I Had $3 My Mom Gave Me $10 Riddle

Question: I had $3.00. My mom gave me $10.00 while my dad gave me $30.00. My aunt and uncle gave me $100.00. I had another $5.00. How much did I have?

Solution: The correct answer is 8 dollars. If you read the question carefully, the question asked about your first money with “how much money Did I really have?”.

The money you had is 10 dollars. That is before your parents and relatives gave you additional money.

However, given that the logic and time of the tense is in the past, it is safe to assume that the question pertains to the money you had originally before you received external money from someone else.

Therefore, you had 3 dollars and another 5 dollars originally with you, which sums up to 8 dollars.

22 Replies to “I Had $3 My Mom Gave Me $10 Riddle”

  1. The issue with this answer is that gave is also past tense. And the question “how much did I have” does not specify that it refers to *originally*. That said, these riddles that go viral almost entirely depend on someone missing a grammar clue so it’s likely that they think it should mean prior to the money given.

    1. This is actually more of a literal conundrum than a numeric one. It can’t be solved with real Math since it’s riddled with assumptions, unless you assign numeric values to the actual words/tenses perhaps…

      If so, 8 is the correct literal interpretation, if the answer is based purely on grammatical absolutes or literal meanings…

      or is it? Perhaps…

      However, one could argue that the correct literal interpretation is 13, if the question is meant to be taken literally versus actually.

      key word = another

      “I had another $5.

      Wouldn’t you literally need to have “had $5” first, in order to have “had another $5 ?

      If so, you would literally have 13, instead of 8.

      3 + 5 + another5 = 13.

      I have $13.

      Definitely possible 😉

      1. Not necessarily,

        If my total for a piece of bacon was $6 and I handed the cashier $2 it was be totally logical for her to say “uhm, ma’am you owe me “another” ….. $4”

        Because it’s the green $ paper that I think one would be saying you owe me “another” four of .

        1. Sticking with your logic, She wouldn’t say “uhm, ma’am you owe me “another” ….. $4” because you only gave her 2 dollars,

    2. The issue with this answer is that gave is also past tense. And the question “how much did I have” does not specify that it refers to “originally”.
      (…)
      $10

    3. If she was referring to the total amount given to her, she would have said how much money “do” I have instead of “did”. So therefore the correct answer would be 8.

  2. The answer is 0.
    The question is how much does she have.
    She had 3 and she had 5
    She doesn’t have it now.
    I had a hundred dollars .. but i don’t have it now

  3. Also when this is the question the Answer can not be eight . It is $10.00
    I had $3.00.
    My Mom gave me $10.00.
    My Dad Gave me $30.00.
    My Aunt & Uncle gave me $100.00.
    I had another $7.00.
    How much did I have?

  4. The problem is that all the stages are or can be seen as past tense. We also are forced to assume a point in time that the question is asking “at”, which in a normal read would be the end but the “correct” answer claims is earlier. Its not a good riddle as “gave” is also past tense.

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