英语短语"infer from"的核心含义是“从…中推断出;根据…推论出”,用于表达通过某种依据、证据或信息得出结论的逻辑过程。
"infer" 是动词,意为“推断、推论”(基于已知信息推导未知结论);"from" 引出推断的依据(即“从哪里得到的线索/证据”)。整体表示“从A(依据)中得出B(结论)”。
"infer from" 的常见结构有3种,需注意主语通常是人(因为“推断”是人的思维行为):
直接连接“结论”和“依据”,结论可以是名词、代词或名词短语。
例:We can infer his mood from his facial expression.(我们可以从他的面部表情推断出他的情绪。)
She inferred the answer from the teacher's hints.(她从老师的提示中推断出了答案。)
当结论是完整的句子时,用"that"引导宾语从句(that可省略)。
例:I inferred (that) he was angry from his silence.(我从他的沉默中推断他生气了。)
Scientists inferred (that) the planet had water from its atmospheric composition.(科学家从行星的大气成分推断它曾有过水。)
强调“结论是从…中被推断出来的”,常用于学术或正式语境。
例:The ancient city's prosperity was inferred from the ruins of grand temples.(这座古城的繁荣是从宏伟寺庙的遗迹中推断出来的。)
A link between sleep and memory has been inferred from recent studies.(最近的研究推断出睡眠与记忆之间存在联系。)
依据类型:可接“事实、数据、行为、表情、文字、遗迹”等(如:data, actions, facial expressions, texts, ruins);
结论类型:可接“情绪、意图、结果、存在、规律”等(如:mood, intentions, result, existence,规律)。
常见搭配示例:infer a conclusion from evidence(从证据中推断结论)
infer sb's intentions from their actions(从某人的行为推断其意图)
infer the age of a fossil from its layer(从化石的地层推断其年代)
需注意与"imply"(暗示)的区别:
infer:主语是人(主动“推断”);
imply:主语是物/行为(主动“暗示”,让别人推断)。
对比例句:The speaker implied the plan would fail.(演讲者暗示计划会失败。)
The audience inferred it was time to change.(听众推断是时候改变了。)
"infer" 是及物动词,后面必须接“结论”(宾语或从句),不能单独说“I infer from the data.”(需补充结论:I infer sales will rise from the data.);
口语中常用"guess from"或"figure out from"代替,但"infer"更正式,强调逻辑推理(而非猜测)。
总结:"infer from" 是表达“逻辑推断”的核心短语,关键是区分“结论”和“依据”的位置,通过具体例子练习能快速掌握~