An inference is a conclusion that the passage supports without stating it. To explain one, you give the conclusion and the clue in the text that leads to it. This skill appears in questions such as “what can you tell about…” or “how do you know that…”.
It is the last lesson in Second-language comprehension, and it draws on tracking a viewpoint and identifying support.
How is an inference built?
An inference has two parts: the conclusion and the evidence. The link between them is a short reason.
Think of a detective. The clues are in the passage. The conclusion is yours, but it must be the most sensible reading of the clues.
A step-by-step method
- Read the question and find what it wants you to work out.
- Collect the clues: actions, objects, words of feeling, the setting.
- Join the clues into one sensible conclusion.
- Write the answer in the pattern 我认为……，因为文中说……。
- Check: could another reader find the same clue?
Worked example
This passage is invented.
放学后，小华没有回家。他的书包还放在教室里，教室的灯亮着，窗外正下着大雨。
Question: 小华现在可能在哪里？请说明理由。(Where might Xiaohua be now? Explain.)
Step 1, the task. Work out his location from clues.
Step 2, clues. 书包还放在教室里 (his bag is still in the classroom). 教室的灯亮着 (the classroom light is on). 没有回家 (he did not go home).
Step 3, join the clues. A bag left behind and a light still on suggest he has not gone far. He is probably still at school.
Step 4, write. 我认为小华还在学校，因为文中说他的书包还放在教室里，教室的灯也亮着。
The rain is a possible extra clue, so it can be added: he may be waiting for it to stop. But the answer does not need it.
A mistake that looks reasonable
A common slip is giving an inference with no clue, or one the clues do not support.
Wrong: 小华生病了，所以去医院了。
The idea is possible, but nothing in the passage mentions illness or a hospital. The bag and the light point to the school. The correction is to build the conclusion from the clues, not from imagination.
Self-check
These passages are invented.
1. 妈妈回到家，发现厨房里有一个空碗，旁边有一张纸条：“谢谢妈妈做的面条！”What can you infer?
Show answer
Someone at home, probably a child, ate the noodles Mum made and was grateful. The clues are 空碗 (an empty bowl) and the thank-you note.
2. 他拿着伞，还穿上了雨衣，可是还是浑身湿透。What does this suggest about the rain?
Show answer
The rain was very heavy. The clue is that he was wet through even with an umbrella and a raincoat.
3. 小红看到成绩单后一直低着头，没有说话。How does she feel, and how do you know?
Show answer
She is probably disappointed or upset. The clues are 一直低着头 (kept her head down) and 没有说话 (said nothing).
Where to go next
Choose one short passage a day and write one inference with one clue in the pattern above. Then test the whole module in the mixed practice set. The writing revision compare view helps you compare a first answer with a tighter revision.
If your inferences keep missing a clue, a teacher in online one-to-one Chinese tuition can show you where the passage points.