To clear up a disagreement on other thread, what do you think of when you read that phrase?
BTW, I’m complete open to the possibility that I could be wrong.
I picked “either 1 or 2.” w/o context, it sounds like either something involving education or perhaps diagnosing ADHD or autism.
I picked “you missed…” - I vote for “it depends on context.”
If a kid was tested for drugs, then I vote for option 1 or 2. Pee test, blood test, hair test?
If someone was tested for HIV, then one blood test.
Tested for ADD? Lots of observations and such.
Typically I would probably go for the “either one test or multiple tests” option.
I spelled this out in two different simple ways, neither of which are options in your poll:
Completed the testing process
or
Sufficient testing to reach the conclusion
That’s what the phrase “I was tested” means. Think of it this way: An IQ test has a half-dozen separate sections, completely distinct from each other. You have a spatial test, where you physically arrange blocks. You have a memorization test, where you have to repeat back sequences of numbers in varying orders. There’s a vocabulary test, general knowledge, plus a couple more. These are all separate tests. When I say I know my IQ because I’ve been tested, I clearly mean that I completed the entire testing process.
That you think the phrase “I was tested” can only mean one singular test – especially in the context of diagnosing a condition that requires multiple individual test – is very bizarre to me. Would your response to my claim of knowing my IQ because “I was tested” be “no you weren’t, there are multiple tests required to generate an IQ score”?
Recreate this poll with both my above answers and see how well “a single test” ranks compared to them.
For context in the thread, the question is whether a character on a show has Asperger’s. The character on the show actually said he’s not because “his mother had him tested.”
sam argues that we can discount this statement because the diagnosis requires multiple tests, and the phrase “I was tested” only means one singular test.
Clearly, “I was tested” means “completed the testing process.” How can it not? If you haven’t completed the testing process, you can’t put it in the past tense. You have to say “I am being tested.”
“Just pee in that jar”
Mm, maybe. You could be incompletely tested for something. Say that a doctor only runs one test that isn’t comprehensive, it turns out to not be conclusive, and the doctor says “guess not.” Or in this case, maybe his mom doesn’t want to believe that he could have Asperger’s, and stops after an inconclusive test, saying, “see, he’s just quirky.”
But absent any reason to suspect that there wasn’t due diligence, I’d probably go with your interpretation in most situations.
I think I was being fair by including one test and multiple tests and and either/or for those two as options - how is ‘completed the testing process’ different from ‘had multiple tests’? That’s past tense too.
You even said ‘an IQ test.’ Just because it has separate sections doesn’t mean it’s more than one test. In any case, multiple tests are covered by option 2.
I was thinking a paternity test.
Because “testing process” makes no claims whatsoever on the number of constituent tests required. It could be as little as 1 question or as many as a bunch of tests over an extended period of time.
Another example would be your driver’s license. “I passed the driver’s test” means you 1) passed the eye test, 2) passed the written test, and 3) passed the road test. (Though you’d specify the individual section if you failed. “I failed the eye test” or “I failed the written.” Or maybe “I crashed the car.” heh.)
EDIT: Another way they’re different is because “multiple” does not equal “all.” “Completed the process” means “all.” That’s very different.
It means “enough to conclude”. It’s definitive. If you’ve been tested, then that’s it. End of story.
Well, I chose the third option, but I wouldn’t be surprised if I found out the person meant 1 or 2 tests. I don’t think the phrase is inherently specific to the number of tests (which can include observations and assessments- those can be tests too).
That “he had a test” - a single, specific test that is not self-administered (had to go somewhere to “get tested” by an agency or lab). What the test was is obviously something that the mother is most worried about and would depend on context. Without anything else to go by, I’d say school entrance exam or SAT for an older kid, diagnosis of autism or juvenile diabetes for a younger one.
‘Other’ - whichever option applies to whatever they were tested for OR whichever option the person speaking THINKS applies to the condition.
I think that the thought I’m reading is incomplete and I don’t have enough information to draw any conclusions at all. There’s 100 different kinds of “tests” and there’s just no way to tell what that statement means, given the words that are in that sentence.
(Bolding mine.)
Right, exactly. sam disagrees that the phrase can be applied to a diagnosis of autism because she thinks the phrase specifically means a single test while an autism diagnosis involves multiple tests. That’s the genesis of this thread.
To be clear, your “single test” answer really means the collective of an entire testing process, like that required to diagnose autism. Which is the opposite of what sam means by the “single test” option in the OP.
And ‘he had multiple tests’ is in the past simple tense, hence the tests were completed.
Option 3 is ‘either one test or multiple tests.’
No, I don’t; you’ve misread me. I think the phrase specifically means tests, and Asperger’s Syndrome is diagnosed by more than just tests.
I said either one or two but my first thought was for drugs. My second was for diseases. Testing for psychological disorders didn’t really cross my mind.
You missed…
Dr. Sheldon Cooper from Big Bang Theory.