What does acabar mean in English?

Acabar means "to finish/end" in English.

How do you conjugate acabar in Spanish?

Acabar is conjugated across all Spanish tenses including present, preterite, imperfect, future, conditional, subjunctive, and more. Each tense has specific conjugations for yo, tú, él/ella/usted, nosotros, vosotros, and ellos/ustedes. You can see complete conjugation tables with audio pronunciations on this page.

What are common idiomatic expressions with acabar?

Common idiomatic expressions using acabar include: "acabar de" (to have just), "acabar con" (to put an end to / to finish off). These expressions are frequently used in everyday Spanish conversation.

How do you use acabar in a sentence?

Example: "Acabé el trabajo temprano." which means "I finished the work early." in English.

What are synonyms for acabar?

Spanish synonyms for acabar include: terminar, finalizar. The exact synonym to use depends on the context and specific meaning intended.

Acabar

to finish/end

🎯

Infinitive (infinitivo)

Base form of the verb

acabar

🏃

Gerund (gerundio)

Present participle (-ing form)

acabando

📋

Past Participle

Used in compound tenses

acabado

Simple Tenses

⚡

Present Indicative (presente de indicativo)

Present actions and habitual activities

Person	Conjugation	English
yo	acabo I finish/end	I finish/end
tú	acabas you finish/end	you finish/end
él/ella/usted	acaba he/she/you finish/ends	he/she/you finish/ends
nosotros	acabamos we finish/end	we finish/end
vosotros	acabáis you all finish/end	you all finish/end
ellos/ustedes	acaban they/you all finish/end	they/you all finish/end

🕰️

Imperfect Indicative (imperfecto de indicativo)

Ongoing past actions and descriptions

Person	Conjugation	English
yo	acababa I used to finish/end	I used to finish/end
tú	acababas you used to finish/end	you used to finish/end
él/ella/usted	acababa he/she/you used to finish/end	he/she/you used to finish/end
nosotros	acabábamos we used to finish/end	we used to finish/end
vosotros	acababais you all used to finish/end	you all used to finish/end
ellos/ustedes	acababan they/you all used to finish/end	they/you all used to finish/end

📅

Preterit (pretérito)

Completed past actions

Person	Conjugation	English
yo	acabé I finish/ended	I finish/ended
tú	acabaste you finish/ended	you finish/ended
él/ella/usted	acabó he/she/you finish/ended	he/she/you finish/ended
nosotros	acabamos we finish/ended	we finish/ended
vosotros	acabasteis you all finish/ended	you all finish/ended
ellos/ustedes	acabaron they/you all finish/ended	they/you all finish/ended

🔮

Future (futuro)

Future actions and intentions

Person	Conjugation	English
yo	acabaré I will finish/end	I will finish/end
tú	acabarás you will finish/end	you will finish/end
él/ella/usted	acabará he/she/you will finish/end	he/she/you will finish/end
nosotros	acabaremos we will finish/end	we will finish/end
vosotros	acabaréis you all will finish/end	you all will finish/end
ellos/ustedes	acabarán they/you all will finish/end	they/you all will finish/end

🎯

Conditional (potencial simple)

Hypothetical and conditional actions

Person	Conjugation	English
yo	acabaría I would finish/end	I would finish/end
tú	acabarías you would finish/end	you would finish/end
él/ella/usted	acabaría he/she/you would finish/end	he/she/you would finish/end
nosotros	acabaríamos we would finish/end	we would finish/end
vosotros	acabaríais you all would finish/end	you all would finish/end
ellos/ustedes	acabarían they/you all would finish/end	they/you all would finish/end

💭

Present Subjunctive (presente de subjuntivo)

Subjective present actions and desires

Person	Conjugation	English
yo	acabe that I finish/end	that I finish/end
tú	acabes that you finish/end	that you finish/end
él/ella/usted	acabe that he/she/you finish/end	that he/she/you finish/end
nosotros	acabemos that we finish/end	that we finish/end
vosotros	acabéis that you all finish/end	that you all finish/end
ellos/ustedes	acaben that they/you all finish/end	that they/you all finish/end

🌙

Imperfect Subjunctive (imperfecto de subjuntivo)

Subjective past actions and hypothetical situations

Person	Conjugation	English
yo	acabara or acabase that I finish/ended	that I finish/ended
tú	acabaras or acabases that you finish/ended	that you finish/ended
él/ella/usted	acabara or acabase that he/she/you finish/ended	that he/she/you finish/ended
nosotros	acabáramos or acabásemos that we finish/ended	that we finish/ended
vosotros	acabarais or acabaseis that you all finish/ended	that you all finish/ended
ellos/ustedes	acabaran or acabasen that they/you all finish/ended	that they/you all finish/ended

Compound Tenses

✅

Present Perfect (perfecto de indicativo)

Actions completed recently or with present relevance

Person	Conjugation	English
yo	he acabado I have finish/ended	I have finish/ended
tú	has acabado you have finish/ended	you have finish/ended
él/ella/usted	ha acabado he/she/you have finish/ended	he/she/you have finish/ended
nosotros	hemos acabado we have finish/ended	we have finish/ended
vosotros	habéis acabado you all have finish/ended	you all have finish/ended
ellos/ustedes	han acabado they/you all have finish/ended	they/you all have finish/ended

⏪

Pluperfect Indicative (pluscuamperfecto de indicativo)

Actions completed before another past action

Person	Conjugation	English
yo	había acabado I had finish/ended	I had finish/ended
tú	habías acabado you had finish/ended	you had finish/ended
él/ella/usted	había acabado he/she/you had finish/ended	he/she/you had finish/ended
nosotros	habíamos acabado we had finish/ended	we had finish/ended
vosotros	habíais acabado you all had finish/ended	you all had finish/ended
ellos/ustedes	habían acabado they/you all had finish/ended	they/you all had finish/ended

📍

Preterit Perfect (pretérito anterior)

Actions completed immediately before another past action

Person	Conjugation	English
yo	hube acabado I had finish/ended	I had finish/ended
tú	hubiste acabado you had finish/ended	you had finish/ended
él/ella/usted	hubo acabado he/she/you had finish/ended	he/she/you had finish/ended
nosotros	hubimos acabado we had finish/ended	we had finish/ended
vosotros	hubisteis acabado you all had finish/ended	you all had finish/ended
ellos/ustedes	hubieron acabado they/you all had finish/ended	they/you all had finish/ended

🎊

Future Perfect (futuro perfecto)

Actions that will be completed by a future time

Person	Conjugation	English
yo	habré acabado I will have finish/ended	I will have finish/ended
tú	habrás acabado you will have finish/ended	you will have finish/ended
él/ella/usted	habrá acabado he/she/you will have finish/ended	he/she/you will have finish/ended
nosotros	habremos acabado we will have finish/ended	we will have finish/ended
vosotros	habréis acabado you all will have finish/ended	you all will have finish/ended
ellos/ustedes	habrán acabado they/you all will have finish/ended	they/you all will have finish/ended

🔄

Conditional Perfect (potencial compuesto)

Actions that would have been completed under certain conditions

Person	Conjugation	English
yo	habría acabado I would have finish/ended	I would have finish/ended
tú	habrías acabado you would have finish/ended	you would have finish/ended
él/ella/usted	habría acabado he/she/you would have finish/ended	he/she/you would have finish/ended
nosotros	habríamos acabado we would have finish/ended	we would have finish/ended
vosotros	habríais acabado you all would have finish/ended	you all would have finish/ended
ellos/ustedes	habrían acabado they/you all would have finish/ended	they/you all would have finish/ended

💫

Subjunctive Present Perfect (perfecto de subjuntivo)

Subjective actions completed in relation to the present

Person	Conjugation	English
yo	haya acabado that I have finish/ended	that I have finish/ended
tú	hayas acabado that you have finish/ended	that you have finish/ended
él/ella/usted	haya acabado that he/she/you have finish/ended	that he/she/you have finish/ended
nosotros	hayamos acabado that we have finish/ended	that we have finish/ended
vosotros	hayáis acabado that you all have finish/ended	that you all have finish/ended
ellos/ustedes	hayan acabado that they/you all have finish/ended	that they/you all have finish/ended

🌌

Subjunctive Past Perfect (pluscuamperfecto de subjuntivo)

Subjective actions completed before another past action

Person	Conjugation	English
yo	hubiera acabado that I had finish/ended	that I had finish/ended
tú	hubieras acabado that you had finish/ended	that you had finish/ended
él/ella/usted	hubiera acabado that he/she/you had finish/ended	that he/she/you had finish/ended
nosotros	hubiéramos acabado that we had finish/ended	that we had finish/ended
vosotros	hubierais acabado that you all had finish/ended	that you all had finish/ended
ellos/ustedes	hubieran acabado that they/you all had finish/ended	that they/you all had finish/ended

❗

Commands (imperativo)

Commands and direct orders

Person	Command	English
tú	acaba	finish/end! (you)
usted	acabe	finish/end! (you formal)
nosotros	acabemos	let's finish/end!
vosotros	acabad	finish/end! (you all)
ustedes	acaben	finish/end! (you all)

🚫

Negative Commands (imperativo negativo)

Negative commands and prohibitions

Person	Command	English
tú	no acabes	don't finish/end! (you)
usted	no acabe	don't finish/end! (you formal)
nosotros	no acabemos	let's not finish/end!
vosotros	no acabéis	don't finish/end! (you all)
ustedes	no acaben	don't finish/end! (you all)

More About "acabar"

Idiomatic Expressions

acabar de

to have just

💡 Recent completion: acabo de llegar (I just arrived)

acabar con

to put an end to / to finish off

💡 Ending or destroying something

Examples in Context

Acabé el trabajo temprano.

I finished the work early.

Preterite

Acabo de comer.

I just ate.

Present

La película ha acabado.

The movie has ended.

Present Perfect

Acabaré pronto.

I will finish soon.

Future

Synonyms & Antonyms

Synonyms:

terminar(to finish)

Often interchangeable

finalizar(to finalize)

More formal

Usage Notes

•Acabar is a regular -ar verb
•Main meanings: to finish, to end
•"Acabar de" + infinitive means "to have just done"
•Similar to "terminar" but sometimes implies exhaustion

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Acabar

Simple Tenses

Compound Tenses

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