infer or imply

English as a Second Language English Vocabulary, Grammar and Idioms
1

Sirs,
Which one is more appropriate to use?
a. The way he talked to me on the phone I inferred that he seemed to have no knowledge about our affairs.
b. What I inferred from the way he talked to me on the phone is that he seemed to have no knowledge about our affairs.
OR can U give me some examples with the word infer/ imply?
Thanks

Regards
Noren

2

To infer is to draw a conclusion. (passive - somebody is influencing you)
To imply is to make a suggestion. (active - you are influencing somebody)

In all your examples I would choose “infer” over “imply”.
I think you can use “imply/infer” this way:
By accussing him of theft I implied that he was a dishonest person. From my accussation you can infer that he’s a dishonest person.

3

DearLennie,
Thank you very much for your feedback and clear explanation.By the way, could you chech out my examples.

  1. The way she talked to me on the phone what I inferred was she was (is) in love with John.
  2. She didn’t say too much about John so I implied she is being cautious of the affair that could be leaked out.

Many thanks once again for yor correction.

Regards
Noren

4

Sorry for the mistake in writing though it can be guessed. “your” instead of “yor”.