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Conjugation Chart of “Acabar” (to finish) in the Preterite (Past) Tense

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Understanding the Preterite (Past) Tense of “Acabar”

The preterite of acabar is used to express when you finished something at a specific moment in the past. For example, when you want to say “I finished my homework at 10 PM” – “Acabé mi tarea a las 10 de la noche.”

This verb follows the regular -ar conjugation pattern in the preterite tense, making it straightforward to conjugate using standard -ar endings.

How to Use Acabar in the Preterite (Past) Tense

The Preterite of acabar expresses completed endings.

To finish/end: Used for completing actions or events, for example Acabé mi trabajo (I finished my work), or La película acabó tarde (The movie ended late).

To run out/use up: Describes depleting resources, for example Se acabó la gasolina (The gas ran out).

Real Life Examples of Acabar in the Preterite (Past) Tense

Acabé el proyecto justo a tiempo. (I finished the project just in time.)

La película acabó con un final sorprendente. (The movie ended with a surprising ending.)

¿Cuándo acabaste de estudiar? (When did you finish studying?)

Acabamos el trabajo antes de lo previsto. (We finished the work earlier than expected.)

Los estudiantes acabaron el examen en dos horas. (The students finished the exam in two hours.)

Acabó de llover hace cinco minutos. (It stopped raining five minutes ago.)

¿Ya acabaste la tarea? (Have you already finished the homework?)

Acabamos de cenar cuando llamaste. (We had just finished dinner when you called.)

La reunión acabó más tarde de lo normal. (The meeting ended later than usual.)

Acabaron las vacaciones demasiado pronto. (The vacation ended too soon.)

Acabé de leer el libro esta mañana. (I finished reading the book this morning.)

¿Cómo acabó la historia? (How did the story end?)

Acabamos el semestre con buenas notas. (We finished the semester with good grades.)

La fiesta acabó a medianoche. (The party ended at midnight.)

Acabaron de construir el edificio el mes pasado. (They finished building the edifice last month.)

Conjugation Chart with English Translations

Conjugations of Acabar (to finish) in the Preterite (Past) Tense (Castilian Spanish) with English Translations:

This post covers Castilian Spanish. For Latin American Spanish, click here

Synonyms

The Preterite tense is also known as the Simple Past, Past Simple, Definite Past, Absolute Past, or Past Tense Indicative in English, and as Pretérito Perfecto Simple, Pretérito Indefinido, Pretérito Simple, Pasado Simple, or Pretérito de Indicativo in Spanish.