Acabar vs Terminar – Know the Differences and Conjugations

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Kéllyta Quijada – Spanish Tutor. “Acabar vs Terminar – Know the Differences and Conjugations.” Lingua Linkup, 26 Dec. 2022, lingualinkup.com/acabar-vs-terminar.

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Kéllyta Quijada – Spanish Tutor. (2022, December 26). Acabar vs Terminar – Know the Differences and Conjugations. Lingua Linkup. https://lingualinkup.com/acabar-vs-terminar/

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Kéllyta Quijada – Spanish Tutor. “Acabar vs Terminar – Know the Differences and Conjugations.” Lingua Linkup, December 26, 2022. https://lingualinkup.com/acabar-vs-terminar/.

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The verbs terminar and acabar are almost complete synonyms, they are perfectly interchangeable. Terminar is used more than acabar. “Terminé la clase a las 16.00” – “Acabé la clase a las 16.00”

• “Termino en 5 minutos” – “Acabo en 5 minutos” – “I finish in 5 minutes”
• “La clase ha terminado” – “La clase ha acabado” – “The class has ended”

When they are accompanied by a complement, they need the preposition DE but in the case of the verb ACABAR its meaning changes completely, let’s see some examples:

• “Termino de comer y empiezo el trabajo” (después de comer empezaré a trabajar)
• “I finish eating, and then I will start working” (after eating I will start working).
• “Acabo de comer” (he comido hace un momento, es decir, la acción ha terminado)
• “I just ate” (I ate a moment ago, i.e., the action is finished).

Terminar Conjugation

Present Tense

Past Tense

Future Tense

Uses of the Verb Terminar

1. TERMINAR DE (+ infinitive): to complete a task.

• “Hoy Juan ha terminado de trabajar muy tarde” – “Juan has finished work very late today.”

2. TERMINAR POR (+ infinitive) / TERMINAR (+ gerund): expresses an action that is the result or consequence of something.

• “En el supermercado, Juan no quiere comprar carne, ni pasta, ni pan, ni dulces, ni azúcar, ni queso, ni vino… Al final, termina por comprar solo verdura.” – “At the supermarket, Juan doesn’t want to buy meat, pasta, bread, sweets, sugar, cheese, wine… In the end, he ends up buying only vegetables.”

• “Juan tiene tanta hambre que al final termina comiendo más” – “Juan is so hungry that in the end he ends up eating more than usual.”

3. TERMINAR (+ adjective): expresses how we feel as a result or consequence of something.

• “Juan trabajó toda la mañana, y luego fue al supermercado a hacer la compra. Terminó muy cansado” – “Juan worked all morning and then went to the supermarket to do the shopping. He ended up very tired.”

Acabar Conjugation

Present Tense

Past tense

Future Tense

Uses of the Verb Acabar

1. ACABAR + DE + INFINITIVE: has the meaning of finishing an action a few minutes ago.

• “El avión acaba de salir, no hemos llegado a tiempo” (significa que han perdido el avión, que ha salido minutos antes de que llegaran). – “The plane just left, we didn’t make it in time” (meaning they missed the plane, which left minutes before they arrived).

Is there a difference between Terminar and Acabar?

Acabar emphasizes the result of the process. There are cases, but very few, in which the verb “acabar” cannot be replaced by “terminar”. For example:

• “Acaba de llegar tu hermano” (your brother has just arrived). – “Termina de llegar tu hermano” (finish to arrive your brother).

The verbal periphrasis «acabar de + infinitive», when it is a periphrasis of recent precedents, it expresses that a short time has elapsed since the conclusion of an action (Acabo de llegar a casa – I have just arrived home~ I arrived home a short time ago).

With this same verbal periphrasis, we can express that we have finished an action or process (Acabé de escribir mi tesis – I finished writing my thesis).

“Terminar de + infinitive” is equivalent to “acabar de + infinitive” only when it expresses the completion of an action:

• Terminé de escribir la tesis = Acabé de escribir la tesis.

Using it as a periphrasis of immediate precedence is a mistake.

Acabar vs Terminar – Quiz/Worksheet

1. Yo ________ el libro que me prestaste. (conjugate the verb terminar in the present tense).
2. Ellos ________ su tarea antes de la cena. (conjugate the verb acabar in the preterite tense for the third-person plural).
3. Yo ________ mi tarea. (use the verb acabar to complete the sentence).
4. Nosotros ________ el trabajo en una hora. (use the verb acabar to complete the sentence).
5. Tú no ________ tu plato de comida. (use the verb acabar to complete the sentence).
6. Ella ________ sus estudios el año pasado. (use the verb terminar in the preterite tense for the third-person singular).
7. Nosotros ________ nuestro proyecto de investigación en dos semanas. (use the verb terminar in the future tense for the first-person plural).
8. Él ________ el partido de fútbol en la televisión. (use the verb acabar in the preterite tense for the third-person singular).
9. La empresa ________ sus operaciones en el país el año pasado. (use the verb terminar in the preterite tense for the third-person singular).
10. Ellos ________ su trabajo de investigación a tiempo. (use the verb acabar in the past participle form).
11. Ustedes no ________ sus ejercicios de matemáticas. (use the verb terminar in the present tense for the second-person plural).
12. Él me dijo que ________ su ensayo antes de la fecha límite. (use the verb acabar in the future tense for the third-person singular).

Bonus Question: The difference between the verbs terminar and acabar is that ________.

Answers

1. Yo termino el libro que me prestaste.
2. Ellos acabaron su tarea antes de la cena.
3. Yo acabé mi tarea.
4. Nosotros acabamos el trabajo en una hora.
5. Tú no acabaste tu plato de comida.
6. Ella terminó sus estudios el año pasado.
7. Nosotros terminaremos nuestro proyecto de investigación en dos semanas.
8. Él acabó el partido de fútbol en la televisión.
9. La empresa terminó sus operaciones en el país el año pasado.
10. Ellos han acabado su trabajo de investigación a tiempo.
11. Ustedes no terminan sus ejercicios de matemáticas.
12. Él me dijo que acabó su ensayo antes de la fecha límite.

Bonus Question: The main difference between the verbs terminar and acabar in Spanish is that terminar emphasizes the completion of a process, while acabar emphasizes the result of the process.

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