This is an equation and the idea is to find the value of x that makes the right side equal (equation) to the left one. To do that try to ISOLATE x on one side and send the numbers to the other side of the = sign. Remember that every time a term "crosses" the = sign it changes sign!
So: take -1 and send it to the left (changing sign):
-4+1=x
evaluate -4+1
-3=x
So, finally, you got that the value of x that satisfies your equation is -3!
If you substitute -3 in your equation in place of x, you'll get:
-4=-1color(red)(-3) which is true.