B1Comparison

acabar vs terminar

As plain "to finish" the two are interchangeable. The difference shows up in the structures they build, and one of them is the standard way to say "have just".

acabar

acabar: just, run out, end up

Acabo de llegar.
Acaba de salir de casa.
Se acabó la leche.
Acabó aceptando el trabajo.
Se nos acabó el tiempo.

terminar

terminar: finish a task

Terminé el informe ayer.
¿Ya terminaste de comer?
La película termina a las diez.
Termina los deberes.
Terminamos a tiempo.

Quick answer

acabar and terminar both mean to finish, and for a task either is fine.
acabar de + infinitive = to have just done something. Terminar never does this.

acabar / terminar + gerund means to end up doing something, and acabarse means to run out.

Side by side

Acabé el libro. / Terminé el libro.Fully interchangeable here: both say you finished the book.

Acabo de comer. / Termino de comer.The first means I have just eaten; the second means I am finishing eating right now.

Se acabó el azúcar.We have run out of sugar — acabarse, not terminarse, is the everyday choice.

Memory trick

For a finished task either verb works. For "have just", only acabar de. For running out, only acabarse.

Typical mistakes

Termino de llegar, dame cinco minutos.

Acabo de llegar, dame cinco minutos.

The "have just" structure only exists with acabar de. <i>Termino de llegar</i> reads as an odd ongoing arrival.

Acabo de terminar el trabajo mañana.

Termino el trabajo mañana.

Acabar de refers to the immediate past, so it cannot combine with a future time marker.

Check yourself

Fill in: "___ de hablar con ella hace un minuto."

acabar vs terminar

acabar

terminar

Side by side

Memory trick

Typical mistakes

Other comparisons

Grammar

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