"Illegal start of expression" in "private"

Question

I'd like to know how I could fix the illegal start of expression error on line 3

1 public class Example {
2     public static void main(String[] args) {
3         private int n;
4     }
5 }

Thanks!

Answer 1

Declarations with scope (i.e. private, protected, or public) must be outside your functions, including the main() one. Move these declarations to the class level to fix this syntax error.

Answer 2

The private is being used in the body of a method. It can not be used there. It can be used in the body of a class ... outside the method.