A "misplaced else" error in this C++ program

Question

I cannot seem to fix the "misplaced else" error in the code below. This code should collect and compute for term grades and give remarks depending on the score.

#include <conio.h>
#include <stdio.h>

main()
{
    char name[20];
    int exam, q1, q2, q3, ass, sw, att, avgq, CS, TG;
    clrscr();
    printf("Name: ");
    gets(name);
    printf("\nExam: ");
    scanf("%d", &exam);
    printf("\nQuiz #1: ");
    scanf("%d", &q1);
    printf("\nQuiz #2: );
    scanf("%d", &q2);
    printf("\nQuiz #3: ");
    scanf("%d", &q3);
    printf("\nAssignment: ");
    scanf("%d", &ass);
    printf("\nSeatwotk: ");
    scanf("%d", &sw);
    printf("\nAttendance: ");
    scanf("%d", &att);
    CS = (0.4*ass) + (0.4*sw) + (0.2*att);  // class standing //
    avgq = (q1 + q2 + q3)/3;  // Average quiz //
    TG = (0.4*exam) + (0.3*avgq) + (0.3*CS);  // Term grade //
    if(TG >= 90)
       printf("Term Grade: %d", TG);
       printf("Remarks: EXCELLENT");
    else if (TG>=80 && TG<=89)
       printf("Term Grade: %d", TG);
       printf("Remarks: SATISFACTORY");
    else if (TG>=76 && TG<=79)
       printf("Term Grade: %d", TG);
       printf("Remarks: GOOD");
    else if (TG == 75)
       printf("Term Grade: %d", TG);
       printf("Remarks: PASSING");
    else if (TG<74)
       printf("Term Grade: %d", TG);
       printf("Remarks: FAILED");
    else
       printf("Invalid Input.  Try again");
    getch();
    return 0;
}

You need to add braces `{}` for each of your `if` blocks. Your code is horribly broken without them. C++ doesn't scope based on indentation like Python. ***NEVER OMIT CURLY BRACES FROM YOUR CODE.*** — Carcigenicate, Jul 29 '17 at 23:38
A candidate (2013—though not canonical (there must be some from 2008 or 2009)): *[Why do I get a compiling error that says error: ‘else’ without a previous ‘if’?](https://stackoverflow.com/questions/17587875/)* — Peter Mortensen, May 13 '22 at 16:11
Related (about mitigation. Canonical): *[What's the purpose of using braces (i.e. {}) for a single-line if or loop?](https://stackoverflow.com/questions/12193170/)* — Peter Mortensen, May 13 '22 at 16:13

score 1 · Answer 1 · edited May 13 '22 at 16:05

Uh oh! Noob alert! Just kidding; we all have to start somewhere ;)

So do not worry, fair maiden! The problem lies here:

When you declare an if statement, you must encompass the body of the if statement with curly braces. If you don't do that, only the first line below the if statement will be run. Here's an example:

// Here, both do something 1 and do something 2 are being run in the 'if' statement
if (something) {
    do something 1;
    do something 2;
}

// Here, only do something 1 will get run inside the 'if' statement
if (something)
    do something 1;
    do something 2;

So back to your problem. You must put curly braces {} around the code in an if statement if the if statement body consists of more than one line.

if (something)
    do something 1;
    do something 2;
else
    do something 3;

is equivalent to

if (something)
    do something 1;
do something 2;
else do something 3;

That is why your else statement throws an error. Each else must have an if before it.

Thanks this worked! It wasn't mentioned in class because we didn't have to use more than one statement in one if statement. Thanks a lot! — Mon Cabrera, Jul 29 '17 at 23:52
Glad to hear! Click the checkmark button and the up-arrow of this question if it helped you out ;) — travisjayday, Jul 29 '17 at 23:57

score 0 · Answer 2 · answered Jul 29 '17 at 23:38

0

C++ doesn't use indentation to determine the ends of statements. You need braces if you want more than one statement.

Instead of:

if (a)
  b;
  c;
else
  d;

Use:

if (a) {
  b;
  c;
} else {
  d;
}

answered Jul 29 '17 at 23:38

Silvio Mayolo

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score 0 · Answer 3 · answered Jul 29 '17 at 23:39

If you have more than 1 line under an if or else, they must be contained in curly braces, like this:

if(TG>=90)
{
   printf("Term Grade: %d",TG);
   printf("Remarks: EXCELLENT");
}
else if (TG>=80 && TG<=89)
{
   printf("Term Grade: %d",TG);
   printf("Remarks: SATISFACTORY");
}

A "misplaced else" error in this C++ program

3 Answers3