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THE LANGUAGE ARTS MAGAZINE
Name: ________________________________________________________ Date: ______________
ACTIVITY: “Grammar Gets to Work” • SKILL: Commonly Confused Words
Imply vs. Infer
Imply means “to express indirectly, to hint,
to indicate.”
Examples:
“What is that supposed to mean?” asked Logan.
“Are you implying that I cheated?”
Infer means “to come to a conclusion based on
the evidence presented, to guess, to surmise.”
Examples:
“I infer from that remark that you think I cheated,”
said Logan.
The puzzled look on Lisa’s face implied that
she wasn’t expecting me.
I inferred from the puzzled look on Lisa’s face that
she wasn’t expecting me.
Directions: Underline the correct boldface word in each sentence below.
1. Christina winked, implying/inferring that she was in on the joke.
2. I imply/infer from the fact that most people are wearing short sleeves that it is warm outside.
3. I can often imply/infer the meaning of an unfamiliar word from other information in the sentence.
4. Luis implied/inferred that I could come to his party if I helped him clean his room. 5. The end of the movie implies/infers that Andy’s adventures are not over.
6. I implied/inferred from Nora’s message—“Call me the second you get this!”—that Jared had finally called her.
7. “What can you imply/infer about the main character’s family from this detail in the story?” asked Ms. Stevens.
8. I implied/inferred from Ricardo’s expression that he wanted a slice of our pizza.
Directions: For each sentence below, fill in the blank with a form of imply or infer. Then write your own
sentence using a form of imply or infer.
9. Emiko’s outfit ________________ that she was about to go running.
10. Jorge ________________ from Elise’s bored expression that she was not enjoying the movie.
11. Megan _________________ that she would like to come to the play with Leslie and me.
12. Justin’s smile __________________ that he was satisfied with his present.
13. ____________________________________________________________________________________________________
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The words imply and infer are often confused and misused. Although they are somewhat related, their meanings
are nearly opposite. Here’s what you need to know to use them correctly: