Answer:
represent the number of paper clips in a box
And we want to write an inequality for the following statement "I think the number of paper clips in the box is less than 1000". And if we convert this claim into math symbols we have:

Explanation:
For this case we define the following notation:
represent the number of paper clips in a box
And we want to write an inequality for the following statement "I think the number of paper clips in the box is less than 1000". And if we convert this claim into math symbols we have:

It can't be lower or equal since the statement specified that is "less" than the specified value of 1000