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Exercise 1160Logic, sets and proofs › Quantifiers and negationL1Added 3 Nov 2026

Negating nested quantifiers

#negation#nested quantifiers#forall exists

Statement

Negate the statement: ∀ε>0, ∃N∈N, ∀n≥N, ∣un−ℓ∣<ε\forall\varepsilon>0,\ \exists N\in\mathbb{N},\ \forall n\ge N,\ |u_n-\ell|<\varepsilon. Interpret the negation.

Hint

Apply the negation rules layer by layer: ¬∀→∃\neg\forall\to\exists, ¬∃→∀\neg\exists\to\forall, and negate the innermost inequality.

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Solution

Negation.
∃ε>0, ∀N∈N, ∃n≥N, ∣un−ℓ∣≥ε.\exists\varepsilon>0,\ \forall N\in\mathbb{N},\ \exists n\ge N,\ |u_n-\ell|\ge\varepsilon.

Interpretation. There is some ε>0\varepsilon>0 such that, no matter how far we go, some term of the sequence is at distance ≥ε\ge\varepsilon from ℓ\ell. This is exactly the definition of "(un)(u_n) does not converge to ℓ\ell".

Conclusion. The negation captures non-convergence to ℓ\ell.