Acabar Conjugation | How to Conjugate Acabar in Spanish

Acabar means “to finish” or “to end.” You will learn its regular -AR forms, all 18 key systems, and acabar de — to have just done something.

Acabar conjugation at a glance

acabar — to finish / to end. Verb type: Regular AR. It is a regular -AR verb. Its stem acab- stays stable, its gerund is acabando — finishing, and its participle is acabado — finished. The main learning challenge is choosing the construction that matches the intended meaning.

Acabar gerund, past participle, and infinitive

The infinitive names the verb, the gerund is used in progressive constructions, and the past participle builds compound forms with haber — the auxiliary “to have.”

Form	Spanish	Natural English guide
Infinitive	acabar	to finish / to end
Gerund	acabando	finishing / ending
Past participle	acabado	finished / ended

Acabar meaning and essential uses

Use this verb transitively to finish something or intransitively when an event or process ends. It also has several common constructions that change the English rendering while keeping the same regular conjugation.

Acabar de + infinitive — to have just done something expresses a very recent action. Acabar con + noun — to put an end to something or use it up, and acabar en + noun — to end in something, are also common.

• Acabo el informe hoy. — I finish the report today.
• La película acaba a las diez. — The movie ends at ten.
• Acabo de llegar. — I have just arrived.

Acabar conjugation pattern

Verb type: Regular AR. Remove the -AR infinitive ending to get the stable stem acab-, then add the regular endings for each simple system.

The gerund acabando — finishing and the participle acabado — finished are regular. Perfect forms use haber — the auxiliary “to have” + acabado — finished, and the participle does not agree with the subject in those compound forms.

• acabo — I finish
• acabando — finishing
• acabado — finished

Acabar indicative and periphrastic conjugations

The following eleven systems show the target verb in common indicative time frames and in two frequent verbal periphrases. Each section explains the use and formation before giving the full six-person table.

Acabar present tense conjugation

Spanish grammatical name: El presente de indicativo — present indicative. Use it for current situations, habits, general facts, or actions framed as present. The stem acab- remains stable and takes the regular -AR endings.

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Yo — I	acabo	I finish
Tú — you, singular informal	acabas	you finish
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	acaba	he / she finishes; you (formal) finish
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	acabamos	we finish
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	acabáis	you (plural, Spain) finish
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	acaban	they / you (plural) finish

• Acabo el informe antes de comer. — I finish the report before lunch.

Acabar preterite conjugation

Spanish grammatical name: El pretérito perfecto simple / pretérito indefinido — preterite. Use it for completed or bounded past events. The stem acab- remains stable and takes the regular -AR endings.

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Yo — I	acabé	I finished
Tú — you, singular informal	acabaste	you finished
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	acabó	he / she / you (formal) finished
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	acabamos	we finished
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	acabasteis	you (plural, Spain) finished
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	acabaron	they / you (plural) finished

• Acabamos el proyecto ayer. — We finished the project yesterday.

Acabar imperfect conjugation

Spanish grammatical name: El pretérito imperfecto — imperfect. Use it for habitual, descriptive, background, or ongoing past situations. The stem acab- remains stable and takes the regular -AR endings.

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Yo — I	acababa	I used to finish
Tú — you, singular informal	acababas	you used to finish
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	acababa	he / she / you (formal) used to finish
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	acabábamos	we used to finish
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	acababais	you (plural, Spain) used to finish
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	acababan	they / you (plural) used to finish

• Siempre acababa el trabajo antes de las seis. — I always used to finish the work before six.

Acabar present progressive

The present progressive is a verbal periphrasis, not a separate morphological tense. Use it for an action or process presented as unfolding around now. Form it with estar — to be + acabando — finishing. The gerund stays the same for every person.

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Yo — I	estoy acabando	I am finishing
Tú — you, singular informal	estás acabando	you are finishing
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	está acabando	he / she is finishing; you (formal) are finishing
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	estamos acabando	we are finishing
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	estáis acabando	you (plural, Spain) are finishing
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	están acabando	they / you (plural) are finishing

• Estoy acabando el informe ahora. — I am finishing the report now.

Acabar near future conjugation

The near future is a verbal periphrasis, not a separate morphological tense. Use it for plans, intentions, or events viewed as imminent. Form it with ir a — to be going to + acabar — to finish. The infinitive stays unchanged.

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Yo — I	voy a acabar	I am going to finish
Tú — you, singular informal	vas a acabar	you are going to finish
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	va a acabar	he / she is going to finish; you (formal) are going to finish
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	vamos a acabar	we are going to finish
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	vais a acabar	you (plural, Spain) are going to finish
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	van a acabar	they / you (plural) are going to finish

• Voy a acabar este capítulo esta noche. — I am going to finish this chapter tonight.

Acabar future tense conjugation

Spanish grammatical name: El futuro simple — simple future. Use it for future reference and, in suitable contexts, conjecture. Add the regular future endings to the complete infinitive acabar — to finish.

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Yo — I	acabaré	I will finish
Tú — you, singular informal	acabarás	you will finish
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	acabará	he / she / you (formal) will finish
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	acabaremos	we will finish
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	acabaréis	you (plural, Spain) will finish
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	acabarán	they / you (plural) will finish

• Acabaremos la reunión a las cinco. — We will finish the meeting at five.

Acabar conditional conjugation

Spanish grammatical name: El condicional simple — simple conditional. Use it for hypothetical results, softened statements, or other conditional meanings. Add the regular conditional endings to the complete infinitive acabar — to finish.

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Yo — I	acabaría	I would finish
Tú — you, singular informal	acabarías	you would finish
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	acabaría	he / she / you (formal) would finish
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	acabaríamos	we would finish
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	acabaríais	you (plural, Spain) would finish
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	acabarían	they / you (plural) would finish

• Acabaría el trabajo hoy si tuviera tiempo. — I would finish the work today if I had time.

Acabar present perfect conjugation

Spanish grammatical name: El pretérito perfecto compuesto — present perfect. Use it for a past situation connected to a present reference point; its frequency and distribution vary across Spanish-speaking regions. Form it with the present of haber — the auxiliary “to have” + acabado — finished. The participle remains unchanged.

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Yo — I	he acabado	I have finished
Tú — you, singular informal	has acabado	you have finished
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	ha acabado	he / she has finished; you (formal) have finished
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	hemos acabado	we have finished
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	habéis acabado	you (plural, Spain) have finished
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	han acabado	they / you (plural) have finished

• He acabado la tarea. — I have finished the homework.

Acabar past perfect conjugation

Spanish grammatical name: El pretérito pluscuamperfecto — past perfect or pluperfect. Use it for an event that occurred before another past reference point. Form it with the imperfect of haber — the auxiliary “to have” + acabado — finished. The participle remains unchanged.

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Yo — I	había acabado	I had finished
Tú — you, singular informal	habías acabado	you had finished
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	había acabado	he / she / you (formal) had finished
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	habíamos acabado	we had finished
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	habíais acabado	you (plural, Spain) had finished
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	habían acabado	they / you (plural) had finished

• Ya habíamos acabado cuando llamó Marta. — We had already finished when Marta called.

Acabar future perfect conjugation

The future perfect expresses an action viewed as completed before a future reference point. Form it with the future of haber — the auxiliary “to have” + acabado — finished. The participle remains unchanged.

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Yo — I	habré acabado	I will have finished
Tú — you, singular informal	habrás acabado	you will have finished
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	habrá acabado	he / she / you (formal) will have finished
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	habremos acabado	we will have finished
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	habréis acabado	you (plural, Spain) will have finished
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	habrán acabado	they / you (plural) will have finished

• Para mañana, habré acabado el informe. — By tomorrow, I will have finished the report.

Acabar conditional perfect conjugation

The conditional perfect expresses a hypothetical completed action, often one dependent on an unreal past condition. Form it with the conditional of haber — the auxiliary “to have” + acabado — finished. The participle remains unchanged.

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Yo — I	habría acabado	I would have finished
Tú — you, singular informal	habrías acabado	you would have finished
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	habría acabado	he / she / you (formal) would have finished
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	habríamos acabado	we would have finished
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	habríais acabado	you (plural, Spain) would have finished
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	habrían acabado	they / you (plural) would have finished

• Habríamos acabado antes con más ayuda. — We would have finished earlier with more help.

Acabar subjunctive conjugations

The following six systems show the target verb in the subjunctive. The subjunctive is used in subordinate environments such as wishes, influence, evaluation, doubt, necessity, possibility, and hypothetical reference; the exact trigger depends on the sentence.

Acabar present subjunctive conjugation

Spanish grammatical name: El presente de subjuntivo — present subjunctive. Use it in subordinate environments such as wishes, influence, evaluation, doubt, necessity, or non-specific reference when the surrounding construction requires the subjunctive. Form it from the regular -AR present-subjunctive pattern for this verb.

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Yo — I	acabe	that I finish
Tú — you, singular informal	acabes	that you finish
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	acabe	that he / she / you (formal) finish
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	acabemos	that we finish
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	acabéis	that you (plural, Spain) finish
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	acaben	that they / you (plural) finish

• Espero que acabes el informe hoy. — I hope you finish the report today.

Acabar imperfect subjunctive conjugation

Spanish grammatical name: El imperfecto de subjuntivo — imperfect subjunctive. Use it in past, hypothetical, or counterfactual subordinate environments when the construction calls for the subjunctive. The primary table uses the accepted -ra series. The accepted -se series is also available; for example, acabase — if I finished and acabásemos — if we finished. The two series overlap widely but should not be treated as mechanically interchangeable in every construction.

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Yo — I	acabara	if I finished
Tú — you, singular informal	acabaras	if you finished
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	acabara	if he / she / you (formal) finished
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	acabáramos	if we finished
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	acabarais	if you (plural, Spain) finished
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	acabaran	if they / you (plural) finished

• Si acabaras antes, podríamos salir juntos. — If you finished earlier, we could leave together.

Acabar future subjunctive conjugation

Spanish grammatical name: El futuro de subjuntivo — future subjunctive. Rare in modern everyday Spanish. It survives mainly in restricted formal, legal, proverbial, literary, or historical contexts. These reference forms follow the future-subjunctive series derived from the preterite family.

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Yo — I	acabare	if I should finish
Tú — you, singular informal	acabares	if you should finish
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	acabare	if he / she / you (formal) should finish
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	acabáremos	if we should finish
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	acabareis	if you (plural, Spain) should finish
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	acabaren	if they / you (plural) should finish

• Cuando acabare el plazo, quedará cerrada la inscripción. — When the period ends, registration shall be closed.

Acabar present perfect subjunctive conjugation

The present perfect subjunctive places a completed event inside a present subjunctive environment, often after an evaluation, emotion, doubt, or other trigger. Form it with the present subjunctive of haber — the auxiliary “to have” + acabado — finished.

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Yo — I	haya acabado	that I have finished
Tú — you, singular informal	hayas acabado	that you have finished
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	haya acabado	that he / she has finished; that you (formal) have finished
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	hayamos acabado	that we have finished
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	hayáis acabado	that you (plural, Spain) have finished
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	hayan acabado	that they / you (plural) have finished

• Me alegra que hayas acabado el proyecto. — I am glad that you have finished the project.

Acabar past perfect subjunctive conjugation

Spanish grammatical name: El pretérito pluscuamperfecto de subjuntivo — past perfect subjunctive. Use it for a completed event viewed from a past or counterfactual subjunctive frame. The primary table uses hubiera — had + acabado — finished. The accepted alternative with hubiese — had is also possible; for example, hubiese acabado — if I had finished.

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Yo — I	hubiera acabado	if I had finished
Tú — you, singular informal	hubieras acabado	if you had finished
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	hubiera acabado	if he / she / you (formal) had finished
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	hubiéramos acabado	if we had finished
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	hubierais acabado	if you (plural, Spain) had finished
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	hubieran acabado	if they / you (plural) had finished

• Si hubierais acabado antes, habríais evitado el retraso. — If you had finished earlier, you would have avoided the delay.

Acabar future perfect subjunctive conjugation

Spanish grammatical name: El futuro perfecto de subjuntivo — future perfect subjunctive. Rare in modern everyday Spanish. It is mainly a restricted reference form for formal, legal, literary, or historical contexts. Form it with the future subjunctive of haber — the auxiliary “to have” + acabado — finished.

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Yo — I	hubiere acabado	if I should have finished
Tú — you, singular informal	hubieres acabado	if you should have finished
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	hubiere acabado	if he / she / you (formal) should have finished
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	hubiéremos acabado	if we should have finished
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	hubiereis acabado	if you (plural, Spain) should have finished
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	hubieren acabado	if they / you (plural) should have finished

• Cuando hubiere acabado el plazo, no se admitirán solicitudes. — When the period has ended, applications shall no longer be accepted.

Acabar imperative and commands

Commands are a functional system rather than a tense. The tables separate affirmative and negative polarity and show the five core addressee or exhortative functions.

Acabar affirmative commands

Affirmative commands tell an addressee to perform the action. Use the five direct-addressee functions shown below; there is no ordinary yo — I command row.

Addressee and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Tú — you, singular informal	acaba	finish
Usted — you, singular formal	acabe	finish, formal
Nosotros / Nosotras — let's	acabemos	let's finish
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	acabad	finish, plural informal in Spain
Ustedes — you, plural	acaben	finish, plural

• Acaba el informe antes de salir. — Finish the report before leaving.

Acabar negative commands

Negative commands use subjunctive-based forms to tell an addressee not to perform the action. Use the five direct-addressee functions shown below; there is no ordinary yo — I command row.

Addressee and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Tú — you, singular informal	no acabes	don't finish
Usted — you, singular formal	no acabe	don't finish, formal
Nosotros / Nosotras — let's	no acabemos	let's not finish
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	no acabéis	don't finish, plural informal in Spain
Ustedes — you, plural	no acaben	don't finish, plural

• No acabes el café si no te gusta. — Do not finish the coffee if you do not like it.

Common constructions with Acabar

acabar de + infinitive — to have just done something. Use this periphrasis for an action that occurred very recently.

• Acabamos de recibir el mensaje. — We have just received the message.

acabar con + noun — to put an end to something or use it up. Use con when the subject eliminates, exhausts, or brings something to an end.

• Acabaron con todas las existencias. — They used up all the stock.

acabar en + noun — to end in or finish at something. Use en for the point, place, shape, or result where something ends.

• La calle acaba en una plaza. — The street ends in a square.

Example sentences with Acabar

These examples reinforce the target verb across common time frames, moods, and sentence patterns without replacing the system-specific examples above.

• La clase acaba a mediodía. — The class ends at noon.
• Ayer acabé dos capítulos. — Yesterday I finished two chapters.
• Antes acabábamos más tarde. — We used to finish later.
• Voy a acabar la presentación esta noche. — I am going to finish the presentation tonight.
• Acabarán el trabajo el viernes. — They will finish the work on Friday.
• Quiero que acabemos a tiempo. — I want us to finish on time.
• Ya he acabado de comer. — I have just finished eating.
• No acabéis el ejercicio sin revisar las respuestas. — Do not finish the exercise without checking the answers.

Regional and usage notes for Acabar

Core tables use tú — you, singular informal, and vosotros / vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain. In regions using vos — you, singular informal, common present and affirmative-command forms may differ; regional distribution varies.

• vos acabás — you finish
• acabá — finish, vos command

The morphology is straightforward, so concentrate on meaning: the same regular forms can describe finishing an object, an event ending, a very recent action, or an endpoint or result introduced by a preposition.