GMAT inference questions
You are asked what must be true given the statements. This family behaves unlike the others: there is no gap to attack, and the answer is usually the most cautious option on the screen rather than the most substantial.
Must be true, not probably true
An option that is very likely given the statements, but could conceivably be false, is wrong. The standard is deductive: if you can construct any situation where the statements hold and the option does not, it fails.
- Prefer options with hedged language — *some, at least one, not all, may*.
- Distrust options with *all, none, always, must be the cause*.
- Combine statements: inferences are often built from two facts rather than one.
- Do not add anything the statements do not contain, however reasonable.
Where candidates go wrong
- Choosing the option that best explains the facts. Explanation is not inference.
- Choosing the most informative option. Informative usually means it went further than the facts allow.
- Importing a causal link where the statements only report an association.
If an option feels too obvious to be the answer, it very often is the answer. This family rewards timidity in a way no other GMAT question does.
Inference questions — FAQs
2 questions
No. Here the answer must follow necessarily; it is not a judgement about the author's main point.
Yes, and it often does.
More verbal question types
Sources
Written from the test board's own published material and checked on 1 October 2026.