Investigar Examples, Sentences and Quiz in Spanish

investigar means to investigate, and it is a verb you will meet in everyday Spanish again and again. Investigar means to investigate, and it is used for investigating a case with the police, a subject for a thesis, a road accident and a family history. It is a spelling-change verb: the g becomes gu before e. This page puts investigar to work: twelve example sentences in different tenses and persons, grouped by use, then two short dialogues where the verb appears naturally, then the common mistakes to avoid, and finally a ten-question quiz with explained answers. Every Spanish form on this page comes from the verified conjugation tables for investigar, and the full tables are on the investigar conjugation page if you need to check a form.

Example sentences

Everyday uses

  1. Yo investigo el caso con la policía. — I investigate the case with the police.
  2. Él investiga un tema para la tesis. — He/she investigates a subject for the thesis.
  3. Ayer, yo investigué el accidente de la carretera. — Yesterday, I investigated the road accident.
  4. Antes, nosotros investigábamos la historia de su familia. — Before, we used to investigate his family history.

In other tenses

  1. Mañana, tú investigarás el caso con la policía. — Tomorrow, you will investigate the case with the police.
  2. Yo investigaría un tema para la tesis. — I would investigate a subject for the thesis.
  3. Él ha investigado el accidente de la carretera. — He/she has investigated the road accident.
  4. Espero que él investigue la historia de su familia. — I hope he/she investigates his family history.

With other people

  1. Nosotros investigamos el caso con la policía. — We investigate the case with the police.
  2. Vosotros investigáis un tema para la tesis. — You all investigate a subject for the thesis.
  3. Antes, ellos investigaban el accidente de la carretera. — Before, they used to investigate the road accident.
  4. Mañana, él investigará la historia de su familia. — Tomorrow, he/she will investigate his family history.

Investigar in context

Two short dialogues that use investigar the way people really use it. Read them aloud — the verb forms will stick much faster in a conversation than in a table.

Dialogue 1: today and yesterday

  • Ana: "Hola, ¿qué tal?" — "Hello, how are you?"
  • Luis: "Hoy investigo el caso con la policía." — "Today I investigate the case with the police."
  • Ana: "¿Y ayer?" — "And yesterday?"
  • Luis: "Ayer, investigué el accidente de la carretera." — "Yesterday I investigated the road accident."
  • Ana: "¿Y mañana, tú investigarás un tema para la tesis?" — "And tomorrow, will you will investigate a subject for the thesis?"
  • Luis: "Sí, claro. Y tú también." — "Yes, of course. And you too."

Dialogue 2: making plans

  • Marta: "Mañana, nosotros investigamos la historia de su familia." — "Tomorrow we investigate his family history."
  • Carlos: "Perfecto. Yo investigaría un tema para la tesis si tuviera más tiempo." — "Perfect. I would would investigate a subject for the thesis if I had more time."
  • Marta: "Espero que él investigue el caso con la policía." — "I hope he investigates the case with the police."
  • Carlos: "Seguro que sí. Él ya ha investigado el accidente de la carretera." — "Surely. He has already has investigated the road accident."
  • Marta: "Vale, nos vemos mañana." — "OK, see you tomorrow."

Notice how the same verb changes with the tense: the present for the plan, the conditional for the wish, the subjunctive after espero que, and the present perfect for what has already happened. That is the whole point of learning a verb across its tenses, not just in one form.

Common mistakes

  1. Wrong: Yo investiga el caso con la policía. — Right: Yo investigo el caso con la policía. — The person matters: investiga is the él/ella/Ud. form, while the yo form is investigo. Using the third-person form with yo is one of the most common beginner errors.
  2. Wrong: Yo investigé un tema para la tesis. — Right: Yo investigué un tema para la tesis. — In the preterite, the correct first-person form is investigué, not investigé. investigar is a spelling-change verb: g becomes gu before e, so the written form changes to keep the same sound. The regular-looking form is wrong.
  3. Wrong: Treating investigar and estudiar as identical in every context. — Right: Investigar means to investigate, while estudiar means to study, the close verb. — They overlap, but each has uses the other does not: investigar fits sentences such as Investigo el caso con la policía, while estudiar belongs in a different sentence. Check the meaning you want before choosing.
  4. Wrong: Yo soy investigado un tema para la tesis. — Right: Yo he investigado un tema para la tesis. — Spanish perfect tenses use haber, not ser: he investigado, has investigado, ha investigado. Ser plus the participle makes a passive, not a perfect tense.
  5. Wrong: De niño, yo investigué el accidente de la carretera todos los días. — Right: De niño, yo investigaba el accidente de la carretera todos los días. — For a repeated habit in the past, use the imperfect (investigaba), not the preterite. The preterite (investigué) is for one finished action.

Quiz: test yourself

Ten questions on investigar: four on the forms, three on the meaning, and three on spotting the correct sentence. Check the answer key below.

  1. Complete the sentence: Yo ___ el caso con la policía. (present tense) A. investigo B. investigas C. investiga D. investigamos

  2. Complete the sentence: Él ___ un tema para la tesis. (preterite tense) A. investigué B. investigaste C. investigamos D. investigó

  3. Complete the sentence: Tú ___ el accidente de la carretera. (future tense) A. investigará B. investigaremos C. investigarás D. investigaré

  4. Complete the sentence: Nosotros ___ la historia de su familia. (imperfect tense) A. investigabais B. investigábamos C. investigaba D. investigabas

  5. What does "Yo investigo el caso con la policía." mean in English? A. I investigate the case with the police. B. I investigate a subject for the thesis. C. I investigate the road accident. D. I investigate his family history.

  6. What does "Él investigó un tema para la tesis." mean in English? A. He/she investigated the case with the police. B. He/she investigated the road accident. C. He/she investigated his family history. D. He/she investigated a subject for the thesis.

  7. What does "Nosotros investigaremos el accidente de la carretera." mean in English? A. We will investigate a subject for the thesis. B. We will investigate his family history. C. We will investigate the road accident. D. We will investigate the case with the police.

  8. Which sentence is correct? A. Yo investigan un tema para la tesis. B. Yo investiga un tema para la tesis. C. Yo investigo un tema para la tesis.

  9. Which sentence is correct? A. Él investigué el accidente de la carretera. B. Él investigó el accidente de la carretera. C. Él investigaron el accidente de la carretera.

  10. Which sentence is correct? A. Espero que yo investigue la historia de su familia. B. Yo investige la historia de su familia. C. Yo investigue la historia de su familia.

Answer key

  1. investigo — The yo present form of investigar is investigo.
  2. investigó — The el preterite form of investigar is investigó.
  3. investigarás — The tu future form of investigar is investigarás.
  4. investigábamos — The nosotros imperfect form of investigar is investigábamos.
  5. I investigate the case with the police. — The Spanish sentence uses the present form investigo, so the English is "I investigate the case with the police." The other options use a different object or situation.
  6. He/she investigated a subject for the thesis. — The Spanish sentence uses the preterite form investigó, so the English is "He/she investigated a subject for the thesis." The other options use a different object or situation.
  7. We will investigate the road accident. — The Spanish sentence uses the future form investigaremos, so the English is "We will investigate the road accident." The other options use a different object or situation.
  8. Yo investigo un tema para la tesis. — The correct sentence is "Yo investigo un tema para la tesis." The other sentences use the wrong form or the wrong person for the subject.
  9. Él investigó el accidente de la carretera. — The correct sentence is "Él investigó el accidente de la carretera." The other sentences use the wrong form or the wrong person for the subject.
  10. Espero que yo investigue la historia de su familia. — The correct sentence is "Espero que yo investigue la historia de su familia." The other sentences use the wrong form or the wrong person for the subject.

Frequently asked questions

What does investigar mean, and when do I use it?

Investigar means to investigate. Investigar means to investigate, and it is used for investigating a case with the police, a subject for a thesis, a road accident and a family history. It is a spelling-change verb: the g becomes gu before e. A good first sentence to remember is Yo investigo el caso con la policía. — "I investigate the case with the police."

What is the difference between investigar and estudiar?

Investigar means to investigate, while estudiar means to study, the close verb. They appear in similar situations, but they are not interchangeable: use investigar when you mean to investigate, as in Yo investigo un tema para la tesis., and use estudiar for to study, the close verb.

How do I say "I investigate" in the past?

For one finished action, use the preterite: Yo investigué un tema para la tesis.. For a repeated habit or background in the past, use the imperfect: Yo investigaba el accidente de la carretera.. For something that has just happened, use the present perfect: Yo he investigado un tema para la tesis..

How do I practise investigar?

Start with the investigar conjugation page for the full tables, then the investigar in the present tense page for the tense in focus, and use the Spanish Verb Quiz to test the forms under pressure. Spelling change: g becomes gu before e, so the preterite is investigué and the subjunctive is investigue.

Related links