In the example shown, the formula in G7 is: Where “Sex” is a named range for C3:C15 and “Score” is the named range D3:D15. Note: this is an array formula and must be entered using Control + Shift + Enter. The problem in this case is that we don’t want LARGE to operate on every value in the range, just values that are either male or female (M or F). To apply this criteria, we use the IF function, which provides a logical test for either “M” or ‘F". Because we are applying the test to an array of values, the result will also be an array. In the example shown, the resulting array looks like this: {93;FALSE;85;FALSE;81;FALSE;FALSE;FALSE;FALSE;72;FALSE;FALSE;83} Where FALSE represents male scores (“F”) and numbers represent female scores. The LARGE function will automatically ignore TRUE and FALSE values, so the result will be the nth largest value from the set of actual numbers in the array.

Dave Bruns

Hi - I’m Dave Bruns, and I run Exceljet with my wife, Lisa. Our goal is to help you work faster in Excel. We create short videos, and clear examples of formulas, functions, pivot tables, conditional formatting, and charts.