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
| Spnish | English |
|---|---|
| Yo termino | I finish |
| Tú terminas | You finish |
| El/Ella termina | He/She finishes |
| Nosotros terminamos | We finish |
| Ellos terminan | They finish |
| Usted termina (Formal, singular) | You finish |
| Ustedes terminan(Formal, plural) | You finish |
Past Tense
| Spanish | English |
|---|---|
| Yo terminé | I finished |
| Tú terminaste | You finished |
| El/Ella terminó | He/She finished |
| Nosotros terminamos | We finished |
| Ellos terminaron | They finished |
| Usted terminó (Formal, singular) | You finished |
| Ustedes terminaron (Formal, plural) | You finished |
Future Tense
| Spanish | English |
|---|---|
| Yo terminaré | I will finish |
| Tú terminarás | You will finish |
| El/Ella terminará | He/She will finish |
| Nosotros terminaremos | We will finish |
| Ellos terminarán | They will finish |
| Usted terminará (Formal, singular) | You will finish |
| Ustedes terminarán (Formal,plural) | You will finish |
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
| Spanish | English |
|---|---|
| Present tense | I finish |
| Tú acabas | You finish |
| El/Ella acaba | He/She finishes |
| Nosotros acabamos | We finish |
| Ellos acaban | They finish |
| Usted acaba (Formal, singular) | You finish |
| Ustedes acaban (Formal, plural) | You finish |
Past tense
| Spanish | English |
|---|---|
| Yo acabé | I finished |
| Tú acabaste | You finished |
| El/Ella acabó | He/She finished |
| Nosotros acabamos | We finished |
| Ellos acabaron | They finished |
| Usted acabó (Formal, singular) | You finished |
| Ustedes acabaron (Formal, plural) | You finished |
Future Tense
| Spanish | English |
|---|---|
| Yo acabaré | I will finish |
| Tú acabarás | You will finish |
| El/Ella acabará | He/She will finish |
| Nosotros acabaremos | We will finish |
| Ellos acabarán | They will finish |
| Usted acabará (Formal, singular) | You will finish |
| Ustedes acabarán (Formal, plural) | You will finish |
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
- Yo ________ el libro que me prestaste. (conjugate the verb terminar in the present tense).
- Ellos ________ su tarea antes de la cena. (conjugate the verb acabar in the preterite tense for the third-person plural).
- Yo ________ mi tarea. (use the verb acabar to complete the sentence).
- Nosotros ________ el trabajo en una hora. (use the verb acabar to complete the sentence).
- Tú no ________ tu plato de comida. (use the verb acabar to complete the sentence).
- Ella ________ sus estudios el año pasado. (use the verb terminar in the preterite tense for the third-person singular).
- Nosotros ________ nuestro proyecto de investigación en dos semanas. (use the verb terminar in the future tense for the first-person plural).
- Él ________ el partido de fútbol en la televisión. (use the verb acabar in the preterite tense for the third-person singular).
- La empresa ________ sus operaciones en el país el año pasado. (use the verb terminar in the preterite tense for the third-person singular).
- Ellos ________ su trabajo de investigación a tiempo. (use the verb acabar in the past participle form).
- Ustedes no ________ sus ejercicios de matemáticas. (use the verb terminar in the present tense for the second-person plural).
- 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
- Yo termino el libro que me prestaste.
- Ellos acabaron su tarea antes de la cena.
- Yo acabé mi tarea.
- Nosotros acabamos el trabajo en una hora.
- Tú no acabaste tu plato de comida.
- Ella terminó sus estudios el año pasado.
- Nosotros terminaremos nuestro proyecto de investigación en dos semanas.
- Él acabó el partido de fútbol en la televisión.
- La empresa terminó sus operaciones en el país el año pasado.
- Ellos han acabado su trabajo de investigación a tiempo.
- Ustedes no terminan sus ejercicios de matemáticas.
- 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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