A stated detail is written in the passage. An inference is a conclusion you reach from those details, and it must fit all of them.
This lesson is part of reading and evidence. Before it, practise finding the main idea.
How can I tell the two apart?
Put your finger on the words. If you can point to them, the answer is a stated detail. If you must combine two clues or use common sense, the answer is an inference.
Questions give hints too. “According to the passage” asks for a stated detail, while “what can you conclude” or “what kind of person” asks for an inference.
Worked example: a person at a bus stop
Here is an original passage.
சுமதி பேருந்து நிறுத்தத்தில் நின்றாள். அவள் கையில் மூடிய குடை இருந்தது. வானம் தெளிவாக இருந்தது. ஆனால் அவள் அடிக்கடி கைக்கடிகாரத்தைப் பார்த்தாள்.
In English: Sumathi stood at the bus stop, with a closed umbrella in her hand. The sky was clear, but she kept looking at her watch.
Stated details. She stood at the bus stop, held a closed umbrella, saw a clear sky and looked at her watch again and again.
An inference. சுமதி பேருந்துக்காகக் காத்திருக்கிறாள், நேரம் ஆகிவிடுமோ என்று கவலைப்படுகிறாள். This means she is waiting for a bus and worried about the time.
Why this inference is safe. She is at a bus stop and checks the time more than once.
The word “ஆனால்” (but) points to worry in spite of the clear weather. No detail contradicts the conclusion.
The mistake that costs marks
A student sees the umbrella and writes that it is raining. The passage says the sky is clear and the umbrella is closed, so that answer contradicts a stated detail.
| Claim | Supported by | Verdict |
|---|---|---|
| She is waiting for a bus. | Bus stop, standing | Safe inference |
| She is worried about time. | Checks watch repeatedly | Safe inference |
| It is raining. | Nothing; the sky is clear | Wrong: contradicts the text |
| She is a teacher. | Nothing | Guess: no evidence at all |
The rule is simple. An inference must be built from details that are in the passage, and it must not clash with any of them.
Check yourself
Read another original passage and sort the statements.
கடையின் கதவு திறந்திருந்தது. உள்ளே விளக்குகள் அணைந்திருந்தன. மேசையின்மேல் ஒரு சாவிக்கொத்து கிடந்தது.
The passage says the shop door was open, the lights inside were off, and a bunch of keys lay on the table. Which of these is stated, and which is an inference: (a) The door was open. (b) The owner left in a hurry.
Answer
(a) is a stated detail, because the first sentence says it.
(b) is an inference, and only a weak one. An open door and a forgotten set of keys hint at a hurry, yet the passage never says why the owner left. You would add “perhaps” or find more evidence before writing it as a firm conclusion.
What to study next
Continue with supporting an inference with exact passage evidence. Then check yourself on the reading and evidence practice set.
For a teacher to check how you reason from a passage, see online one-to-one SPM Bahasa Tamil tuition.