Acabar
to finish / to end
Presente
Current actions, habits, and general truths.
| eu | acabo | Eu acabo o trabalho às seis. — I finish work at six. |
| você/ele/ela | acaba | Ela acaba cedo toda sexta. — She finishes early every Friday. |
| nós | acabamos | Nós acabamos juntos. — We finish together. |
| eles/elas | acabam | Eles acabam sempre tarde. — They always finish late. |
Every day is the same. I finish lunch and there's already another meeting. My boss never finishes on time — everything always drags. We finish the workday exhausted. The interns finish before everyone and leave without guilt.
Pret. Perfeito
Completed past actions — what happened.
| eu | acabei | Eu acabei o relatório ontem. — I finished the report yesterday. |
| você/ele/ela | acabou | Ele acabou o curso em julho. — He finished the course in July. |
| nós | acabamos | Nós acabamos tudo a tempo. — We finished everything on time. |
| eles/elas | acabaram | Elas acabaram antes do prazo. — They finished before the deadline. |
The marathon was intense. I finished in third place. My friend Cláudia finished just behind me. We crossed the finish line arm in arm, crying from exhaustion and joy. The last runners finished after dark — and they got the biggest applause.
Pret. Imperfeito
Ongoing or habitual past — what used to happen or was happening.
| eu | acabava | Eu acabava os deveres sozinho. — I used to finish my homework alone. |
| você/ele/ela | acabava | Ela acabava sempre antes da hora. — She always used to finish before time. |
| nós | acabávamos | Nós acabávamos e íamos brincar. — We used to finish and go play. |
| eles/elas | acabavam | Eles acabavam tudo muito rápido. — They used to finish everything very quickly. |
At university, life had a different rhythm. I used to finish classes in the afternoon and still had energy to go out. My classmate Lucas never used to finish his assignments — always left them to the last minute. We used to finish the semesters relieved. The professors always used to end class right on time.
Futuro Informal
Plans and intentions — "going to." The most common future form in spoken BR Portuguese.
| eu | vou acabar | Vou acabar isso hoje à noite. — I'm going to finish this tonight. |
| você/ele/ela | vai acabar | Ela vai acabar o projeto amanhã. — She's going to finish the project tomorrow. |
| nós | vamos acabar | Vamos acabar antes do jantar. — We're going to finish before dinner. |
| eles/elas | vão acabar | Eles vão acabar a reforma em março. — They're going to finish the renovation in March. |
The semester is coming to an end. I'm going to finish my dissertation this week, once and for all. My supervisor is going to finish the corrections and return the draft to me. We're going to finish everything before the committee deadline. My classmates are going to finish their presentations next Friday.
Futuro Formal
Formal future — "shall/will." More common in writing than speech.
| eu | acabarei | Acabarei o relatório amanhã. — I will finish the report tomorrow. |
| você/ele/ela | acabará | O contrato acabará em dezembro. — The contract will end in December. |
| nós | acabaremos | Acabaremos dentro do prazo. — We will finish within the deadline. |
| eles/elas | acabarão | As obras acabarão no primeiro trimestre. — The works will finish in the first quarter. |
The official announcement states: "The registration period will end on the thirtieth of this month. We will finish the candidate review by the end of the quarter. The selected projects will finish their pilot phases in June. I will personally finish the review of the final results."
Condicional
Hypotheticals and polite requests — "would."
| eu | acabaria | Eu acabaria mais cedo se pudesse. — I would finish earlier if I could. |
| você/ele/ela | acabaria | Ela acabaria tudo hoje, mas cansou. — She would finish everything today, but she got tired. |
| nós | acabaríamos | Acabaríamos antes se tivéssemos ajuda. — We would finish sooner if we had help. |
| eles/elas | acabariam | Eles acabariam mais rápido em equipe. — They would finish faster as a team. |
If there were more time, everything would be different. I would finish the book I started two years ago. My sister would finish university without stress. We would finish more things together. But life doesn't stop — and sometimes the things that would never end are the most beautiful.
Acabar across the tenses
A short story using acabar in multiple tenses
Quando era criança, Pedro nunca acabava o prato. Sua mãe implorava, seu pai tentava negociar, mas ele sempre acabava deixando comida.
Hoje é diferente. Acaba tudo — até o que não gosta. Ontem, acabou uma tigela enorme de feijoada e ainda pediu mais. Acabamos o almoço de domingo juntos, como sempre, mas agora ele é o último a largar o garfo.
Na próxima semana, vai acabar um curso de culinária que começou no mês passado. "Se tiver tempo, acabarei o segundo módulo ainda este ano," ele diz.
Perguntei se sente saudade da infância. "Às vezes. Acabaria algumas coisas de forma diferente se pudesse voltar," ele admitiu, sorrindo. "Mas não o prato — esse eu acabo sem arrependimento."
When he was a child, Pedro never used to finish his plate. His mother would beg, his father would try to negotiate, but he always ended up leaving food. Today it's different. He finishes everything — even things he doesn't like. Yesterday, he finished a huge bowl of feijoada and even asked for more. We finished Sunday lunch together, as always, but now he's the last one to put his fork down. Next week, he's going to finish a cooking course he started last month. "If I have time, I will finish the second module before the end of the year," he says. I asked if he misses childhood. "Sometimes. I would have finished some things differently if I could go back," he admitted, smiling. "But not the plate — that one I finish without regret."
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