This presentation is about making inferences. Sample sentences and quiz are provided.

1. Jake stood on the riverbank.
He cast his fishing pole into the
deep water. He had been trying to
catch a fish for many hours. Alex
and Zach laughed as they
watched Jake throw the line into
the water one more time.
Jake Tries to Catch a Fish

2. 1.What kind of person is Jake?
2.How do you think Alex and
Zach feel about Jake’s efforts
to catch a fish?
Questions:

3. Jake stood on the
riverbank. He cast his
fishing into the deep
water. He had been
trying to catch a fish
for many hours. Alex
and Zach laughed as
they watched Jake
throw the line into the
water one more.
Jake is a
patient and
a hard
working
person.

4. Jake stood on the
riverbank. He cast his
fishing into the deep
water. He had been
trying to catch a fish
for many hours. Alex
and Zach laughed as
they watched Jake
throw the line into the
water one more.
Alex and
Zach felt
that Jake
was just
wasting his
time and he
won’t catch
a fish.

5. There was a heavy traffic
ahead.

6. The bus driver pulled out of the
station. Jim’s heart beat fast. He
had never traveled alone. He
waved good-bye to his grand
parents. “The bus will be in
Cebu in four hours,” Jim told
himself. He checked his watch.
Jim pictured his father waiting for
the bus in Cebu. “Four hours will
be over in no time,” Jim said.

7. Questions:
1.How does Jim feel?
2.What story clues
helped you figure
out how Jim feels?

8. Jim felt
worried,
scared and
alone.
The story clues
that are found in
the story were
his heart beat
fast, he had
never traveled
alone.
The bus driver pulled out
of the station. Jim’s heart
beat fast. He had never
traveled alone. He waved
good-bye to his grandparents.
“The bus will be in Cebu in four
hours,” Jim told himself.
He checked his watch. Jim
pictured his father waiting for the
bus in Cebu. “Four hours will be
over in no time,” Jim
said.

9. MAKING
INFERENCES
English
Practicing
Teacher
By
Miss Carmelle Dawn
Laurente Vasay

10. WHAT IS AN INFERENCE?
• It is based on all of the information that you have
available at that time.
• It is not necessarily a correct guess, but it is an
educated one.
•An inference is an assumption that you make
about something that you see, read, or experience.

11. 11
Inference

12. Word Clues +
Experience= Inference

13. What the author said + what I know = my
inference
The weather
had been
scorching
for weeks.
Summer is
the hottest
time of the
year.
It is
summer.

14. EVERYDAY INFERENCES
Here are some inferences that you probably make on a
daily basis.
If your professor writes
information on the board during
a lecture
You infer that it is important
information that you may
need later.
If your son or daughter
runs in the house holding
their knee and crying
You infer that they
have somehow hurt
their knee.
You may not always be correct in your inferences,
but they are assumptions that you make based on
the given clues.

15. INFERENCES:
TAKE A GUESS
You already know how to make everyday
inferences!
Lets look at a few scenarios and infer about what is
going on.

16. INFERENCES:
TAKE A GUESS?
1. What is this
woman doing?
2. Where do you
think this woman
is?
3. Is she there for
work or pleasure?

17. INFERENCES:
TAKE A GUESS?
Lets look a little bit closer and evaluate your guesses.
What is she doing?
She is on the
telephone.
Where do you think this
woman is?
Based on the
furniture and
decorations, she
is probably in a
hotel room.
Is she there for work or
pleasure?
Based on the her
clothing and the
presence of a fax
machine, she is
probably there for
work.

18. 1. Where are
they?
2. Who is the
man
standing in
the front of
the room?
3. Is this
company on
the losing
edge?
INFERENCES:
TAKE ANOTHER GUESS?

19. INFERENCES:
TAKE A GUESS?
Lets look a little bit closer and evaluate your assumptions.
Where are they?
The table and topic,
reveal that they are
in a corporate board
room.
Who is the man
standing in the front
of the room?
Because he is in the
front of the room
standing we would
infer that he is the
boss.
Is this company on the
losing edge?
We can infer by his
dialogue that they
are behind the
competition.

20. INFERENCES:
WORD PICTURES
As you looked at the previous pictures, you were
able to infer things about the scenarios that they
presented.
When you read a text, think of it as a
WORD PICTURE.

21. INFERENCES:
WORD PICTURES
When reading, there are several types of word
pictures the author will paint for you.
•The setting
•A Character’s Personality or
Emotions
•What a Character’s Motives Might
Be
•What the Writer’s Motives behind
writing the piece might be
Just To Name A Few
It will be your job to use those
picture to infer things such as:
Lets look at a few examples!

22. LET’S
TRY IT!

23. INFERENCES:
THE SETTING
The air blowing off of the water is clean and
crisp. As she slowly made her way to her
destination, the damp sand beneath her feet
began to stick to the bottom of her toes.
Finally, she was close enough to see. A blue
and white table cloth spread over the sand.
Candles, crystal, and china wares glistened in
the light of the setting sun. She smiled, and
a tear ran down her cheek.
Where is this
woman?
What time of day is
it?
As she
approaches, what
does she see?
Will she be
spending the
evening alone?
Read the following selection:

24. The air blowing off of the is clean
and crisp. As she slowly made her way to
her destination, the damp beneath
her feet began to stick to the bottom of her
toes. Finally, she was close enough to see.
A blue and white spread over the
sand.
glistened in the light of the .
She smiled, and a tear ran down her cheek.
Where is this
woman?
What time of day is
it?
As she
approaches, what
does she see?Will she be
spending the
evening alone?
Based on the word
picture painted for
us, she is on the
beach.
water
sand
It is evening.
setting sun That someone
has prepared a
romantic picnic
for her.
We can logically
assume that
whomever has
made the picnic
will probably join
her.
table cloth
Candles, crystal, and china wares

25. INFERENCES:
CHARACTER PERSONALITIES & EMOTIONS
Author’s often use word pictures to give you clues about the
personalities and emotions of the characters. For Instance:
If the character is shown refusing
to be controlled by others such as
their parents, boss, or other
authority figure
We infer that they
are rebellious.
If we see them doing things that
show good character in front of
other, but exhibiting negative traits
when alone
We infer that they
are deceptive.
If the character storms out of the
room, slamming the door behind
them
We infer that they
are angry.

26. INFERENCES:
CHARACTER PERSONALITIES & EMOTIONS
With this in mind, lets take another look at the excerpt we read earlier.
The air blowing off of the water is clean and
crisp. As she slowly made her way to her
destination, the damp sand beneath her feet
began to stick to the bottom of her toes.
Finally, she was close enough to see. A blue
and white table cloth spread over the sand.
Candles, crystal, and china glistened in the
light of the setting sun.
How does the woman feel
about what this person
has done?
Though we have not
been introduced to the
person that has planned
this, what can we
assume about their
personality?
Based on her smile and
tears, we can assume she is
happy and touched by the
gesture.We can assume that he is
caring, romantic, and
thoughtful. Though this may
or may not prove to be
correct by the end of the
story, that is the word picture
the author is painting for us.
She smiled, and a tear ran down her cheek.

27. INFERENCES:
TAKE A GUESS PART 2
Lets look at a few excerpts to practice your new skills
with your group!

28. Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate.
Our deepest fear is that we are powerful
beyond measure.
It is our light, not our darkness that most
frightens us.
Your playing small does not serve the world.
There is nothing enlightened about shrinking
so that other people won't feel insecure around
you.
We are all meant to shine, as children do.
And as we let our own light shine, we
unconsciously
give other people permission to do the same.
As we are liberated from our own fear,
our presence automatically liberates others.
Read the following poem, and answer the questions that follows.

29. Our deepest fear is not that we are
inadequate.
Our deepest fear is that we are powerful
beyond measure.
It is our light, not our darkness that
most frightens us.
Your playing small does not serve the
world.
There is nothing enlightened about
shrinking
so that other people won't feel insecure
around you.
We are all meant to shine, as children do.
And as we let our own light shine, we
unconsciously
give other people permission to do the
same.
1. Infer what
the writer’s
motive is.
a) She is trying
to frighten her
audience into
appropriate
behavior.
b) She is a child
activist.
c) Her motive is
to inspire her
reader.

30. Our deepest fear is not that we are
inadequate.
Our deepest fear is that we are powerful
beyond measure.
It is our light, not our darkness that
most frightens us.
Your playing small does not serve the
world.
There is nothing enlightened about
shrinking
so that other people won't feel insecure
around you.
We are all meant to shine, as children do.
And as we let our own light shine, we
unconsciously
give other people permission to do the
same.
As we are liberated from our own fear,
2. With which
statement
would the
author most
agree?
a) All men/women
are created equal.
b) Life is not fair.
c) The only thing
to fear is fear
itself.

31. Now, lets check your inferences.
c) Her motive is to inspire her reader.
The author’s motive is shown in statements like these:
Though she uses the word children, the dominant topic is
inspiration and motivation
1. Infer what the writer’s motive is.
a) She is trying to frighten her
audience into appropriate behavior.
b) She is a child activist.
“We are powerful beyond measure…We are all meant to shine, as children do.”
INFERENCES:
TAKE A GUESS PART 2

32. 5. What might he need extra pens and pencils for at his
appointment ?
b) To take notes on the speaker.
c) To hand out as advertisements for his firm.
a) To fill out necessary forms.
Because we have established that Geoffrey is going to a job interview, we
can infer that he needs these utensils to fill out the application or any other
forms that they may give him
INFERENCES:
TAKE A GUESS PART 2

33. What Can You Infer?
Below are the opening paragraphs of the story. Read the passage carefully
and answer the questions below.
One dollar and eighty-seven cents. That was all.
And sixty cents of it was in pennies. Pennies saved
one and two at a time by bulldozing the grocer and
the vegetable man and the butcher until one’s cheeks
burned with the silent imputation of parsimony that
such close dealing implied. Three times Della
counted it. One dollar and eighty-seven cents. And
the next day would be Christmas.
There was clearly nothing to do but flop down on the
shabby little couch and howl. So
Della did it. Which instigates the moral reflection that
life is made up of sobs, sniffles, and smiles, with
sniffles predominating.

34. 1. Why is Della crying?
__________________________________________________________
_______
2. What does Christmas have to do with her tears?
__________________________________________________________
_______
3. How did she get the money?
__________________________________________________________
_______
4. What does O. Henry mean by “with sniffles predominating”?
Questions:

35. Assignment:
1.What are adverbs of Frequency?
2.Give me 5 examples of Adverb of
Frequency and use it in a
sentence.