What he's saying is that 7/8 of his ties + 4 ties = all of his ties. 7/8x + 4 = x Thus, 4 is 1/8 of his ties. 4 = 1/8x So you simply multiply 4 by 8 to get 32 ties. 32 = x To check, plug 32 back into the original equation: 7/8(32) + 4 = (32) 28 + 4 = 32 It works! Hope that helps.