LIMIT and OFFSET in Google Sheets - Cell-by-Cell Formula Trace

Sample Data

This table lists names and their scores.

Cell	Value
A1	Name
B1	Score
A2	Alice
B2	85
A3	Bob
B3	90
A4	Charlie
B4	78
A5	Diana
B5	92
A6	Evan
B6	88

Formula Trace

=QUERY(A2:B6, "SELECT A, B LIMIT 3 OFFSET 1")

Step 1: QUERY(A2:B6, "SELECT A, B LIMIT 3 OFFSET 1")

Step 2: Data rows: [Alice,85], [Bob,90], [Charlie,78], [Diana,92], [Evan,88]

Step 3: Apply LIMIT 3 to rows after offset: [Bob,90], [Charlie,78], [Diana,92]

Cell Reference Map

    A       B
1  Name    Score
2  Alice     85
3  Bob       90
4  Charlie   78
5  Diana     92
6  Evan      88

Formula references range A2:B6 for data.

The formula uses data from cells A2 to B6, which includes all names and scores.

Result

    A       B
1  Bob       90
2  Charlie   78
3  Diana     92

The result shows 3 rows starting from the second data row (Bob), because OFFSET 1 skips Alice, and LIMIT 3 takes the next three rows.

Sheet Trace Quiz - 3 Questions

What does OFFSET 1 do in the formula?

A Limits the output to 1 row

B Skips the first row of data

C Selects only the first column

D Sorts the data ascending

Key Result

QUERY with LIMIT N and OFFSET M returns N rows starting after skipping M rows.