Subtraction Word Problems Notes & Questions | Class 4 Mathematics | Drishti OS

Subtraction Word Problems

What you'll learn

Spot subtraction situations in real-life stories: "left over", "sold", "used", "removed", "empty seats".
Translate a word problem into a subtraction number sentence.
Solve multi-step problems that combine subtraction with simple addition.

Key concepts

Level 1 — Keywords that signal subtraction

Verbal: Words like left, remaining, more than, fewer, difference, sold, spent, empty usually mean subtract.

Keyword	Meaning
"left" / "remaining"	total − used
"how many more"	bigger − smaller
"empty seats"	capacity − filled

Level 2 — One-step word problems

Example: A cinema hall has 1,250 seats. 875 tickets are sold. How many seats are empty? 1,250 − 875 = 375 empty seats.

Level 3 — Two-step word problems

Example: A shop had 2,000 pens. It sold 640 pens on Monday and 385 on Tuesday. How many pens are left? Step 1: Total sold = 640 + 385 = 1,025. Step 2: Left = 2,000 − 1,025 = 975 pens.

Level 4 — Comparison word problems

Example: Village A has 4,832 people and Village B has 3,910 people. How many more people live in Village A? 4,832 − 3,910 = 922 more people.

Worked example

A stadium can seat 8,500 people. 6,275 tickets have been sold. How many seats are still empty?

Step 1 — Identify the operation: capacity − sold = empty → subtraction.
Step 2 — Set up: 8,500 − 6,275.
Step 3 — Subtract with regrouping: 8,500 − 6,275 = 2,225.
Answer: 2,225 seats are empty.

Common mistakes

Mistake	Why it happens	Fix
Adding instead of subtracting	Not reading the question carefully	Underline the keyword ("left", "empty", "more") before choosing the operation
Subtracting in the wrong order (smaller − bigger)	Rushing to calculate	Always subtract the smaller total from the bigger total for "how many more"
Forgetting a step in two-step problems	Trying to solve in one jump	Write down each step separately before combining
Misreading large numbers	Skipping the comma while reading	Read the number aloud using place value before using it

Quick check

A library has 3,600 books; 1,845 are borrowed. How many are on the shelf? (1,755)
Town X has 5,430 people, Town Y has 4,675. How many more in Town X? (755)
A farmer had 4,000 mangoes, sold 1,250 on day 1 and 980 on day 2. How many are left? (1,770)
A shop had 900 notebooks, sold 275 in the morning. How many are left in the afternoon? (625)
Stretch: A train has 1,200 seats. 640 people boarded at the first stop and 275 more at the second stop. How many seats remain? (285)

Revision tip: For every word problem, first write the number sentence (e.g. 8,500 − 6,275 = ?) before calculating.

Open the Practice tab for graded questions on Subtraction Word Problems.

Subtraction Word Problems