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Primary 3 · English · Comprehension: Inference

Comprehension: Inference questions for Primary 3 English

8 questions to work through online. Answer and you get the working straight away, then a score at the end. No sign-up, and you can retake it as often as you like.

  • Inferring a feeling
  • Inferring a reason
  • What a detail shows
  • Inferring from an action
  • Inferring what is not said
  • Reading a change
  • What an action shows
  • Inferring from a short line
0 of 8 answered
Question 1 of 8Inferring a feeling
1 Kavitha checked her watch for the fourth time. The 58 always came at ten past, and it was already twenty past. Her recital started at four. 2 A woman beside her was reading the notice taped to the shelter. "Road works," she said kindly. "They have moved the stop up the hill." Kavitha looked at the hill, then at her violin case, then at the hill again. 3 She was still catching her breath when she reached the new stop, but the bus was there, engine running, doors open. The driver looked at the violin case and waited while she climbed on. Kavitha found a seat and held the case flat on her knees, both arms around it.
How was Kavitha feeling at the start of paragraph 1?
Question 2 of 8Inferring a reason

Same text as the question above.

Why did Kavitha look at the hill, then at her violin case, then at the hill again?
Question 3 of 8What a detail shows

Same text as the question above.

What does the driver waiting while Kavitha climbed on tell you about him?
Question 4 of 8Inferring from an action

Same text as the question above.

Why did Kavitha hold the case flat on her knees with both arms around it?
Question 5 of 8Inferring what is not said
1 Every Sunday Ah Gong made kaya toast for the whole family, and every Sunday he made too much. Nobody said anything about it. Arun ate his three slices and then quietly took a fourth. 2 This Sunday the kitchen was cold and the toaster was still in the cupboard. Ma had gone to the hospital early. Arun opened the cupboard, took the toaster out, and set it on the counter where Ah Gong always kept it. 3 He was not sure he could get the kaya right. He got the bread out anyway.
In paragraph 1, why does the writer say that "nobody said anything about it"?
Question 6 of 8Reading a change

Same text as the question above.

What do the cold kitchen and the toaster in the cupboard tell you about this Sunday?
Question 7 of 8What an action shows

Same text as the question above.

Why did Arun put the toaster on the counter where Ah Gong always kept it?
Question 8 of 8Inferring from a short line

Same text as the question above.

What does the last line, "He got the bread out anyway", show about Arun?
Answers and explanations for all 8 questions

Every answer with the reasoning behind it. Worth reading after you have tried the set — or on its own, if you are a parent marking it.

  1. How was Kavitha feeling at the start of paragraph 1?

    Answer: anxious

    She checks her watch four times, the bus is ten minutes late, and she has a recital to reach. The passage never says worried — it shows it.

  2. Why did Kavitha look at the hill, then at her violin case, then at the hill again?

    Answer: She was working out whether she could carry the case all the way up.

    Looking from the hill to the case and back weighs one against the other: a steep walk with something heavy and awkward to carry.

  3. What does the driver waiting while Kavitha climbed on tell you about him?

    Answer: He was considerate.

    He notices the violin case and holds the bus rather than pulling away — he thought about what she needed.

  4. Why did Kavitha hold the case flat on her knees with both arms around it?

    Answer: The violin mattered to her and she did not want it knocked.

    Both arms wrapped around it is how you hold something you are afraid of damaging — she has a recital to play.

  5. In paragraph 1, why does the writer say that "nobody said anything about it"?

    Answer: The family were happy to let Ah Gong carry on making too much.

    Saying nothing here means letting it be. The extra toast got eaten, so nobody had any reason to complain about it.

  6. What do the cold kitchen and the toaster in the cupboard tell you about this Sunday?

    Answer: Ah Gong was not there to make the toast.

    Every other Sunday the kitchen is warm and the toast is made. The put-away toaster and Ma's early trip to the hospital point the same way: Ah Gong is missing this Sunday.

  7. Why did Arun put the toaster on the counter where Ah Gong always kept it?

    Answer: He was taking over what his grandfather usually did.

    He does not just use the toaster; he puts it in his grandfather's place. He is stepping into the Sunday job.

  8. What does the last line, "He got the bread out anyway", show about Arun?

    Answer: He decided to try even though he might not manage it.

    The word "anyway" links the two sentences: he was unsure, and he started anyway. That is the point of the ending.