# Interrogare uno studente



## Ibiscus

Hello dear forum!
Here is my question: how do you say "il prof interroga lo studente"?
"The professor interrogates the student"?
Is the choice of "to interrogate" here correct?
Because I've heart you use it in prison's contest...

Thank you!

Ibiscus


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## madmorty

Hello!

You're right, if you use 'interrogate' it implies that, for instance, something was stolen at the school and the teacher was interrogating the poor student.

'To question' or 'To ask someone a question' are better choices.

'Prof' would be translated as 'teacher' in a school context or 'lecturer' in a university context.


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## underhouse

Io direi: "the teacher asks questions to the student".
In questo contesto interrogare è "to ask questions".


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## mrg

Si dice anche: the professor quizzes the student.


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## Ibiscus

Does "quiz" mean "ask student thousands of difficult questions??


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## madmorty

Ibiscus said:


> Does "quiz" mean "ask student thousands of difficult questions??


 
I'd never really thought about it before, but now that you mention it, that seems like an excellent definition.  I don't think the questions would necessarily have to be difficult, but they could well be.


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## Necsus

Ibiscus said:
			
		

> Because I've heart you use it in prison's contest...


Sorry, Ibiscus, English is not my language, but... isn't it _heard _? (heart = cuore)


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## madmorty

Necsus said:


> Sorry, Ibiscus, English is not my language, but... isn't it _heard _? (heart = cuore)


 
Yes.

_'I've heard you use it in a prison context'_.


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## k_georgiadis

To quiz someone implies asking a series of questions, but there is no inevitable implication that the questions are difficult.


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## Ibiscus

Ok, can I say for example:
"Tomorrow I'm going to be quizzed by my lecturer about Oncology"?


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## k_georgiadis

Ibiscus said:


> Ok, can I say for example:
> "Tomorrow I'm going to be quizzed by my lecturer about Oncology"?


 
In US universities there is a testing mechanism called the quiz, less formal and formidable than a test or an exam, whereby the professor tests the students' knowledge of and progress on a subject. However, the common way to say it is: "tomorrow I'm going to have an oncology quiz" (it is already implied that the quiz will be administered by the professor).


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## Ibiscus

Ah.. OK!
Thankyou K_georgiadis!!


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## Pietruzzo

*NEW*
I'd like to say "Oggi sei stato interrogato in qualche materia?"
Could I say:
Were you quizzed in (on?) any subject today?
Would it be clear that I'm asking about oral quizzes?


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## johngiovanni

If someone said "I was quizzed about / on cell biology", I would take it that they were asked a series of questions, probably orally.
"Were you quizzed on / about cell biology?"

However, I don't think I would ask "Were you quizzed in any subject today?"

"Did the / (any of) your  teacher(s) ask you any questions today?" is a question I might ask my great-grandson this evening.

I can imagine a context where "Were you quizzed in any subject today?" would sound natural.  (A teacher has just been talking about the verb "quiz", what it means, etc.  The teacher then asks "Were you quizzed in any subject today?").


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## Tegs

Or "did your teachers spring any questions on you today?" (if you want to ask whether questions were asked without any warning)


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## Pietruzzo

johngiovanni said:


> However
> , I don't think I would ask "Were you quizzed in any subject today?"
> 
> "Did the / (any of) your  teacher(s) ask you any questions today?"





Tegs said:


> Or "did your teachers spring any questions on you today?" (if you want to ask whether questions were asked without any warning)


I see. Thanks for your answers. However, "questions" would sound generic to me. Typically, I would ask "Oggi sei stato interrogato?" and then  "ti hanno fatto domande?" The difference being that after an official "interrogazione", you get a mark on the register.


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## johngiovanni

In that case, I would ask "Were you tested / Did you do / have a test / any tests today?"

"Interrogare" has "test", "examine" as one of its English definitions.  However, it would then be necessary to spell out "oral" or "written".

_La Repubblica _dictionary gives: "interrogare un alunno in storia  - to test a pupil in history".

"Quizzed" would not convey "tested" in the scholastic context.  A teacher might quiz pupils but not formally record marks.
(In the old thread there was no context, and the original OP sentence could be translated as "The teacher tests / is testing the student".)


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## Tegs

I agree with John on nearly all of the above, except that "Were you tested?" strikes me as odd in this context - it sounds more medical to me (i.e. were you tested for diabetes?).


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## johngiovanni

I certainly agree that "Were you tested...?" in this context is probably much less common than "Did you do / have a test / any tests...?"


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## You little ripper!

"Orally tested" perhaps?


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## Einstein

You little ripper! said:


> "Orally tested" perhaps?


I was just going to say that! We could also say, "Did you have an oral test today?"
In my experience in a British school, we had mainly written tests; oral questioning was informal and no mark was given, so there was no direct equivalent of the "interrogazione", with a recorded assessment. The nearest we could come to that would be, precisely, "oral test".


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## Tegs

We only ever had “oral tests” in language classes in my school, so an oral test was very specifically when you were being tested on your fluency in a foreign language.


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## johngiovanni

Again, I find myself agreeing entirely with Tegs.  (All this agreement is getting too much, Tegs!  ).  I had only two "oral tests" when I was at secondary school years ago.  One was at 16 in French, and the other was at 18, also in French.  It's a pity I didn't ever improve on those performances, though I can still order _moules-frites_ in Montmartre. (Oops!)


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## Tegs

Concluding all this agreeing, I also agree with Einstein that there isn’t an exact equivalent for interrogazione. 

(And John, the ability to order food in other countries is really useful! )


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## You little ripper!

In primary school in Australia we were tested for both adding up and spelling, not just language proficiency. They were both scored and made up part of the mark you received at the end of term for Maths and English. But whether you get a score or not is irrelevant in my opinion - it's still an oral test.


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## Pietruzzo

Tegs said:


> there isn’t an exact equivalent for interrogazione


 Peccato. Non conoscete il brivido del professore che scorre il dito sull'elenco per scegliere chi interrogare, mentre nella classe piomba un angoscioso silenzio degno di un atterraggio low cost...


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## You little ripper!

Interestingly, the WR dictionary translates it this way:

interrogazione - Dizionario italiano-inglese WordReference

(esame orale) oral exam, oral test _n_


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## Tegs

Pietruzzo said:


> Peccato. Non conoscete il brivido del professore che scorre il dito sull'elenco per scegliere chi interrogare, mentre nella classe piomba un angoscioso silenzio degno di un atterraggio low cost...



 Meno male allora che non esiste in inglese!!


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## Blackman

Einstein said:


> I was just going to say that! We could also say, "Did you have an oral test today?"
> In my experience in a British school, we had mainly written tests; oral questioning was informal and no mark was given, so there was no direct equivalent of the "interrogazione", with a recorded assessment. The nearest we could come to that would be, precisely, "oral test".


That is exactly the point and that's why we will never be able to translate interrogare in English with the same taste it holds in Italian. L'interrogazione is the core of the Italian system of education and the boogeyman of any Italian student. They live it quite as much as if they were "tested" in a police station.


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## Einstein

Blackman said:


> They live it quite as much as if they were "tested" in a police station.


And that explains why English-speakers get confused between "interrogazione" and "interrogatorio" True, though, I've seen Italian students suffer far more before an "interrogazione" than I used to suffer before a written test.


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## elfa

Blackman said:


> L'interrogazione is the core of the Italian system of education and the bogeyman  of any Italian student.



Interesting discussion. I agree that "Did you get tested?" on its own doesn't convey the general sense of the _interrogazione_ in Italian schools. And to say "Did you get orally tested?" sounds medical and distinctly unpleasant to me! However you _could_ say
_
Did you get tested in Biology today?_ or
_
Did you have a test in Biology today?_

True, this wouldn't give the sense of the test being an oral one, but it might lead the reader to think that it was serious enough for the teacher to note down the resulting mark in a register.


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## pebblespebbles

Hi, 
What about an "oral questions (and answers)  test", or an "oral evaluation"...? Does it convey the Italian meaning?


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## london calling

You little ripper! said:


> In primary school in Australia we were tested for both adding up and spelling, not just language proficiency. They were both scored and made up part of the mark you received at the end of term for Maths and English. But whether you get a score or not is irrelevant in my opinion - it's still an oral test.


Same here (both in Oz and in London). And I did oral (foreign language) exams at university.

An 'interrogazione' is definitely an oral test/exam. Compare it to the 'prova scritta' (written test/exam). That said, the educarional systems are rather different and we don't have a true equivalent, as has been said above.


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## curiosone

underhouse said:


> Io direi: "the teacher asks questions to the student".
> In questo contesto interrogare è "to ask questions".



While agreeing with the contributions of other native speakers on the above subject, I cannot let a grammar mistake (post 3) go uncommented .

You cannot ask questions TO anybody.  You can only ask or question somebody.  (unless you want to ask the student to stand up, but that's not the same thing  ).


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## macforever

Uno studente va male all'interrogazione e l'insegnante gli dice: "_Ti interrogherò la prossima settimana_". 
_I will ask you some questions next week._
Si può dire in modo più appropriato?


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## Benzene

Suggerisco _"I'll question you in + materia again next week".

Bye,
*Benzene*_


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## london calling

macforever said:


> Uno studente va male all'interrogazione e l'insegnante gli dice: "_Ti interrogherò la prossima settimana_".
> _I will ask you some questions next week._
> Si può dire in modo più appropriato?


I'll test you again next week.


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## TheCrociato91

O anche usare il verbo "to quiz" come suggerito sopra, anche se mi sembra di capire sia maggiormente diffuso negli USA che in UK (nel senso di interrogare, ovviamente)

to quiz somebody = (North American English) to give students an informal test
You will be quizzed on chapter 6 tomorrow.


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## london calling

A UK teacher would be unlikely to say that.


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## metazoan

As the definition for "quiz" given by @TheCrociato91 states, it's a more informal test, I think inappropriate for translating "interrogazione". In the U.S. we would instead use "test" for the verb, and "test" or "exam" for the noun.


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## Einstein

london calling said:


> A UK teacher would be unlikely to say that.


Agreed! "Quiz" to me sounds more like a game show on TV.


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## MR1492

metazoan said:


> As the definition for "quiz" given by @TheCrociato91 states, it's a more informal test, I think inappropriate for translating "interrogazione". In the U.S. we would instead use "test" for the verb, and "test" or "exam" for the noun.



In this case, would we use "verbal test" or "verbal examination"? It seems to me that the Italian "interrogazione" is a type of in-class, one-on-one between the student and the teacher. We don't really have anything similar in public schools in the USA. There might be something in the smaller, private schools which is similar but I'm not sure.

Phil


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## metazoan

MR1492 said:


> would we use "verbal test" or "verbal examination"? ... We don't really have anything similar in public schools in the USA.


True, we don't usually test that way, and could further qualify the translation to better describe the Italian version. (Except the usual qualifier would be "oral", not "verbal".)


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## Benzene

_To me, the adjectives "verbal, oral" are synonymous in this context.
Bye,
*Benzene*_


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## london calling

Yes, but we tend to say 'oral' when talking about tests or exams.


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## AleMaxx

I think everyone here is trying to give translations of the word “interrogare” too literally.

If you want to relay the concept you would simply say “the teacher called on the student.”


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## london calling

AleMaxx said:


> If you want to relay the concept you would simply say “the teacher called on the student.”


Non direi proprio. Un insegnante inglese/americano non lo direbbe mai.

Vedi per esempio  quello che ho detto sopra:



london calling said:


> I'll test you again next week.


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## AleMaxx

london calling said:


> Non direi proprio. Un insegnante inglese/americano non lo direbbe mai.



I respectfully disagree. Maybe it is not said in the U.K., but it is commonly used in American English.


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## london calling

Hang on. Stai dicendo che  "il prof interroga lo studente" si dice “the teacher called on the student.”? No. Puoi dire "The teacher called on the student to answer some questions", ma “The teacher called on the student" da solo non rende l'idea che lo studente debba essere interrogato.


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## AleMaxx

I don’t know where you get this conviction. I am just telling you how it’s used IRL. I am sure you can google “call on” and one of the meanings will be to ask a student to answer a question.


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## london calling

Guarda che sono di madrelingua inglese._ Call on_ (che non è soltanto AE)* da solo non vuol dire interrogare uno studente.*


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## AleMaxx

london calling said:


> Guarda che sono di madrelingua inglese._ Call on_ (che non è soltanto AE)* da solo non vuol dire interrogare uno studente.*


As I said, I don’t know if it is used in the U.K., but I can tell you, without any doubt, that it is used in the US.

call on

 You can check other dictionaries online.


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## TheCrociato91

AleMaxx said:


> I think everyone here is trying to give translations of the word “interrogare” too literally.



I'm not sure what you mean by "too literally". "Interrogare" is a specific term in Italian.

What I have gathered from looking up "call on students" is that it doesn't 100% equate to "interrogare". This is the defintion provided by Merriam Webster:

to call on = to elicit a response from (someone, such as a student)
the teacher _called on_ her first

"Interrogare" involves a teacher choosing one or more students (or one or more students volunteering) in order to ask them questions on a given topic. "To call on someone" to me is simply to ask a student to reply to a specific question; it's more of a specific "classroom activity" in Italian.

That said, since Italian "interrogazioni" don't seem to be all that popular in English-speaking countries, one may either go for a broader term (such as "test", "quiz") or pick another specific term that refers to something (somewhat) different.


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## london calling

I don't need to check any other dictionaries. I know exactly what it means.

Free Dictionary (your link) says:

_My son says that he raises his hand in class every day, and the teacher never calls on him. I didn't have an answer ready, but the teacher called on me anyway._

And that is fine, because we have context. It is clear *from the context* what it means. Out of context _The teacher called on him _could be referred to anything. 

The tewcher called on me to read my essay out loud to the class.
The teacher called on me to answer some questions.
The teacher called on me to translate a French poem.

Etc.

And in any case the sentence above has nothing to do with the Italian 'interrogazione'. All it means is that the teacher picks on someone in the class to answer a specific question.


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## MR1492

Reading these, the problem is two dialects (BE and AE) and one language (IT) and three educational systems! I doubt we can ever get them to match up.

I agree with AleMaxx that in the AE school system, we do not have the formal "interrogare" type of system. However, the "call on" idea of the teacher asking specific students for a response is similar (but not the same). Teachers will often "call on" students to answer specific questions or read specific things in order to draw them into the learning environment.

Finally, I don't doubt that LC knows the English system quite well and knows the differences between it and the Italian system. And I'm sure her analysis is correct.

I just don't know if we can turn the dials of this Enigma Machine to come up with a match.

Phil


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## AleMaxx

london calling said:


> And in any case the sentence above has nothing to do with the Italian 'interrogazione'. All it means is that the teacher picks on someone in the class to answer a specific question.


Listen, I am just trying to help the OP. 

Interrogazione exactly means that: the teacher picks on someone in the class to answer questions. 

When a student tells me “the professor called on me” without adding anything else, I know exactly what it means. 

When I warn my students at the beginning of the semester that I will be calling on them, they know exactly what I’m talking about. 

In fact, “I will call on you to ask you questions” sounds awkward and redundant. 

To me, that’s the best approximation to the Italian “interrogazione.” 

Now, I could say “Today I will call on someone to discuss Sophocles” as I could say “Oggi interrogherò qualcuno su Sofocle.” So I could add specificity and context in both languages. But the implied meanings of the terms on their own are the same. 

@TheCrociato91 questioned the formality of the process ... Interrogare may mean to ask several students a range of questions, maybe they have to stand up in front of the classroom, etc. That may be true but the form it takes in the US (again, I don’t know about the U.K. or other English speaking countries) is a bit different. And it is just cultural. I can call on someone in class and the person may or may not stand up (sometimes it depends on the type of classroom), and I may ask a question or a range of questions on a specific topic. And since it does count towards a grade it is really the same thing as an interrogazione.



MR1492 said:


> Reading these, the problem is two dialects (BE and AE) and one language (IT) and three educational systems! I doubt we can ever get them to match up.
> 
> I agree with AleMaxx that in the AE school system, we do not have the formal "interrogare" type of system. However, the "call on" idea of the teacher asking specific students for a response is similar (but not the same). Teachers will often "call on" students to answer specific questions or read specific things in order to draw them into the learning environment.
> 
> Finally, I don't doubt that LC knows the English system quite well and knows the differences between it and the Italian system. And I'm sure her analysis is correct.
> 
> I just don't know if we can turn the dials of this Enigma Machine to come up with a match.
> 
> Phil


Thank you Phil for the words of reason. I think this puts an end to the debate ...


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## metazoan

MR1492 said:


> Reading these, the problem is two dialects (BE and AE) and one language (IT) and three educational systems! I doubt we can ever get them to match up.


This isn't the first thread where the forum confronts this same fundamental problem. Someone could do us a real service by pointing out a good on-line resource (or writing it out here?), the differences in these three educational systems, from elementary grades through college/university (even PhD?), describing how they work in enough detail that people raised in one system can understand the other.
Let's get educated about education.
Edit: There are many personal descriptions out there on the main differences between American and Italian high school.


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