In case you need to see how I got the difference of (-2 - 1/4), which is -9/4, here is now: You need to subtract a fraction(1/4) from a whole number(-2). The denominator of -2 is 1. Get the Least common denominator of 1 and 4 which is 4. This will be the denominator of the difference. Then 4 divided by 1 (the denominator of 2) is 4 then multiplied by -2 =-8. Then 4 divided by 4 (the denominator of -1/4) is 1 then multiplied by -1= -1. So (-8/4) - (1/4)= -9/4