Two Signs Together?
“-” and “+”signs show two things:
- whether an integer is positive or negative
- whether the operation is add or subtract
When we do operations (like adding and subtracting) with integers we often end up with two signs next to each other. This can be confusing but the rules below can help:
+3 means positive three. 3 is the same as +3
We usually don’t say “positive” or write the + sign so you will not see two plus signs together very often.
Rules For Adding and Subtracting Positive and Negative Integers
| Combination | Hint | Signs |
| negative and a positive minus and a plus | Positively a negative | + – = – – + = – |
| negative and a negative minus and a minus | Not negative – so it’s positive | – – = + |
| positive and a positive plus and a plus | Positively positive | + + = + |
Examples of Combining Negative and Positive Signs
| This is … | … the same as this | … and it equals |
| -2 + (-3) | -2 – 3 | -5 |
| 6 – (+4) | 6 – 4 | 2 |
| -7 – (-5) | -7 + 5 | -2 |
| 8 + (+9) | 8 + 9 | 17 |
Integer Rules Practice Quiz
Try the short quiz below for some practice applying Integer Rules.
Adding and Subtracting Integers Worksheets
Use these two worksheets to practice applying the rules to the addition and subtraction of integers: