Questions with “Imply” and “Infer”

To imply something is to “communicate an idea without stating it directly.” To infer something is to “understand the idea that is being communicated by another person, even though the other person does not say it directly.” For example: Mildred said to Mark, “Harry is moving to Japan permanently, but he doesn’t know how to speak Japanese.” Mildred implied that Harry would have to learn Japanese. Mark inferred that Harry would have to learn Japanese. During the Reading section, you will be asked questions that begin in the following way: It can be inferred from the passage that . . . The author implies that . . . The passage suggests that . . . Based on the information in the passage, what can be inferred about . . . The answer to these questions is always in the form of a paraphrase. It repeats an idea found in the passage but expresses it in a different way. To answer these questions, first eliminate as a possible correct answer anything that is ridiculous and illogical. Also, eliminate any answer choice that introduces material not discussed in the passage. Answer choices that contain words such as “always,” “never,” and “completely” are usually incorrect, so you can eliminate them. If an answer choice simply repeats word-for-word a lot of material from the passage, you can eliminate that answer as well. Answer choices that are longer than the other answer choices are often a trap.