Are acabar and terminar truly synonyms
Are acabar and terminar merely synonyms or are their nuanced differences between the two?
6 Answers
They mean the same, but can't always be used the same, ie: Ya se terminó la obra....Ya se acabo la obra....The play has finished.
But, Ella acaba de llegar........She has just arrived. We can never say, Ella termina de llagar
In some situations I'd say yes.
However, I think "acabar de" gives the impression that something just happened a short while ago, and "terminar" can be an end at any time.
La clase acaba de terminar. (The class just ended)
La clase terminó. (The class ended but we don't know when)
Hi Ocbizlaw,
There are a couple of threads on this very same topic that you might be interested in reviewing.
acabar y terminar see the answer by Lazarus
acabar vs terminar see the answer by pancracio
I have often wondered the very same thing.
This is something I have more recently thought about as well.
