interrogava

Interrogava is the third-person singular imperfect indicative form of the Italian verb interrogare, meaning to question or interrogate. It denotes ongoing or habitual action in the past and is commonly used in narrative, reporting, and dialogue to set a scene or describe a past process of questioning.

Etymology and form: Interrogare derives from Latin interrogare, formed from inter- “between” and rogare “to ask.” The imperfect tense in Italian for regular -are verbs ends with -ava (for third person singular: egli/ella interrogava), producing the form interrogava.

Grammatical usage: The imperfect imperfective aspect communicates actions that were in progress, repeated, or customary in the past, rather than completed actions. Interrogava can describe how questioning unfolded over time, the tone or intensity of inquiry, or background details in a story or report. It contrasts with the passato prossimo interrogato/ha interrogato, which signals a completed act of questioning.

Conjugation note: For interrogare, the relevant present-tense forms include io interrogo, tu interroghi, lui/lei interroga; the imperfect forms include io interrogavo, tu interrogavi, lui/lei interrogava, noi interrogavamo, voi interrogavate, loro interrogavano.

Examples:

- Il giudice interrogava i testimoni durante il processo.

- Nell’intervista, l’investigatore interrogava ripetutamente gli intervistati.

- La scena descriveva come il narratore interrogava il protagonista sulle sue ragioni.

See also: interrogare, imperfetto, italiano.