Which of the following phrases translates to the expression n - 8?

a number less than eight

eight fewer than a number

eight decreased by a number

a number subtracted from eight

Notice that in the expression n - 8,

the eight is the thing being subtracted.

We could read it like this: "Eight subtracted from a number."

So we can immediately see that the last option is not correct. It's the opposite of what we want. The third option is the same as the last, just worded differently: The number 8, decreased by a number n.

The second option is correct: A number n, but eight fewer than that.

n - 8