What finally provoked him to attend school?

[Bobbert]

What finally provoked him to attend school?

I'm getting lost in my translation and need to know if any of these are correct or if I'm completely off base? I want to use the verb "provocar" if possible.

¿Qué fue lo que finalmente lo provocó a asistir a la escuela?
¿Qué fue lo que finalmente lo provocó asistir a la escuela?
¿Qué fue lo que finalmente que provocó a que asitiera a la escuela?
¿Qué fue lo que finalmente provocó que asitiera a la escuela?
¿Qué fue finalmente que lo provocó asistir a la escuela?
¿Qué fue finalmente que lo provocó a que asitiera a la escuela?

Any help and/or explanations is appreciated.

[aleCcowaN]

Provoke here is incitar or simply causar.

"¿Qué lo incitó al final a ir a la escuela?" could be one version, but it still sounds too English.

I'd convey the same kind of notion in these ways:

"Al final ¿qué le hizo decidirse a ir a la escuela[only elementary school]/universidad/instituto/liceo/facultad[what they study is better than the general name of the institution where that happen]?"

"¿Y al fin qué fue lo que le hizo decidirse a seguir el curso/la carrera/esos estudios?"

"¿Qué causó que se decidiera finalmente a seguir ese curso?"

"¿Qué hizo que volviera a la escuela/liceo/instituto/universidad a completar sus estudios?"

escuela = elementary school
(escuela) secundaria/ instituto/ liceo [depending on the country; escuela is used when dubbing demands it and informally in some countries] = high school
facultad de medicina = school of medicine
terciario (only in some countries) = community college


The common use for these situations is

"¿Que lo motivó...?"

the answer can be a person or a thing, or a mix.

Provocar demands a person (el provocador) and generally refers to actions with a (bit or lot of) negative connotation:

provocó una riña
lo provocó con sus burlas
lo provocó con sus maneras seductoras

incitar is more flexible, but it always requires an external action.

Motivar is like gustar: some external object or action operates on us in some more or less basic level, but we are the ones that "live" the subjective reaction to that.


In your example "to attend school" (on the basis he's not a truant teenager who decided to be serious) it's more common to explain that by "continuar/retomar/iniciar sus estudios" or simply "estudiar". You may add all the details you like, but "estudiar" without any further explanation supposes to attend an educational institution to follow a formal study plan in order to achieve some kind of diploma or certification.

[Bobbert]

Thank you for the detailed input, aleCcowaN. It is always appreciated.

I think I’m going to settle on:

¿Qué fue lo que le hizo decidirse a volver a sus estudios?

To my ear, it doesn’t convey that something external to him provoked him to attend school, which was my intent, but it gets the message across that he decided to return to his studies, so it is fine. No further input is needed on that issue.

However, I know that “le hizo decidirse” is correct because I have heard “le hizo” before and you wrote “le hizo” in your response, but why is it “le” instead of “lo”? I assume “lo” is used with the other verbs like motivar, incitar, and provocar.

[aleCcowaN]

¿Qué fue lo que le hizo decidirse a volver a sus estudios?

To my ear, it doesn’t convey that something external to him provoked him to attend school, which was my intent...

But it does: Algo hizo a Juan decidirse/Algo hizo que Juan se decidiera ---> Algo le hizo decidirse.

However, I know that “le hizo decidirse” is correct because I have heard “le hizo” before and you wrote “le hizo” in your response, but why is it “le” instead of “lo”? I assume “lo” is used with the other verbs like motivar, incitar, and provocar.

Algo motivó que Juan se decidiera ---> Algo lo motivó a decidirse

Algo motivó a Juan (a decidirse) ---> Algo lo motivó (a decidirse)
Algo hizo a Juan ---> Algo lo hizo [Sus padres, Dios, lo que fuera]
Algo hizo a Juan decidirse ---> Algo le hizo decidirse

[poli]

Would you use azuzar?

[aleCcowaN]

At least in Argentina, azuzar is only used with animals or primitive people -sort of a racist slur-, pretty much like in the "Burnesque" way «Smithers!! release the hounds!», however, I'm now looking at some examples in CREA from Mexico and Spain that make valid this use with the parameters in the OP.

[AngelicaDeAlquezar]

I agree with Alec: if you use it for people, "azuzar" has a negative meaning. One uses this for situations where someone makes other people do as he/she pleases by manipulating them as if they were inferior (like animals).

- Los azuzó para que pelearan.
- Los está azuzando para que terminen más rápido.

For the original example, I'd rather think of verbs like "motivar", "exhortar", "animar", "alentar". Or a simple "¿qué lo hizo volver a los estudios?"

[Bobbert]

Thank you, aleCcowaN and Angelica.