How to Use the Spanish Verb ‘Acabar’
The verb acabar in Spanish seems to mean something slightly different every time.
Although the core meaning of acabar is always “to end” or “to finish,” it can acquire other nuances when it appears as an intransitive, transitive, or pronominal verb. Also, if you pair it up with prepositions, you’ll get different English translations.
Read this article to understand acabar in a nutshell. I’ll show you all the possible meanings and how to conjugate acabar in easy charts. I’ve written plenty of example sentences for you to get to know this verb in context.
Table of Contents:
- The Meaning of Acabar
- How to Use and Translate Acabar
- The Meaning of Acabarse
- Acabar with Prepositions
- Acabar Conjugation
- Common Idiomatic Expressions with Acabar and Acabarse
- Practice Acabar in a Conversation
The Meaning of Acabar
No matter what forms the verb acabar assumes, its meaning always oscillate around these three translations:
- to end
- to finish
- to complete
So even if you don’t know the exact translation, making a sensible guess about a proximate meaning shouldn’t be an issue.
Let’s check out acabar in detail!
How to Use and Translate Acabar
It’s important to see the difference in meaning and use of the verb acabar when it appears as a transitive or intransitive verb. The main difference lies in whether you need an object to express a complete meaning or not.
Transitive verbs require an object to express a complete thought.
Example:
Please, bring a bottle of water.
If you take out the object (a bottle of water), you don’t get the complete meaning. In other words, you can’t say “Please bring.”
Intransitive verbs, on the other hand, do make sense without an object.
Example:
The frog jumped.
The verb “jump” makes sense alone and doesn’t require an object.
Got it?
Now you’re ready to see acabar as a transitive and intransitive verb.
Acabar as a Transitive Verb
As a transitive verb, acabar means “to complete something” or to “run out of supplies of something.”
To Complete
In this meaning, acabar translates into the English verbs “to finish” and “to complete.” Its synonym would be completar.
Ayer acabé el libro.
I finished the book yesterday.
Acabaré el curso la semana que viene.
I will complete the course next week.
To Run Out of Supplies
In this meaning, you translate acabar to “to finish” or “to use up.” Its synonyms would be agotar and desgastar.
¿Quién acabó el café?
Who finished the coffee?
Tenemos que acabar estos cuadernos antes de comprar unos nuevos.
We have to use up these notebooks before buying new ones.
Acabar as an Intransitive Verb
As an intransitive verb, acabar means “to come to an end.” It translates to “to end,” “to be over,” or “to be done.” Its synonyms in this context would be terminar and finalizar.
La fiesta acabó a la una de la madrugada.
The party ended at one in the morning.
Cuando todo esto acabe, nos iremos de vacaciones.
When all this is over, we’ll go on vacation.
Te llamo, cuando acabe.
I’ll call you when I’m done.
The Meaning of Acabarse
When you add a reflexive pronoun to the verb acabar, it turns into acabarse, which is a pronominal verb.
Pronominal verbs use reflexive pronouns—like reflexive verbs but the “reflexive” part is not obvious or sometimes it’s nonexistent.
In this case, the reflexive pronoun just adds emphasis.
Hand-picked for you:
These are the possible meanings and translations of the pronominal verb acabarse:
To Be Used Up
Translate it simply to “to run out of something.”
Se nos acabó la leche.
We ran out of milk.
To Consume Completely
In this meaning, you emphasize finishing something completely.
Voy a acabarme mi comida y me pongo a trabajar.
I’m going to finish my meal and get to work.
To Run Its Course
Acabarse also expresses that something develops and finishes naturally. You translate it as “to end,” “to finish,” “to be over,” and “to be done.” The reflexive pronoun adds emphasis.
Siguieron cantando hasta cuando se acabó la fiesta.
They kept singing even after the party ended.
¡Se acabó!
It’s over!
El concierto se acabó temprano.
The concert finished early.
Cuando se acabe todo este trabajo, podré descansar.
When all this work is done, I’ll be able to rest.
To Perish
Acabarse also means “to die.”
Lentamente se acabó después de una larga enfermedad.
He slowly died after a long illness.
Acabar with Prepositions
When you add certain prepositions to the verb acabar, it gets tricky to translate the sentences word for word. Acabar with prepositions transforms into phrasal verbs, and the general idea of the expression is different from the individual elements that form it.
You use acabar with three prepositions:
- acabar de
- acabar con
- acabar por
Acabar de
This expression in Spanish transmits the idea that someone just did something.
This is the formula:
acabar de + infinitive
Acabo de ver a Juan.
I just saw Juan.
Mis papás acaban de mudarse a España.
My parents have just moved to Spain.
Acabar con
This expression means to break up with something or somebody or to put an end to something.
The formula:
acabar con + noun
Juanita acabó con su novio.
Juanita broke up with her boyfriend.
El presidente acabó con el tráfico de animales salvajes.
The president put an end to the trafficking of wild animals.
Acabar por
You use acabar por to express that someone ends up doing something.
Y acabé por casarme con él.
And I ended up marrying him.
Acabó por darle la razón.
He ended up agreeing with her.
Acabar Conjugation
Let’s see how to conjugate the verb acabar in present tense, preterite, and imperfect. The great news is that it conjugates regularly in all tenses.
Present Tense Conjugation for Acabar
Present tense conjugation is useful if you want to talk about things that are happening at the moment or regularly or discuss general truths.
| Spanish | English |
| yo acabo | I finish |
| tú acabas | you finish |
| él, ella, usted acaba | he, she, it, finishes (formal you finish) |
| nosotros, nosotras acabamos | we finish |
| ustedes acaban | you finish |
| ellos, ellas acaban | they finish |
Yo acabo de hablar con Juan.
I just talked with Juan.
If you want to conjugate acabar as a pronominal verb, remember to add the correct reflexive pronoun that corresponds to the subject of the sentence.
| Subject Pronoun | Reflexive Pronoun |
| yo | me |
| tú | te |
| él, ella, usted | se |
| nosotros, nosotras | nos |
| ustedes | se |
| ellos, ellas | se |
Now, let’s see the complete conjugation in the present tense for the verb acabarse.
Present Tense Conjugation for Acabarse
| Subject Pronoun | Reflexive Pronoun and Verb |
| yo | me acabo |
| tú | te acabas |
| él, ella, usted | se acaba |
| nosotros, nosotras | nos acabamos |
| ustedes | se acaban |
| ellos, ellas | se acaban |
Se acaban de bañar.
They just took a bath.
Preterite Tense Conjugation for Acabar
Past simple tense conjugation is useful if you want to talk about things that happened at a specific moment in the past.
| Spanish | English |
| yo acabé | I finished |
| tú acabaste | you finished |
| él, ella, usted acabó | he, she, it finished (formal you finished) |
| nosotros, nosotras acabamos | we finished |
| ustedes acabaron | you finished |
| ellos, ellas acabaron | they finished |
La película acabó muy tarde.
The movie finished very late.
Preterite Tense Conjugation Chart for Acabarse
| Subject Pronoun | Reflexive Pronoun and Verb |
| yo | me acabé |
| tú | te acabaste |
| él, ella, usted | se acabó |
| nosotros, nosotras | nos acabamos |
| ustedes | se acabaron |
| ellos, ellas | se acabaron |
En aquel momento, me acabé de enterar de que me habían aceptado en la Universidad.
At that time, I had just found out that I had been accepted to the university.
The Imperfect Tense Conjugation for Acabar
Past simple tense conjugation is useful if you want to talk about past actions without a definite end.
| Spanish | English |
| yo acababa | I finished |
| tú acababas | you finished |
| él, ella, usted acababa | he, she, it finished (formal you finished) |
| nosotros, nosotras acabábamos | we finished |
| ustedes acababan | you finished |
| ellos, ellas acababan | they finished |
Los días acababan más temprano cuando era niño.
The days ended earlier when I was a child.
Imperfect Tense Conjugation Chart for Acabarse
| Subject Pronoun | Reflexive Pronoun and Verb |
| yo | me acababa |
| tú | te acababas |
| él, ella, usted | se acababa |
| nosotros, nosotras | nos acabábamos |
| ustedes | se acababan |
| ellos, ellas | se acababan |
Por el conflicto en la frontera, la gasolina se acababa rápido en todos los sitios.
Because of the border conflict, gasoline was running out fast everywhere.
See also:
- Preterite vs Imperfect: A Beginner’s Guide to the Past Tense in Spanish
- Beginner’s Guide to Spanish Conjugation
- 12 Amazing Ways to Memorize Spanish Conjugations
Common Idiomatic Expressions with Acabar and Acabarse
If you want to impress your Spanish-speaking friends, learn these two idiomatic expressions with acabar:
De nunca acabar
This expression means that something never ends.
Este trabajo es de nunca acabar.
This is a never-ending job.
It is often used in an expression el cuento de nunca acabar, that means that something is dilated and entangles in such a way that its end is never seen.
De nuevo nos han cortado la luz, esto es el cuento de nunca acabar.
Once again our electricity has been cut off, this is the never-ending story.
San se acabó or sanseacabó
You’ll use this expression to close a matter.
Estás castigada. No hay iPad esta semana y sanseacabó.
You’re grounded. No iPad this week, and that’s it.
Practice Acabar in a Conversation
Now, you’ve mastered another Spanish verb. ¡Se acabó!
Well, almost. It will take some time to master its conjugation and learn how to use different forms of the verb acabar properly and naturally in a conversation.
It won’t be hard to find someone to practice your new skill with. According to Forbes, more than 559 million people speak Spanish around the world. And the U.S. has the second-biggest population of Spanish speakers in the world!
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