Comprobar Examples, Sentences & Quiz in Spanish

comprobar means "to check, to verify" in English, and this page shows you how it actually sounds in everyday Spanish — not just the conjugation table, but the verb in real sentences, in short dialogues, and in the mistakes learners make with it. Comprobar means to check or verify something yourself: comprobar la hora, comprobar los datos. It often takes a que-clause: compruebo que la puerta está cerrada. Below you will find twelve example sentences grouped by use, two short dialogues, the most common mistakes with corrections, and a ten-question quiz with explained answers. If you want the full tables first, start with the full conjugation of comprobar; if you want to study one tense in depth, see the comprobar present tense page.

comprobar in everyday use: examples with translations

Everyday present uses

How the verb sounds in the present, the future and in hypotheticals — the forms you will use most often.

  1. Yo compruebo la hora en el reloj — "I check the time on the clock"
  2. Mi amigo comprueba los datos del informe — "My friend checks the data in the report"
  3. Mañana, tú comprobarás que la puerta está cerrada — "Tomorrow, you will check that the door is closed"
  4. Yo comprobaría el correo cada mañana si pudiera — "I would check the email every morning if I could"

Talking about the past

The same verb in the past: one finished action, a habit, something that has just happened, and something that had already happened.

  1. Ayer, yo comprobé la hora en el reloj — "Yesterday, I checked the time on the clock"
  2. Antes, nosotros comprobábamos los datos del informe — "Before, we used to check the data in the report"
  3. Él ha comprobado que la puerta está cerrada — "He has checked that the door is closed"
  4. Yo ya había comprobado el correo cada mañana antes de salir — "I already had checked the email every morning before leaving"

Wishes, conditions and commands

The verb after espero que, in si clauses, as a command — and in the conditional perfect, for what would have happened.

  1. Espero que él compruebe la hora en el reloj — "I hope he checks the time on the clock"
  2. Si yo comprobara los datos del informe, todo cambiaría — "If I checked the data in the report, everything would change"
  3. Comprueba que la puerta está cerrada. — "Check that the door is closed."
  4. Yo habría comprobado el correo cada mañana con más tiempo — "I would have checked the email every morning with more time"

comprobar in conversation

Two short dialogues that use comprobar the way people really speak it. Notice how the verb changes with the person, and how the same verb fits different situations.

Two friends talk about it.

  • Lucía: Hola, ¿qué tal? — "Hello, how are you?"
  • Lucía: Yo compruebo la hora en el reloj — "I check the time on the clock"
  • Marcos: Él comprueba los datos del informe — "He checks the data in the report"
  • Lucía: Ayer, yo comprobé que la puerta está cerrada — "Yesterday, I checked that the door is closed"
  • Marcos: Mañana, tú comprobarás el correo cada mañana — "Tomorrow, you will check the email every morning"

A practical exchange.

  • Marcos: Hola, ¿qué tal? — "Hello, how are you?"
  • Marcos: Comprueba la temperatura del horno. — "Check the oven temperature."
  • Lucía: Él ha comprobado la hora en el reloj — "He has checked the time on the clock"
  • Marcos: Espero que él compruebe los datos del informe — "I hope he checks the data in the report"
  • Lucía: Antes, yo comprobaba que la puerta está cerrada — "Before, I used to check that the door is closed"

Common mistakes with comprobar

The errors learners actually make with comprobar, each with the wrong form, the right form, and why the right form is right.

✗ *Yo comprobo el correo cada mañana.

✓ Correct: Yo compruebo el correo cada mañana.

comprobar is a stem-changing verb (o → ue): the stem vowel changes in the stressed present forms, so the yo form is compruebo, not comprobo.

✗ *Espero que él comprueba el correo cada mañana

✓ Correct: Espero que él compruebe el correo cada mañana

After espero que, Spanish requires the subjunctive: Espero que él compruebe el correo cada mañana — not the indicative Espero que él comprueba el correo cada mañana.

✗ *Ayer, yo compruebo la temperatura del horno

✓ Correct: Ayer, yo comprobé la temperatura del horno

Ayer points to a finished action in the past, so it needs the preterite: Ayer, yo comprobé la temperatura del horno.

✗ *De niño, yo comprobé la hora en el reloj todos los días

✓ Correct: De niño, yo comprobaba la hora en el reloj todos los días

For a repeated habit in the past, use the imperfect, not the preterite: De niño, yo comprobaba la hora en el reloj todos los días.

✗ *Yo compruebo en que la puerta está cerrada.

✓ Correct: Yo compruebo que la puerta está cerrada.

comprobar takes this complement directly, with no preposition: Yo compruebo que la puerta está cerrada.

Quiz: comprobar in use

Ten questions on comprobar — its forms, its tenses and its everyday use. Choose the best answer for each one, then check the answer key below, where every answer is explained.

  1. Complete the sentence: Yo ______ la hora en el reloj — "I check the time on the clock" (present) A. compruebas B. comprueba C. comprobamos D. compruebo

  2. Complete the sentence: Ayer, yo ______ los datos del informe — "Yesterday, I checked the data in the report" (preterite) A. comprobé B. comprobaste C. comprobó D. comprobamos

  3. Complete the sentence: Antes, nosotros ______ que la puerta está cerrada — "Before, we used to check that the door is closed" (imperfect) A. comprobabas B. comprobabais C. comprobábamos D. comprobaba

  4. Complete the sentence: Mañana, tú ______ el correo cada mañana — "Tomorrow, you will check the email every morning" (future) A. comprobaré B. comprobará C. comprobaremos D. comprobarás

  5. Complete the sentence: Yo ______ la temperatura del horno — "I would check the oven temperature" (conditional) A. comprobaríais B. comprobaría C. comprobarías D. comprobaríamos

  6. Complete the sentence: Él ______ la hora en el reloj — "He has checked the time on the clock" (present perfect) A. ha comprobado B. he comprobado C. has comprobado D. hemos comprobado

  7. Complete the sentence: Espero que él ______ los datos del informe — "I hope he checks the data in the report" (present subjunctive) A. compruebes B. comprobemos C. comprobéis D. compruebe

  8. Complete the sentence: ______ que la puerta está cerrada. — "Check that the door is closed." (affirmative imperative) A. comprobemos B. comprobad C. comprueba D. compruebe

  9. Which is the gerund of comprobar, used with estar for the progressive? A. comprobé B. comprobando C. comprobado D. compruebo

  10. What does comprobar mean in English? A. to verify B. to enjoy C. to cross D. to check

Answer key

  1. compruebo — The present form for yo is compruebo.
  2. comprobé — The preterite form for yo is comprobé.
  3. comprobábamos — The imperfect form for nosotros/as is comprobábamos.
  4. comprobarás — The future form for tú is comprobarás.
  5. comprobaría — The conditional form for yo is comprobaría.
  6. ha comprobado — The present perfect form for él/ella/Ud. is ha comprobado.
  7. compruebe — The present subjunctive form for él/ella/Ud. is compruebe.
  8. comprueba — The affirmative imperative form is comprueba.
  9. comprobando — The gerund of comprobar is comprobando: estoy comprobando. The participle comprobado is used with haber instead.
  10. to check — comprobar means to check.

Frequently asked questions

What does comprobar mean in English?

comprobar means to check, to verify. For example: Yo compruebo la hora en el reloj — "I check the time on the clock". The exact English wording depends on the context, but the core meaning stays the same across the tenses.

What preposition goes with comprobar?

comprobar takes its complement directly, with no preposition, as in the examples above. Adding an extra preposition is a common learner error.

Is comprobar regular?

No. comprobar is a stem-changing -ar verb (o → ue). The stem vowel changes in the stressed forms of the present: compruebo, compruebas, comprueba and comprueban — but nosotros and vosotros keep the plain stem: comprobamos, comprobáis.

How do I practise comprobar?

Start with the present tense table on the full conjugation page, then drill the preterite and the imperfect, since those two past tenses cause the most mistakes. Try the Spanish Verb Quiz to test the forms under pressure, and come back to the sentences above until you can say them without looking.

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