Skip to content
fluentbyear

SPANISH VERB

terminar

to end, to finish

  • #49 most used
  • Regular -ar verb
  • Gerund: terminando
  • Past participle: terminado

Conjugation

Tap any form to hear it. The part that changes is in colour.

Present

Presente · now, habits and facts

  1. yo I end
  2. tú you end
  3. usted, él, ella he/she ends
  4. nosotros we end
  5. vosotros Spain you all end
  6. ustedes, ellos, ellas they end

Past

Pretérito indefinido · finished actions

  1. yo I ended
  2. tú you ended
  3. usted, él, ella he/she ended
  4. nosotros we ended
  5. vosotros Spain you all ended
  6. ustedes, ellos, ellas they ended

Imperfect

Pretérito imperfecto · “used to” and “was …ing”

  1. yo I used to end
  2. tú you used to end
  3. usted, él, ella he/she used to end
  4. nosotros we used to end
  5. vosotros Spain you all used to end
  6. ustedes, ellos, ellas they used to end

Future

Futuro · plans and promises; in speech, “voy a hablar” is just as common

  1. yo I will end
  2. tú you will end
  3. usted, él, ella he/she will end
  4. nosotros we will end
  5. vosotros Spain you all will end
  6. ustedes, ellos, ellas they will end

Conditional

Condicional · “would”

  1. yo I would end
  2. tú you would end
  3. usted, él, ella he/she would end
  4. nosotros we would end
  5. vosotros Spain you all would end
  6. ustedes, ellos, ellas they would end

Present subjunctive

Presente de subjuntivo · wishes, doubts, “que …”

  1. yo (that) I end
  2. tú (that) you end
  3. usted, él, ella (that) he/she end
  4. nosotros (that) we end
  5. vosotros Spain (that) you all end
  6. ustedes, ellos, ellas (that) they end

Past subjunctive

Imperfecto de subjuntivo · “if I were”, “si …”

  1. yo (if) I ended
  2. tú (if) you ended
  3. usted, él, ella (if) he/she ended
  4. nosotros (if) we ended
  5. vosotros Spain (if) you all ended
  6. ustedes, ellos, ellas (if) they ended

Imperative

Imperativo · requests and orders; a negative one uses the subjunctive (no hables)

  1. tú end!
  2. usted end! (formal)
  3. nosotros end! (let’s)
  4. vosotros Spain end! (all of you)
  5. ustedes end! (all of you)

How to use terminar

One sentence for each tense, the way people say it.

  1. Present

    La clase de yoga termina a las siete y media.

    Yoga class ends at seven thirty.

  2. Past

    Terminé el libro anoche a las dos de la mañana.

    I finished the book last night at two in the morning.

  3. Imperfect

    Mi hermano nunca terminaba lo que empezaba.

    My brother never finished what he started.

  4. Future

    El concierto terminará como a la medianoche.

    The concert will end around midnight.

  5. Conditional

    Yo terminaría la tarea primero y luego saldría.

    I'd finish the homework first and then go out.

  6. Present subjunctive

    Cuando termines de comer, lava tu plato.

    When you finish eating, wash your plate.

  7. Past subjunctive

    Si termináramos temprano, iríamos al cine.

    If we finished early, we'd go to the movies.

  8. Imperative

    ¡Termina tu sopa antes de que se enfríe!

    Finish your soup before it gets cold!

Good to know

  • "Terminar con alguien" is to break up with someone.

Where you hear terminar

The lessons that teach a form of it, and how they say it.

Spanish · Beginner Level 3

  • Mis vacaciones terminan en enero. My holiday ends in January.
  • La fiesta terminó muy tarde. The party ended very late.
  • El tour terminará a las cuatro. The tour will end at four.

Spanish · Intermediate Level 1

  • Siempre terminamos tarde. We always finish late.
  • Terminamos antes de las ocho. We finished before eight.
  • Vamos a terminar hoy. We're going to finish today.
11
Renting a Car

Beginner Level 3 · terminan

Needs a subscription 15
Moving Day

Intermediate Level 1 · terminamos

Needs a subscription 17
The Neighbours

Intermediate Level 1 · terminó

Needs a subscription 23
The Canyon

Intermediate Level 1 · mi permiso termina

Needs a subscription 21
By Then I'll Have Finished

Intermediate Level 2 · habré terminado

Needs a subscription 8
I Wanted Everything to Be Perfect

Intermediate Level 3 · antes de que el padre terminara

Needs a subscription 26
It's Not Wrong, It's Different

Advanced Level 1 · habéis terminado

Needs a subscription 3
The Nun and the Widow

Advanced Level 3 · lo terminéis en un año

Needs a subscription 29
More Sevillian Than the Giralda

Fluency Level 2 · y vosotros lo termináis

Needs a subscription

Verbs like this one

The same pattern, on other verbs: regular -ar verb.