twelve is a most a number decreased by 7

Answer 1

12 is the number that is being compared to, as indicated by the phrasing "12 is"

"at most" tells us that the number being compared to cannot go over whatever comes next, meaning it is less than, but it could be equal to

"a number decreased by 7" tells us that we have an unknown, as indicated by the phrasing "a number," so we would use a variable here and decreased by 7 means we are subtracting 7

12 ≤ x-7