Present
Presente · now, habits and facts
- yo I have just
- tú you have just
- usted, él, ella he/she has just
- nosotros we have just
- vosotros Spain you all have just
- ustedes, ellos, ellas they have just
SPANISH VERB
acabar de
to have just
- #225 most used
- Regular -ar verb
- Gerund: acabando de
- Past participle: acabado de
Conjugation
Tap any form to hear it. The part that changes is in colour.
Past
Pretérito indefinido · finished actions
- yo I had just
- tú you had just
- usted, él, ella he/she had just
- nosotros we had just
- vosotros Spain you all had just
- ustedes, ellos, ellas they had just
Imperfect
Pretérito imperfecto · “used to” and “was …ing”
- yo I used to have just
- tú you used to have just
- usted, él, ella he/she used to have just
- nosotros we used to have just
- vosotros Spain you all used to have just
- ustedes, ellos, ellas they used to have just
Future
Futuro · plans and promises; in speech, “voy a hablar” is just as common
- yo I will have just
- tú you will have just
- usted, él, ella he/she will have just
- nosotros we will have just
- vosotros Spain you all will have just
- ustedes, ellos, ellas they will have just
Conditional
Condicional · “would”
- yo I would have just
- tú you would have just
- usted, él, ella he/she would have just
- nosotros we would have just
- vosotros Spain you all would have just
- ustedes, ellos, ellas they would have just
Present subjunctive
Presente de subjuntivo · wishes, doubts, “que …”
- yo (that) I have just
- tú (that) you have just
- usted, él, ella (that) he/she have just
- nosotros (that) we have just
- vosotros Spain (that) you all have just
- ustedes, ellos, ellas (that) they have just
Past subjunctive
Imperfecto de subjuntivo · “if I were”, “si …”
- yo (if) I had just
- tú (if) you had just
- usted, él, ella (if) he/she had just
- nosotros (if) we had just
- vosotros Spain (if) you all had just
- ustedes, ellos, ellas (if) they had just
Imperative
Imperativo · requests and orders; a negative one uses the subjunctive (no hables)
- tú have just!
- usted have just! (formal)
- nosotros have just! (let’s)
- vosotros Spain have just! (all of you)
- ustedes have just! (all of you)
How to use acabar de
One sentence for each tense, the way people say it.
-
Present
Acabo de llegar del aeropuerto.
I've just arrived from the airport.
-
Past
Acabé de leer el libro anoche.
I finished reading the book last night.
-
Imperfect
Acababa de salir cuando empezó a llover.
I had just left when it started to rain.
-
Future
Para las seis, acabaré de pintar la pared.
By six, I'll finish painting the wall.
-
Conditional
Sin ayuda, acabaría de limpiar hasta la noche.
Without help, I wouldn't finish cleaning until nighttime.
-
Present subjunctive
Cuando acabes de comer, lava tu plato.
When you finish eating, wash your plate.
-
Past subjunctive
Si acabaras de trabajar temprano, iríamos al cine.
If you finished work early, we'd go to the movies.
-
Imperative
¡Acaba de vestirte, que el taxi ya llegó!
Finish getting dressed, the taxi is here!
Good to know
- "Acabar de" is followed by the infinitive: "acabo de llegar" is I've just arrived.
Where you hear acabar de
The lessons that teach a form of it, and how they say it.
Spanish · Beginner Level 2
- Acabo de limpiar las bicis. I've just cleaned the bikes.
- Acababa de llegar cuando llovió. I had just arrived when it rained.
- Va a acabar la comida a las tres. Lunch is going to finish at three.
Spanish · Intermediate Level 3
- Acabo de recibir un correo. I've just got an email.
- Acabábamos de llegar cuando llamó Valeria. We'd just arrived when Valeria called.
- Vamos a acabar de comer y nos vamos. We're going to finish eating and then we'll go.
Verbs like this one
The same pattern, on other verbs: regular -ar verb.