Reading Comprehension
🔒 Log in to trackInference and extrapolation questions
🔒 Log in to trackTo infer is to reach a conclusion from clues. The passage does not say it in words, but it clearly suggests it. A detail is written on the page. An inference is one small step beyond the page. Use the must-be-true test: if the option were false, the passage would stop making sense.
What an inference is
To infer means to reach a conclusion from clues. The passage does not say it in words, but it clearly suggests it.
Your friend comes in with a wet umbrella and wet shoes. Nobody told you, but you infer that it is raining outside. You cannot infer that "it will rain all week". That is too big a step.
If an option can be pointed to as a sentence in the passage, it is a detail. If it is the unavoidable next step from a stated sentence, it is an inference.
Detail, inference or wrong
Passage: "Harish's free solar pump let him water his fields for longer than the crop needed. Two years later, his borewell water had dropped."
| Option | Type |
|---|---|
| "Harish watered his fields for longer than needed." | detail (written) |
| "Free power led Harish to over-use groundwater." | inference (one step) |
| "Solar pumps always destroy groundwater." | too big a step |
| "Harish will sell his land." | no support |
The must-be-true test
For each option ask: "If this were false, would the passage stop making sense?"
- If yes, it is a strong inference and likely correct.
- If the passage could still stand, the option is only a guess. Reject it.
Rule: A correct inference is one stated idea plus one small logical step. If you need two steps, extra facts or a jump in scale (one city to all countries), reject it.
Distance control. Take the line: "she cannot afford the electricity that cooling demands".
- "Cooling appliances are of limited use to the poorest residents." Small step. Good.
- "Her city will ban air conditioners." Large step. Wrong.
- "She cannot afford electricity." Word for word. This is a detail, not an inference.
Types of inference questions
- "It can be inferred..." or "The passage suggests..." This is the general type.
- Implied meaning of a line. "What does the author mean by '...'?" Explain the idea behind the words, often a figure of speech.
- Assumption. Something the author takes for granted without saying it.
- Prediction or application. "What is most likely to happen if...?" or "Which situation is most similar to...?"
How to handle an assumption question
- Find the conclusion, what the author wants you to accept.
- Find the reason given.
- Ask what hidden link joins the reason to the conclusion. That link is the assumption.
- Test it. If the assumption were false, the conclusion would collapse.
Example: "Caterers cook extra food because running short is a disgrace." The assumption is that leftover food is less embarrassing than running out.
Prediction questions. Follow these steps.
- Say the passage's rule in simple words: "extra sunshine now earns money instead of pumping more water".
- Apply that rule to the new situation.
- Pick the option that follows the same rule. Reject options that need new information.
Author intent. For "Why does the author mention Ahmedabad's plan?", give the point of the surrounding argument. Here it is that heat action is affordable and already working. Wrong options describe what the example literally is, not what it does.
Option types to remove
- Copied line. An option that repeats a sentence word for word is a detail. For "infer" questions it is usually not the best answer.
- Outside knowledge. "Solar panels last 25 years" may be true. If the passage does not support it, it is wrong.
- Too extreme. Words like all, always, never, must, completely.
- Added motive. An option that says someone acted "deliberately" or "to hurt" when the passage gives no motive.
Question types you will see
Each type: how to recognise it, the method step by step, and one question to try.
'It can be inferred from the passage that...'
The stem uses infer, imply, suggest, 'most probably' or 'it can be concluded'.
Find the line the question is about.
Take one logical step from that line.
Apply the must-be-true test to each option.
Reject copies, extremes and outside facts.
The right option is the unavoidable next step from what is written.
"The shop is crowded every morning since the government moved its forms online." What can be inferred? (a) Many people need help filling online forms (b) The government has closed all offices (c) The shop sells food (d) People dislike computers
Show solutionHide solution
The crowd began when forms went online.
So people come for help with online forms.
(b) is extreme, (c) is unsupported, (d) goes against the passage.
(a)
Implied meaning of a quoted line
'What does the author mean by...?', 'The statement "..." implies that...'.
Read the quoted line and the sentence around it.
Ask what idea the line expresses. It is often figurative.
Choose the option that explains the idea, not one that reads the words literally.
A quoted line usually stands for a bigger idea.
"Earlier, extra sunshine meant extra pumping. Now it means extra money." What is implied?
Show solutionHide solution
Earlier, spare solar power ran the pump for more water.
Now the farmer sells the spare power.
Surplus power now earns money instead of being spent on pumping
Assumption behind a statement
'The author assumes that...', 'The statement is based on the assumption that...'.
Separate the reason from the conclusion.
Find the unstated link that makes the reason lead to the conclusion.
Negate the option. If the argument breaks, it is the assumption.
An argument fails without its hidden link.
"The road will reduce travel time, so traders will earn more." What is assumed?
Show solutionHide solution
Reason: the road saves travel time. Conclusion: traders earn more.
The link is that saved time helps traders earn more, for example by reaching markets sooner.
If time saved did not matter to earnings, the conclusion would fail.
Traders' earnings depend partly on travel time
Prediction or application (most likely, most similar)
'If ... happens, which is most likely?', 'Which of the following situations is most similar to...?'
Write the passage's rule in one line.
Apply it to the new case.
The answer follows the same rule. Reject options that need extra facts or go to extremes.
The new case must follow the same logic as the passage.
Passage: volunteers collect untouched wedding food and give it to shelters. Most similar: (a) a shop raising prices (b) a bakery giving unsold bread to an orphanage (c) a family cooking less (d) a hotel adding new dishes
Show solutionHide solution
Rule: surplus food is collected and given to people in need.
Only (b) follows this rule.
(b)
Which statement cannot be concluded?
'Which of the following cannot be inferred?', 'Which is definitely NOT supported by the passage?'
Test each option with the must-be-true test.
Mark options that follow from a line as supported.
The option with no support, or a contradiction, is the answer.
Three options follow from the passage. One does not.
"Riya walks to school because the bus stop is far, and she leaves early to avoid the noon heat." Which cannot be inferred? (a) Riya's school is reachable on foot (b) The bus stop is far from her home (c) She dislikes noon heat (d) Riya's school has no walls
Show solutionHide solution
(a), (b) and (c) follow from the lines.
Nothing in the passage mentions the school walls.
(d)
Shortcuts that save time
Correct inference = stated idea plus one logical step. Two steps, extra facts or a change of scale means reject.
Passage: 'A workforce that cannot plan a month ahead cannot borrow, train or save with confidence.' Which is a valid inference?
Show solutionHide solution
One step: insecure income blocks long-term commitments.
'Gig work will soon be banned' needs an outside assumption, so it fails.
Insecure income stops workers from making long-term commitments
In an inference question, an option that repeats passage wording without adding a step is wrong by definition. Cross it out first.
Inferences with only, never, must or inevitably are almost always one step too far. Moderate options (may, tends to, is likely) fit the must-be-true test better.
Mistakes to avoid
Where most students lose marks on this subtopic.
Bringing in real-world facts to justify an option.
Use only what the passage supports.
Treating a copied line as an inference.
A copied line is a detail. An inference adds one step.
Inferring the author's personal life or politics from a neutral, informational passage.
Stay with what the text shows.
Choosing an inference so weak it could follow from any passage.
It must follow from this passage.
Quick revision
Read this the night before the exam.
Inference = one small step from a line, never a big leap.
Use the must-be-true test.
Implied meaning: explain the idea behind the words.
Assumption: the hidden link between reason and conclusion.
Prediction or application: apply the passage's rule to the new case.
Reject word-for-word copies, outside facts, extreme words and invented motives.
Practice: 12 questions
Sets of 10, mixed across the question types above. Every answer has a step-by-step explanation.
Topic test · 12 questions
Suggested time 9 min · wrong answers go to your mistake notebook automatically.