--- title: Inference: reading between the lines — a lesson of Mova's school · trees and pragmatics description: «Inference: reading between the lines», a lesson of the english course of Mova's primary school, sentence by sentence with dependency trees and pragmatics. It begins: Inference means working out what the writer means but does not say. --- [Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/) · [this page in HTML](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/english/18-inference-reading-between-the-lines/) [home](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/) / [corpora](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/) / [school](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/) / [English](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/english/) / Inference: reading between the lines # Inference: reading between the lines Lesson 18 of the english course of Mova's primary school: 20 sentences, each with its syntax tree and pragmatics. The lessons are written for Mova, and their agreed trees are part of Mova corpus 0.4 (CC BY-SA 4.0). How Mova does on its tests: [the lesson at school](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/school-run/english/18-inference-reading-between-the-lines/). - [0](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/english/18-inference-reading-between-the-lines/0/) — Inference means working out what the writer means but does not say. - [1](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/english/18-inference-reading-between-the-lines/1/) — «Lily slammed the door and threw her bag on the floor.» The text never says «angry», but slamming and throwing are clues, and the clues show it. - [2](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/english/18-inference-reading-between-the-lines/2/) — A good reader is a detective: find the clues, then say what they show. - [3](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/english/18-inference-reading-between-the-lines/3/) — A detective does not need a magnifying glass, only careful eyes. - [5](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/english/18-inference-reading-between-the-lines/5/) — That is a two-mark answer. - [6](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/english/18-inference-reading-between-the-lines/6/) — An inference must fit ALL the clues, not just one. - [8](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/english/18-inference-reading-between-the-lines/8/) — Twinkling eyes mean fun and mischief, so she is probably hiding a present. - [9](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/english/18-inference-reading-between-the-lines/9/) — Feelings can be mixed too: «Maya smiled, but her eyes stayed sad» means she is hiding a sad feeling behind a smile. - [10](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/english/18-inference-reading-between-the-lines/10/) — Your own life helps. - [12](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/english/18-inference-reading-between-the-lines/12/) — That is a good start, but always check your idea against the clues in the text. - [13](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/english/18-inference-reading-between-the-lines/13/) — Inference means working out something the text suggests but does not say directly. - [14](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/english/18-inference-reading-between-the-lines/14/) — A clue is a detail in the text, like an action or a description, that hints at something. - [15](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/english/18-inference-reading-between-the-lines/15/) — A good inference gives the idea and the evidence: «She was angry because she slammed the door.» - [16](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/english/18-inference-reading-between-the-lines/16/) — An inference must fit all the clues, not just one of them. - [17](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/english/18-inference-reading-between-the-lines/17/) — Inference is reasoning from clues, not wild guessing. - [18](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/english/18-inference-reading-between-the-lines/18/) — Characters can have mixed feelings, like smiling while sad inside. - [19](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/english/18-inference-reading-between-the-lines/19/) — Descriptions of a place can tell you about the people, like a weedy garden and a broken gate suggesting nobody cares for the house. - [20](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/english/18-inference-reading-between-the-lines/20/) — Some inference questions have more than one sensible answer, as long as each fits the clues. - [22](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/english/18-inference-reading-between-the-lines/22/) — Linking a story to your own life helps, but the text has the final say. - [23](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/english/18-inference-reading-between-the-lines/23/) — Slang: «tamping» (Wales) means furious; «lowkey» means a bit, or secretly; «it's giving bitter» (Gen Z) means it seems bitter. - ← previous: [Retrieval: finding the answer in the text](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/english/17-retrieval-finding-the-answer-in-the-text/) - next →: [Prediction: what happens next](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/english/19-prediction-what-happens-next/) - ↑ back to [English](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/english/)