Acabar De And Acabar d162r

Uses of Acabar in Spanish Acabar generally means to finish, but it is also used in other ways to express slightly different kinds of finishing. There are multiple ways to use acabar in Spanish

Standalone

Acabar algo

To finish something

Ella acabó sus tareas escolares.

She finished her schoolwork.

Standalone

Acabar algo

To use up something

Se acabaron los cupones.

She used up her coupons

Used with de + Acabar de infinitive [infinitivo]

To have just [verb]

Acabo de ir al supermercado.

I have just gone to the supermarket.

Used with por + infinitive

Acabar por [infinitivo]

To end up [-ing verb]

Acabé por viajar por avión.

I ended up flying.

Used with con

Acabar con algo To end or destroy something

Used with con

Acabar con alguién

El honrón acabó con el The home run brought juego de béisbol. an end to the baseball game.

To destroy, ruin, El escándalo acabó con The Whitewater scandal or be the end of el presidente. ruined the president. someone

Used in Acabarse Reflexive form

To end, come to Se acabó el concierto. an end, have come close to

The concert ended.

Used with a gerund

To finish [-ing verb]

I am finishing eating

Acabar [gerundio]

Acabo comiendo la cena.

Explanation of Acabar de + infinitivo: It is an idiomatic expression that is the equivalent of a present perfect expression in English: "to have just [verb in past participle form]. The difference is that whereas English uses a past participle Spanish uses the infinitive of a verb. First of all, a note about the translation into English. When you've just done something American English usually uses the simple past, for example: "I just spoke to him" while UK English usually uses the present perfect: "I've just spoken to him". Both will be used in examples. We're talking about how to express something that you've done very recently. Here are some examples using the "acabar de + infinitvo" structure: I have just eaten an apple – here “eaten" is the past participle – UK English or I just ate an apple – US

English. To express this in Spanish we use the present tense of Acabar + de + an infinitive:

Examples: Phrase

US English

UK English

Acabo de llevar a mi hermana a I just took my sister to her su casa house

I have just taken my sister to her house

Acabas de invitar a muchas muchachas

You have just invited many girls

You just invited many girls

Cristina acaba de conversar con Christina just spoke with my mi mamá mom

Christina has just spoken with my mom

Acabamos de leer el libro

We have just read the book

We just read the book

Acabáis de escribir unas cartas You all just wrote some letters

You all have just written some letters

Acaban de nadar en el mar.

They just swam in the ocean. They have just swum in the ocean.

Acabo de hablar con Juan.

I just spoke to Juan

I have just spoken to Juan.

Ella acaba de volver del trabajo.

She just came back from work

She has just come back from work

Acabamos de terminar de pintar la casa.

We just painted the house.

We have just painted the house.

Acabo de comer una manzana

I just ate an apple

I have just eaten an apple

Acabo de despertarme.

I just woke up

I have just woken up

Acabas de ducharte.

You just took a shower

You have just taken a shower

Acabamos de llegar.

We just arrived

We have just arrived

Acabo de mirar una película.

I just watched a movie

I have just watched a movie

Acabas de estudiar español.

You just studied Spanish.

You have just studied Spanish

Claudia acaba de llamar a su abuela.

Claudia just called her grandmother

Claudia has just called her grandmother

Acabamos de leer la revista.

We just read the magazine.

We have just read the magazine

Acabáis de jugar al tenis.

You all just played tennis.

You all have just played tennis

Acaban de visitar a México.

They just visited Mexico

They have just visited Mexico

Acabar de also has a Past Tense which corresponds to the Past Perfect tense in English. For example, in English we would say I had just eaten an apple - here "eaten" is the past participle just as before. However this time we have conjugated "to have" in the past tense which is "had". Here both UK English and US English use the same format. In Spanish we use the Imperfecto of Acabar and NOT the Preterito (after all we are defining usually which is NOT a one time use verb).

Examples of using Acabar in the Past: Acababa de comer una manzana

I had just eaten an apple

Acababa de levantarme.

I had just gotten up

Acababas de maquillarte.

You had just put on your make-up

Acabábamos de llegar.

We had just arrived.

Acababa de cantar una canción.

I had just sung a song

Acababas de ducharte.

You had just taken a shower

Mauro acababa de dormirse.

Mauro had just fallen asleep

Using Acabar Por + Infinitive Another expression using Acabar is to append por and then the infinitive to get Acabar por + infinitivo. Use this construction to express having finally done something or it can mean to have ended up doing something

Acabé por levantarme.

I finally got up.

Acabaste por maquillarte.

You finally put on your make-up.

Acabamos por llegar.

We finally arrived

Acabé por ir por tren.

I ended up going by train.

Acabaste por decirle que no.

You ended up telling him "no."

Acabamos por cenar en el restaurante hindú en vez del restaurante italiano.

We ended up dining at the Indian restaurant instead of the Italian restaurant.

Acababa de hablar con Juan cuando llegó María.

I had just spoken to Juan when María arrived.

Ella acababa de volver del trabajo cuando se dio cuenta de que había olvidado su bolso.

She had just come back from work when she realized that she had forgotten her handbag.

Acabábamos de pintar la casa cuando empezó a llover.

We had just painted the house when it began to rain.