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⬇️ Join Raquel for 7 free lessons to start speaking from day 1 and fall in love with Spanish 💘 ⬇️

What's your current Spanish level?*
(A0) Complete Beginner
(A1) Beginner
(A2) Elementary
(B1) Intermediate
(B2) Upper-intermediate

By entering your info, you’ll become a member of The Spanish Tribe Community — with FREE access to exclusive resources. Unsub anytime in a click. You also agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.

Learn Spanish for Real-life! Today.

The time to transform your Spanish is NOW. Complete this FREE course with Raquel and transform your Spanish, fast. 

DÍA 20 – Spanish Fluency Challenge 💬

32

Recent past in Spanish: Acabar de

The verb acabar is one of the most common verbs in Spanish, and is directly translated as to finish. However, the meaning can change slightly depending on which preposition it’s used with.

In this post you’ll learn how to use the verb ACABAR, along with the preposition DE.

Acabar de = to have just done something (in the very recent past)

Acabar de  – just

  • Acabo de llegar. – I have just arrived.
  • Acabamos de comprar los regalos. – We just bought the presents.

The conjugation: Acabar de + infinitive

Indicative mood: Simple conjugations

Personal pronoun Present
Yo acabo de
acabas de
Él – Ella – Usted acaba de
Nosotros acabamos de
Ustedes acaban de
Ellos acaban de

We can use acabar de (conjugated) followed by a second verb in the infinitive to express that the action described by the second verb is finished.

  • The movie just started. – La película acaba de empezar.
  • Your mother just called. – Tu madre acaba de llamar.
  • just finished dinner. – Yo acabo de cenar.
  • She just talked to me to tell me what happened. – Ella acaba de hablar conmigo para decirme lo que pasó.
  • They just finished dessert, don’t give them more sugar. – Ellos acaban de terminar el postre, no les des más azúcar.
  • I just finished reading this book. – Acabo de terminar de leer este libro.
  • We just had dinner. – Nosotros acabamos de cenar.
  • The boss just quit. – El jefe acaba de renunciar.
  • I just saw your missed call. – Acabo de ver tu llamada perdida.
  • An alarm just sounded. – Acaba de sonar una alarma.

Now you! What have you just done?

¿Acabas de leer ese artículo? – Did you just read this post?

¡Entonces acabas de aprender la estructura “acabar de” para hablar fácilmente en español! – Well, then you’ve just learned the structure “acabar de” to easily talk in Spanish!

 

¿Qué acabas de hacer? What have you just done?

Example: Acabo de lavar los platos (I just washed the dishes).

Let me know in the comments below! Can’t wait to hear from you! 😊

 

Un abrazo,

Raquel

CEO of The Spanish Tribe

Responses

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