prove

«prove» in Mova's school dictionary: To show with facts or reasons that something is true — its meaning for a pupil, its sense in the lessons and examples, with 5 sentences of Mova's corpora that use it.

part of speech

verb (prove, proves, proved, proving; past participle proved or proven)

meaning for a pupil

1) To show with facts or reasons that something is true. tree →

2) To turn out to be: "The test proved easy." tree →

3) To show what you can do: "She proved herself a good captain." tree →

4) In baking, to let dough rise before cooking. tree →

sense in the lessons

In maths, to prove something means to show with clear steps why it is always true. In science, experiments give evidence that supports or does not support an idea. In stories, characters try to prove they are innocent or brave. Phrases: prove it, prove that, prove wrong, prove yourself, prove useful.

examples

• Can you prove that 7 is a prime number? tree →
• The muddy paws proved the dog had been outside. tree →
• He wanted to prove that he could swim across the pool. tree →
• The map proved very useful on the hike. tree →
• She proved everyone wrong by winning the race. tree →
• Let the bread dough prove for an hour. tree →
• Show your working to prove your answer. tree →
• Then our innocence will be proved.” tree →

note

Past: proved; past participle: proved or proven ("It has been proved" or "proven"). The noun is "proof". Trap: one example does not prove a rule is always true; in maths you need a reason that works for every case. "Prove" sounds like "groove" — not like "drove". "Prove wrong" means show that someone or something was mistaken.

In the corpora

• A PIN is the secret number that proves the card is yours.
• One mimed song on a TV show, where many performers mime, does not prove a singer cannot sing.
• "Allegedly" means someone has claimed it but it is not proved; a parody account is a joke copying a real name.
• Self-driving vehicles are being tested, and their safety must be proven before they are used everywhere.
• Feelings after a performance can be big and mixed, and feeling bad does not prove you sang badly.

Trees and pragmatics

Every meaning and example of «prove» parsed by Mova, each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.