comprovaram

Comprovar is a Portuguese verb whose meaning centers on establishing the truth, validity, or accuracy of something through evidence, testing, or demonstration. The form comprovaram is the pretérito perfeito do indicativo (simple past) in the third person plural, used when a group of subjects completed an act of verification or proof in the past. In sentences, comprovaram typically introduces conclusions or findings supported by data or observation.

Etymology and form: Comprovar is built from the prefix com- combined with provar, with roots in Latin terms such as comprobāre/conprobāre, meaning to prove or approve. The word belongs to regular -ar verbs in Portuguese, which means its principal parts follow standard patterns across tenses. The specific form comprovaram follows the normal conjugation for the third person plural in the pretérito perfeito.

Usage and nuance: In both Brazilian and European Portuguese, comprovar is used in formal contexts—academic, legal, journalistic, scientific—to indicate that evidence has verified a claim, hypothesis, or measurement. It conveys a sense of verification rather than mere assertion, aligning with terms like verificar or demonstrar but emphasizing corroboration by evidence or testing. Common constructions include comprovar que… (to prove/verify that…) and comprovar a hipótese (to verify the hypothesis).

Examples: Os resultados comprovaram a hipótese. Eles comprovaram que as medições estavam corretas. A auditoria comprovou irregularidades nos registros.

See also: comprovar (verb), provar, verificar, demonstrar. Note that comprovaram is a specific past-tense form of a broader verb with the same semantic field.