What is an inference question in CLAT English?

A question asking what must be true, or is most strongly suggested, based on the passage. The answer is not stated but must be supported by the text.

How do I avoid wrong answers in inference questions?

Test each option: if it could be false while the passage stays true, reject it. Watch for extreme words and real-world facts the passage never mentions.

Is inference the most common question type in CLAT English?

It is one of the most common, along with main idea, tone and vocabulary in context.

CLAT English Inference Questions: How to Solve Them, With an Example

An inference question asks what must be true, or is most strongly suggested, given what the passage says. The answer is not written in the passage, but it cannot go beyond it either. Most wrong answers in CLAT English are reasonable statements that the passage simply does not support.

The test for a valid inference

Ask: could this option be false while everything in the passage stays true? If yes, it is not a valid inference, however sensible it sounds. The right option is the one the passage forces you to accept.

A worked example

Passage extract: 'When the village school began serving a free midday meal, attendance rose sharply, especially among girls. Teachers noticed that afternoon lessons, once half-empty, were now full.'

Valid inference: before the meal, some students left school before the afternoon. The half-empty afternoon lessons tell us this.
Not supported: the meal improved students’ exam results. Plausible, but the passage says nothing about results.
Not supported: girls were hungrier than boys. The passage reports who attended, not why.

Four traps in CLAT inference options

Trap	What it looks like
The reasonable outsider	True in the real world, but not supported by this passage
The extreme version	'Always', 'only', 'all' where the passage supports 'often' or 'some'
The restatement	Simply repeats a line from the passage; that is a detail, not an inference
The reversed cause	Turns 'A happened, then B' into 'A caused B' without support

A practice routine

After each passage, label every question by type before checking answers.
For each wrong inference option, write the word in the passage that rules it out.
Do this on real CLAT passages first: the past papers show the traps the examiners actually use.

Practise on daily CLAT English passages and the solved CLAT English PYQs. CAT aspirants: the same skill is explained in inference vs assumption.

A second example

Extract: 'Although the city had built three new flyovers in five years, average commuting times had not fallen. Officials began to wonder whether more roads simply invited more cars.'

Valid inference: the flyovers did not deliver the reduction in commuting time some had expected. The 'although' and 'had not fallen' tell us this.
Not supported: the city should stop building roads. That is advice; the officials only 'began to wonder'.
Not supported: the number of cars in the city doubled. The passage gives no figure.

Inference, main idea or detail?

Question type	What it asks	How to check
Detail	What does the passage say?	Find the line
Inference	What must follow from what it says?	Could the option be false if the passage is true?
Main idea	What is the passage mainly about?	Does the option cover the whole passage, not one part?

Labelling the question type before answering prevents the most common error: answering an inference question with a detail that is merely stated.

Timing

Inference questions usually take longest, because you must test each option. Budget about 45 to 60 seconds for each, and do the detail questions in a set first to build momentum.