Comprovou

Comprovou is the third-person singulared form of the Portuguese verb comprovar, used in the pretérito perfeito (past tense) to indicate that something was proven or verified in the past. It can refer to establishing the truth of a claim, the validity of a result, or the authenticity of evidence.

Etymology and form: comprovar comes from the combination of the prefix com- and the verb provar, ultimately tracing to Latin comprobare from probare, to test or prove. The pretérito perfeito conjugation in European Portuguese is eu comprovei, tu comprovaste, ele comprovou, nós comprovámos, vós comprovastes, eles comprovaram. In Brazilian Portuguese, the forms are largely the same, though regional usage may affect typical tense realization in informal speech.

Usage: Comprovou is commonly used in formal or written contexts such as scientific reporting, journalism, law, and academic writing to indicate that verification has occurred. It carries a nuance of corroborating evidence or validation rather than mere suggestion. The related verb comprovar is often contrasted with provar (to prove in a general sense) and demonstrar (to demonstrate), with comprovar emphasizing the act of verifying and confirming with evidence.

Examples: Ele comprovou a veracidade das informações com documentos oficiais. O estudo comprovou a hipótese por meio de dados experimentais. O relatório comprovou que as irregularidades existiam.

See also: comprovar, provar, demonstrar, confirmar. Note that while both comprovar and provar can be used to express proof, comprovar emphasizes verification through evidence or testing.