• The addition rule for probabilities consists of two rules or formulas, one of which takes into account two mutually exclusive events, and the other two non-mutually exclusive events.

  • Non-mutually exclusive means that there is some overlap between the two events in question, and the formula compensates for this by subtracting the probability of P(Y and Z) from the sum of the probabilities of Y and Z.
  • Theoretically, the first form of the rule is a special case of the second form.