Acabar vs Acabar de — they look identical until they don't.

Acabar by itself means to finish, to end. Simple. Acabar de + infinitive means "just [did something]" — the action happened moments ago and you can still feel it.

Acabar → Ela acabou o trabalho. She finished the work. Acabar de → Nós acabámos de chegar a casa. We just arrived home.

Same verb. Completely different job.

Let's put it into practice.

Complete the sentences with the correct form of acabar or acabar de + verb.

1. O filme ________ às 21:00. — The movie finished at 9pm.
2. Eles ________ sair, ainda os podes ver ao longe. — They just left, you can still see them from afar.
3. Eu ________ o livro ontem à noite. — I finished the book last night.
4. Nós ________ chegar ao restaurante. — We just arrived at the restaurant.
5. A apresentação ________ começar. — The presentation just started.

Now translate these into Portuguese:

1. "I just finished my coffee."
2. "They finished the project yesterday."
3. "We just arrived at the airport."
4. "The concert ended a few minutes ago."
5. "She just went out."

Answer Key (Don't scroll until you've tried — I mean it.)

Part 1

1. O filme acabou às 21:00.
2. Eles acabaram de sair, ainda os podes ver ao longe.
3. Eu acabei o livro ontem à noite.
4. Nós acabámos de chegar ao restaurante.
5. A apresentação acabou de começar.

Part 2

1. Eu acabei de tomar o meu café. (or: acabei de beber)
2. Eles acabaram o projeto ontem.
3. Nós acabámos de chegar ao aeroporto.
4. O concerto acabou há uns minutos.
5. Ela acabou de sair.

If this is the kind of Portuguese you want to learn — real, spoken — Casa Portuguesa is for you.

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