"Scientists have proof/proven that photovoltaic cells convert sunlight into energy."

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birgit33

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"Scientists have proof/proven that photovoltaic cells convert sunlight into energy."

"Scientists have proof/proven that photovoltaic cells convert sunlight into energy."
Are both proof and proven correct in this sentence ?
 

bhaisahab

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Re: "Scientists have proof/proven that photovoltaic cells convert sunlight into energ

"Scientists have proof/proven that photovoltaic cells convert sunlight into energy."
Are both proof and proven correct in this sentence ?

Yes, they are both correct, the meaning is different though.
 

BobSmith

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Re: "Scientists have proof/proven that photovoltaic cells convert sunlight into energ

[AmE - not a teacher]

Notice that one form of the word is a noun, while the other is a verb. Perhaps this crude example will help show the difference:

"I have a piece of paper that shows evidence that ... "

The piece of paper would be having the proof.

Showing evidence would be the proving.

Indeed, one could say:

"Scientists have proof proving that ... " or "Scientists have proven with proof that ... " (though the redundancies sound very awkward.)
 
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