First distribute -4 to all terms within the parenthesis
-4(x) = -4x
-4(1) = -4
-4x - 4 + 5 = 17
Simplify. Combine like terms
-4x (-4 + 5) = 17
-4x + 1 = 17
Isolate the x. Do the opposite of PEMDAS. Note the equal sign. What you do to one side you do to the other.
Subtract 1 from both sides
-4x + 1 (-1) = 17 (-1)
-4x = 16
Divide -4 from both sides
-4x/-4 = 16/-4
x = 16/-4
x = -4
-4 is your answer
hope this helps