Spanish Verb Probar Conjugation

Probar is a common verb that means "to try" in the sense of putting something to the test, although it has a wide range of translations depending on the context. For example, it can be translated as "to taste" when the thing being tried is food, or even "to test-drive" if the object being tried is a car.

Probar comes from the same Latin verb as "prove" and "probe," and it can have those meanings as well. Other common translations include "to try on," "to demonstrate," and "to test."

Probar Conjugation

Probar is an irregular -ar verb, but its irregularities should pose little difficulty. The -o in the stem becomes -ue when stressed, which occurs only in the present tenses of the indicative and subjunctive moods and in the imperative mood.

All those irregular forms are listed below as well the regular forms used in the preterite, imperfect, simple future, periphrastic future, and conditional indicative; the imperfect subjunctive; the past participle; and the gerund.

Probar's conjugation pattern is used by dozens of verbs that have an o in the stem. Among the most common are costar (to cost), demostrar (to demonstrate), encontrar (to find), sonar (to make a sound), soñar (to dream), and volar (to fly).

As a translation for "to try," probar should not be confused with intentar, which usually means to attempt.

Present Indicative Tense of Probar

The present tense in Spanish can be used not only for actions that are happening now but also for those scheduled to happen in the near future.

Probar Preterite

The preterite (also spelled "preterit") is the simple past tense that is usually the equivalent of English past tense verbs ending in "-ed."

Imperfect Indicative Form of Probar

The imperfect indicative form is used for actions that happened in the past but without a specific beginning or ending. In English, it is the equivalent of "used to try" or "was trying."

Probar Future Tense

Periphrastic Future of Probar

A periphrastic tense is simply one that requires more than one word to form. The periphrastic future uses a conjugated form of the Spanish verb ir and is used in essentially the same way as "going to + verb" in English.

Present Progressive/Gerund Form of Probar

The gerund is used to indicate that a verb's action is, was, or will be ongoing. It is used less often than the English "-ing" verbs.

Gerund of Probar: está probando

is trying -> Ella está probando las verduras frescas.

Past Participle of Probar

The participle of probar is preceded by a conjugated form of the verb haber.

Participle of Probar: ha probado

has tried -> Ella ha probado las verduras frescas.

Probar Conditional Indicative

The conditional indicative form expresses probability, wonder, or conjecture.

Present Subjunctive of Probar

Imperfect Subjunctive Forms of Probar

The two forms of the imperfect subjunctive can be used interchangeably, but the first one below is used more often, especially in speech.

Option 1

Option 2

Imperative Forms of Probar

Imperative (Positive Command)

Imperative (Negative Command)