test your careful reading skills rather than your calculation ability. The wording all but eight died can be misleading if read quickly, so the challenge is to interpret the phrase correctly and not overcomplicate the problem.

Given Data / Assumptions:

• The shepherd initially has 17 sheep.
• The statement all but eight died describes what happened to the flock.
• No new sheep are bought or born during this situation.
• The question asks how many sheep remain alive after this event.

Concept / Approach:
The central idea is to correctly interpret the phrase all but eight died. This does not mean all eight died; instead it means all of them died except eight of them. In other words, the number that did not die is eight. Once you understand this, there is no need for any arithmetic beyond reading comprehension. The answer is simply the number of sheep that did not die.

Step-by-Step Solution:
Step 1: Note the initial number of sheep: 17.Step 2: Understand the phrase all but eight died. This means every sheep except eight died.Step 3: Sheep that are still alive are exactly those that did not die.Step 4: Therefore, the number of sheep left alive is eight.Step 5: There is no need to subtract eight from 17 or perform any other calculation, because the phrase itself already expresses the remaining count.

Verification / Alternative check:
If you want to check, imagine labelling the sheep from 1 to 17. Suppose sheep 1 to 9 died and sheep 10 to 17 survived. That would be eight surviving sheep. Now read the phrase all but eight died: that expression matches the situation, because all of the sheep except eight (numbers 10 to 17) have died. This confirms that eight is the number of survivors and that the phrase does not instruct you to compute 17 minus 8.

Why Other Options Are Wrong:
17 would imply that none of the sheep died, which directly contradicts the statement that all but eight died.0 would mean that no sheep survived, but the words all but eight clearly indicate that some survived.9 and 7 come from incorrect arithmetic, such as misreading the phrase and computing 17 minus 8 or making another guess.

Common Pitfalls:
Many students automatically translate all but eight died into the calculation 17 minus 8, concluding that nine died or nine survived, depending on their misinterpretation. Others might think that all eight died and forget the phrase but. To avoid such traps, always rephrase the sentence in simpler language, for example all of the sheep died except eight. Once rephrased, the answer becomes obvious.

Final Answer:
The shepherd was left with 8 sheep alive.