acabar

Preterite vs. Imperfect 
Cheat Sheet
acabar(
ah
-
kah
-
bahr
)
transitive verb
a. to finish
Yo acabo mis clases en junio.I finish my classes in June.
a. to finish
¿Quién acabó la leche?Who finished the milk?
b. to use up
Deberíamos acabar estas sobras en vez de cocinar hoy.We should use up these leftovers rather than cook today.
intransitive verb
a. to end
Te llamaré después de que acabe la película.I'll call you after the movie ends.
b. to be over
Ya descansaremos cuando acabe el proyecto.We can rest when the project is over.
c. to be done
Acabaremos cuando acabemos.We'll be done when we're done.
a. come (colloquial)
Si tienes problemas para acabar, deberías consultar el médico.If you have problems coming, you should see a doctor.
acabarse
pronominal verb
a. to run out
Se le acabaron las barras de pan a la panadería.The bakery's run out of baguettes.
a. to finish
Voy a acabarme el café y luego nos vamos.I'm going to finish my coffee and then we can go.
a. to end
Siguieron bailando aun después de que se acabara la música.They kept dancing even after the music ended.
b. to finish
La película se acabó temprano.The movie finished early.
c. to be over
Cuando se acabe todo esto, tendremos que darnos algún capricho.When all this is over, we'll have to treat ourselves to something.
d. to be done
Será un alivio cuando se acaben las obras.It will be a relief when the building work is done.
a. to die
Se acabó tres días después de haber sido herido en el campo de batalla.He died three days after being wounded on the battlefield.
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Conjugations
Practice conjugating acabar
Indicative of "acabar"
Present
yo
acabo
tú
acabas
él/ella/Ud.
acaba
nosotros
acabamos
vosotros
acabáis
ellos/ellas/Uds.
acaban
Preterite
yo
acabé
tú
acabaste
él/ella/Ud.
acabó
nosotros
acabamos
vosotros
acabasteis
ellos/ellas/Uds.
acabaron
Imperfect
yo
acababa
tú
acababas
él/ella/Ud.
acababa
nosotros
acabábamos
vosotros
acababais
ellos/ellas/Uds.
acababan
Conditional
yo
acabaría
tú
acabarías
él/ella/Ud.
acabaría
nosotros
acabaríamos
vosotros
acabaríais
ellos/ellas/Uds.
acabarían
Future
yo
acabaré
tú
acabarás
él/ella/Ud.
acabará
nosotros
acabaremos
vosotros
acabaréis
ellos/ellas/Uds.
acabarán
See Full Conjugation
Examples
Phrases
acabar de
just
to finish
acabar con
to finish off
acabar de llegar
to just arrive
acabar por
to end up
acabar de comer
to just eat
ellos van a acabar la comida
they are going to finish the food
para acabar
to finish
al acabar
on finishing
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