Its tricky. In most cases you can use both indistinguisable, but if you want to be fine, there is a little point, specially in Spain, as in South America these differences normaly get lost or change meaning.

Terminar is used as finish something you started, an action. You start an activity, and you finish it. Period. Acabar is used more as "end up", at the end of anything, you happen to be in some certain way, when the whole process is over.

"terminé la tarea" (i finished the duty) "acabo muy cansado cuando discuto contigo" (i end up very tired when i argue with you)

Of course, you could say "acabé la tarea" (sounds south american) (i ended the duty) "termino muy cansado cuando discuto contigo" (did you die?) (i terminate very...)

and you are going to be understood, but you are not going to be admired for your education There is also the "acabar de", that means exactly "I,you,he just"

"acabo de responder un mensaje" (I just answered a message)

Hope this helps.

One of the courses I am following uses 'terminar'. But most reading I have done seems to use 'acabar'.

The combination 'acabar de' - 'to have just' (done something) is very useful and is not an option with terminar.

I wonder if terminar is taught more because its meaning is obvious to English speakers?

o va a acabar como ellos

I have no idea on that one.

Ir a + inf = going to do something

But 'va a acabar' doesn't make sense to me. 'Shes going to leave/end/finish' doesn't quite fit the rest of the sentence for me...

Oh I got it, 'or she'll end up like them.'

va a acabar como ellos............"she'll end up like them".

Good question. This is sorta like empezar vs comenzar.

Based off the examples given in the dictionary, looks like they are very interchangeable, just like in english.

I have seen both in reading too, but am not fluent enough to tell when or why the specific word was used in the sentences situation instead of the other word. I think context has alot to do with it also.

I wonder if terminar is taught more because its meaning is obvious to English speakers?

That might be true, but in my head it really throws me off as I always think of "terminate' when I see it written, but it takes me a few seconds to realize they usually mean 'finish' instead of the more harsh english version of terminate.

How would you conjugate 'acabar de' to mean 'to have just done...'?

acabar de + infinitive

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

Here are the two sentences with acabar in it. I understood the first one but not the second. Maybe you can help me out.

Entonces, como si ella hubiera olvidado que acabo de mudarme, dice que el barrio se está poniendo de lo peor.

And then, as if she had forgotten that I had just finished moving (oh cool, here´s an example of what Jespa said) she said that the neighborhood was getting worse.

Ella no puede jugar con esos chamaquitos Vargas o va a acabar como ellos.

She can´t play with the cool kids or....

Thanks

Thanks for the question and the answers. I was wondering the same thing myself. I heard acabar in a song, and the distinction Pancracio gave was right on the dot.

Acabo de determinar que acabar y terminar son prácticamente intercambiables.