Investiga

Investiga is a form of the Spanish verb investigar, meaning to investigate or to research. It functions as a present-tense verb form and appears in several grammatical contexts. In everyday usage, investiga can denote third-person singular present indicative: él investiga, ella investiga, or usted investiga, meaning “he investigates,” “she investigates,” or “you (formal) investigate.” It also appears as the affirmative tú imperative: investiga, meaning “investigate.” The formal imperative is investigue.

Etymology and relation to related terms:investigar comes from Latin investigare, formed from in- “into” and vestigare “to track,” related to vestigium “trace.” The noun corresponding to the action is investigación (investigation). Other related forms include investigador (investigator) and investigación (investigation).

Usage and contexts: investiga appears across fields such as law enforcement, journalism, science, and academia, whenever a search for facts, evidence, or explanations is described. Examples include phrases like “La policía investiga el robo” (The police are investigating the theft) and “El equipo investiga las causas del fallo.” The term often pairs with nouns to specify the scope, such as investigación, expediente, caso, or proceso.

Note: investiga is not a standalone noun; it is a verb form. Other tenses and moods (investigó, investiga, investigar, investigación) expand the range of meaning and time frames. In writing, context clarifies whether the action is happening now, in past times, or in a hypothetical or command sense.