Comments on: Imply or Infer? http://thewritersbag.com/writing-rules/imply-or-infer Writing tips for the real world. Wed, 07 Jan 2009 02:44:37 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.7 hourly 1 By: Steve Osborne http://thewritersbag.com/writing-rules/imply-or-infer/comment-page-1#comment-597 Steve Osborne Tue, 29 Jul 2008 22:44:09 +0000 http://thewritersbag.com/writing-rules/imply-or-infer#comment-597 Point taken. I will make your suggested change. Thanks, Doug. Point taken. I will make your suggested change. Thanks, Doug.

]]> By: Doug Sander http://thewritersbag.com/writing-rules/imply-or-infer/comment-page-1#comment-596 Doug Sander Tue, 29 Jul 2008 19:28:05 +0000 http://thewritersbag.com/writing-rules/imply-or-infer#comment-596 Concerning 'imply' and 'infer'. I found the 2nd example sentence to be ambiguous as to whether it showed correct usage or not. "When she heard my story, she implied that my youth had been misspent." My quiz answers were 1) wrong, 2) can't tell, 3) right, 4) right. I think this sentence, "She implied that I was lying," means that she said indirectly that I was lying. Therefore, example sentence #2 can be read two ways: 1) When she heard my story, she concluded that my youth had been misspent. [imply was used wrongly] 2) When she heard my story, she suggested that my youth had been misspent. [imply was used correctly] (She may well have inferred this from my story, but my story may have been very blatant, leaving little doubt. We aren't told anything about my story.) I know the scandalous details, of course, but I'm not telling. :-) In the 4th example sentence, the issue doesn't arise because it is clear his words carried the implication. This page would be improved, I believe, if #2 were altered slightly to remove the ambiguity. "From what she heard, she implied..." [wrong usage] Or use the current sentence to show how easy it is, when misusing 'imply,' to create a correct sentence saying something you hadn't intended to say. I enjoy your website. Thanks. Concerning ‘imply’ and ‘infer’.
I found the 2nd example sentence to be ambiguous as to whether it showed correct usage or not. “When she heard my story, she implied that my youth had been misspent.”

My quiz answers were 1) wrong, 2) can’t tell, 3) right, 4) right.

I think this sentence, “She implied that I was lying,” means that she said indirectly that I was lying. Therefore, example sentence #2 can be read two ways: 1) When she heard my story, she concluded that my youth had been misspent. [imply was used wrongly] 2) When she heard my story, she suggested that my youth had been misspent. [imply was used correctly] (She may well have inferred this from my story, but my story may have been very blatant, leaving little doubt. We aren’t told anything about my story.) I know the scandalous details, of course, but I’m not telling. :-)

In the 4th example sentence, the issue doesn’t arise because it is clear his words carried the implication.

This page would be improved, I believe, if #2 were altered slightly to remove the ambiguity. “From what she heard, she implied…” [wrong usage] Or use the current sentence to show how easy it is, when misusing ‘imply,’ to create a correct sentence saying something you hadn’t intended to say.

I enjoy your website. Thanks.

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