acabar

Asturian

Etymology

From a + Latin caput, or through a Vulgar Latin root *accapāre.

Verb

acabar (first-person singular indicative present acabo, past participle acabáu)

1. to finish, end, finish off
2. to manage, succeed
3. (acabar de facer) To have just done (something)
4. to die, die out

Conjugation

Conjugation of acabar

infinitive		acabar
gerund		acabando
past participle		m acabáu, f acabada, n acabao, m pl acabaos, f pl acabaes
person		first singular yo	second singular tu	third singular él/elli	first plural nosotros/nós	second plural vosotros/vós	third plural ellos
indicative	present	acabo	acabes	acaba	acabamos	acabáis	acaben
	imperfect	acababa	acababes	acababa	acabábemos, acabábamos	acababeis, acababais	acababen
	preterite	acabé	acabasti, acabesti	acabó	acabemos	acabastis, acabestis	acabaron
	pluperfect	acabare, acabara	acabares, acabaras	acabare, acabara	acabáremos, acabáramos	acabareis, acabarais	acabaren, acabaran
	future	acabaré	acabarás	acabará	acabaremos	acabaréis	acabarán
	conditional	acabaría	acabaríes	acabaría	acabaríemos, acabaríamos	acabaríeis, acabaríais	acabaríen
subjunctive	present	acabe	acabes, acabas	acabe	acabemos	acabéis	acaben, acaban
	imperfect	acabare, acabara	acabares, acabaras	acabare, acabara	acabáremos, acabáramos	acabareis, acabarais	acabaren, acabaran
imperative		—	acaba	—	—	acabái	—

Related terms

• cabu

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Catalan

Etymology

From a (from Latin ad) + cap (from Latin caput), or through a Vulgar Latin root *accapāre (compare Occitan acabar). Compare also French achever, from which also English achieve.

Pronunciation

• (Balearic, Central) IPA^(key): /ə.kəˈba/
• (Valencian) IPA^(key): /a.kaˈbaɾ/

• Audio

  (file)

• Rhymes: -a(ɾ)

Verb

acabar (first-person singular present acabo, past participle acabat)

1. to finish, complete
2. to end up, wind up

Conjugation

Conjugation of acabar (first conjugation)

infinitive			acabar
present participle			acabant
past participle				masculine		feminine
		singular		acabat		acabada
		plural		acabats		acabades
person		singular			plural
		first	second	third	first	second	third
indicative		jo	tu	ell/ella vostè	nosaltres nós	vosaltres vós	ells/elles vostès
	present	acabo	acabes	acaba	acabem	acabeu	acaben
	imperfect	acabava	acabaves	acabava	acabàvem	acabàveu	acabaven
	future	acabaré	acabaràs	acabarà	acabarem	acabareu	acabaran
	preterite	acabí	acabares	acabà	acabàrem	acabàreu	acabaren
	conditional	acabaria	acabaries	acabaria	acabaríem	acabaríeu	acabarien
subjunctive		jo	tu	ell/ella vostè	nosaltres nós	vosaltres vós	ells/elles vostès
	present	acabi	acabis	acabi	acabem	acabeu	acabin
	imperfect	acabés	acabessis	acabés	acabéssim	acabéssiu	acabessin
imperative		—	tu	vostè	nosaltres	vosaltres vós	vostès
		—	acaba	acabi	acabem	acabeu	acabin

Derived terms

• acabador
• acabament
• acabar de
• s'ha acabat el bròquil

 

Further reading

• “acabar” in Diccionari de la llengua catalana, segona edició, Institut d’Estudis Catalans.
• “acabar”, in Gran Diccionari de la Llengua Catalana, Grup Enciclopèdia Catalana, 2022
• “acabar” in Diccionari normatiu valencià, Acadèmia Valenciana de la Llengua.
• “acabar” in Diccionari català-valencià-balear, Antoni Maria Alcover and Francesc de Borja Moll, 1962.

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Galician

Etymology

From Old Galician and Old Portuguese acabar, from Latin ad (“to”) + caput (“head”), or through a Vulgar Latin root *accapāre. Compare English achieve.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /akaˈbaɾ/

Verb

acabar (first-person singular present acabo, first-person singular preterite acabei, past participle acabado)

1. (intransitive) to finish
2. (transitive) to complete, finish
3. (auxiliary with a verb in the gerund) to end up
4. (auxiliary with de and a verb in the infinitive) to have just (indicates recency)
5. (transitive with con) to destroy completely, to defeat thoroughly; to put an end to

Conjugation

Conjugation of acabar

	singular			plural
person	first	second	third	first	second	third
Infinitive	eu	ti	el/ela/Vde.	nós	vos	eles/elas/Vdes.
impersonal	acabar
personal	acabar	acabares	acabar	acabarmos	acabardes	acabaren
Gerund
	acabando
Past participle	singular			plural
masculine	acabado			acabados
feminine	acabada			acabadas
Indicative	eu	ti	el/ela/Vde.	nós	vos	eles/elas/Vdes.
present	acabo	acabas	acaba	acabamos	acabades	acaban
imperfect	acababa	acababas	acababa	acababamos	acababades	acababan
preterite	acabei	acabaches	acabou	acabamos	acabastes	acabaron
pluperfect	acabara	acabaras	acabara	acabaramos	acabarades	acabaran
future	acabarei	acabarás	acabará	acabaremos	acabaredes	acabarán
conditional	acabaría	acabarías	acabaría	acabariamos	acabariades	acabarían
Subjunctive	eu	ti	el/ela/Vde.	nós	vos	eles/elas/Vdes.
present	acabe	acabes	acabe	acabemos	acabedes	acaben
preterite	acabase	acabases	acabase	acabásemos	acabásedes	acabasen
future	acabar	acabares	acabar	acabarmos	acabardes	acabaren
Imperative	–	ti	el/ela/Vde.	nós	vos	eles/elas/Vdes.
affirmative	–	acaba	acabe	acabemos	acabade	acaben
negative	–	acabes	acabe	acabemos	acabedes	acaben

Related terms

• cabo

References

• “acabar” in Dicionario de Dicionarios do galego medieval, SLI - ILGA 2006–2012.
• “acab” in Xavier Varela Barreiro & Xavier Gómez Guinovart: Corpus Xelmírez - Corpus lingüístico da Galicia medieval. SLI / Grupo TALG / ILG, 2006–2016.
• “acabar” in Dicionario de Dicionarios da lingua galega, SLI - ILGA 2006–2013.
• “acabar” in Tesouro informatizado da lingua galega. Santiago: ILG.
• “acabar” in Álvarez, Rosario (coord.): Tesouro do léxico patrimonial galego e portugués, Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega.

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Occitan

Etymology

From a + Latin caput, or from Old Occitan, from a Vulgar Latin *accapāre.

Pronunciation

• Audio

  (file)

Verb

acabar

1. to finish; to complete

Conjugation

    Lengadocian (Standard Occitan)

		simple			compound
infinitive		acabar			aver acabat
gerund		acabant			use gerund of aver + past participle
past participle		acabat			—
person		singular			plural
		first	second	third	first	second	third
indicative		ieu	tu	el	nosautres	vosautres	eles
	present	acabi	acabas	acaba	acabam	acabatz	acaban
	imperfect	acabavi	acabavas	acabava	acabàvem	acabàvetz	acabavan
	preterite	acabèri	acabères	acabèt	acabèrem	acabèretz	acabèron
	future	acabarai	acabaràs	acabarà	acabarem	acabaretz	acabaràn
	conditional	acabariái	acabariás	acabariá	acabariam	acabariatz	acabarián
compound tenses	present perfect	use the present tense of aver + past participle
	pluperfect	use the imperfect tense of aver + past participle
	past anterior	use the preterite tense of aver + past participle
	future perfect	use the future tense of aver + past participle
	conditional perfect	use the conditional tense of aver + past participle
subjunctive		que ieu	que tu	que el	que nosautres	que vosautres	que eles
	present	acabe	acabes	acabe	acabem	acabetz	acaben
	imperfect	acabèssi	acabèsses	acabèsse	acabèssem	acabèssetz	acabèsson
compound tenses	past	use the present subjunctive of aver + past participle
	pluperfect	use the imperfect subjunctive of aver + past participle
imperative		—	tu	—	nosautres	vosautres	—
			acaba		acabem	acabatz

    Auvernhàs

		simple			compound
infinitive		acabar			aver acabat
gerund		acabant			use gerund of aver + past participle
past participle		acabat			—
person		singular			plural
		first	second	third	first	second	third
indicative		ieu	tu	el	nosautres	vosautres	eles
	present	acabe	acabes	acaba	acabam	acabatz	acabon
	imperfect	acabave	acabaves	acabava	acabaviam	acabaviatz	acabavon
	preterite	acabere	acaberes	acabet	acabem	acabetz	acaberon
	future	acabarai	acabaràs	acabará	acabarem	acabaretz	acabarán
	conditional	acabariá	acabariás	acabariá	acabariam	acabariatz	acabarián
compound tenses	present perfect	use the present tense of aver + past participle
	pluperfect	use the imperfect tense of aver + past participle
	past anterior	use the preterite tense of aver + past participle
	future perfect	use the future tense of aver + past participle
	conditional perfect	use the conditional tense of aver + past participle
subjunctive		que ieu	que tu	que el	que nosautres	que vosautres	que eles
	present	acabe	acabes	acabe	acabassiam	acabassiatz	acabon
	imperfect	acabesse	acabesses	acabesse	acabessiam	acabessiatz	acabesson
compound tenses	past	use the present subjunctive of aver + past participle
	pluperfect	use the imperfect subjunctive of aver + past participle
imperative		—	tu	—	nosautres	vosautres	—
			acaba		acabassiam	acabatz

    Gascon

		simple			compound
infinitive		acabar			aver acabat
gerund		acabant			use gerund of aver + past participle
past participle		acabat			—
person		singular			plural
		first	second	third	first	second	third
indicative		ieu	tu	el	nosautres	vosautres	eles
	present	acabi	acabas	acaba	acabam	acabatz	acaban
	imperfect	acabavi	acabavas	acabava	acabàvam	acabàvatz	acabavan
	preterite	acabèi	acabès	acabè	acabèm	acabètz	acabèn
	future	acabarèi	acabaràs	acabarà	acabaram	acabaratz	acabaràn
	conditional	acabarí	acabarés	acabaré	acabarem	acabaretz	acabarén
compound tenses	present perfect	use the present tense of aver + past participle
	pluperfect	use the imperfect tense of aver + past participle
	past anterior	use the preterite tense of aver + past participle
	future perfect	use the future tense of aver + past participle
	conditional perfect	use the conditional tense of aver + past participle
subjunctive		que ieu	que tu	que el	que nosautres	que vosautres	que eles
	present	acabi	acabes	acabe	acabem	acabetz	acaben
	imperfect	acabèssi	acabèsses	acabèsse	acabèssem	acabèssetz	acabèssen
compound tenses	past	use the present subjunctive of aver + past participle
	pluperfect	use the imperfect subjunctive of aver + past participle
imperative		—	tu	—	nosautres	vosautres	—
			acaba		acabem	acabatz

    Lemosin

		simple			compound
infinitive		acabar			aver acabat
gerund		acabant			use gerund of aver + past participle
past participle		acabat			—
person		singular			plural
		first	second	third	first	second	third
indicative		ieu	tu	el	nosautres	vosautres	eles
	present	acabe	acabas	acaba	acabam	acabatz	acaban
	imperfect	acabava	acabavas	acabava	acabàvam	acabàvatz	acabavan
	preterite	acabei	acaberas	acabet	acabèram	acabèratz	acaberan
	future	acabarai	acabaràs	acabará	acabarem	acabaretz	acabarán
	conditional	acabariá	acabariàs	acabariá	acabariam	acabariatz	acabarián
compound tenses	present perfect	use the present tense of aver + past participle
	pluperfect	use the imperfect tense of aver + past participle
	past anterior	use the preterite tense of aver + past participle
	future perfect	use the future tense of aver + past participle
	conditional perfect	use the conditional tense of aver + past participle
subjunctive		que ieu	que tu	que el	que nosautres	que vosautres	que eles
	present	acabe	acabes	acabe	acabem	acabetz	acaben
	imperfect	acabèsse	acabèsses	acabèsse	acabèssem	acabèssetz	acabèssen
compound tenses	past	use the present subjunctive of aver + past participle
	pluperfect	use the imperfect subjunctive of aver + past participle
imperative		—	tu	—	nosautres	vosautres	—
			acaba		acabem	acabatz

    Provençau

		simple			compound
infinitive		acabar			aver acabat
gerund		acabant			use gerund of aver + past participle
past participle		acabat			—
person		singular			plural
		first	second	third	first	second	third
indicative		ieu	tu	el	nosautres	vosautres	eles
	present	acabe	acabes	acaba	acabam	acabatz	acaban
	imperfect	acabavi	acabavas	acabava	acabàvem	acabàvetz	acabavan
	preterite	acabère	acabères	acabèt	acaberiam	acaberiatz	acabèron
	future	acabarai	acabaràs	acabarà	acabarem	acabaretz	acabaràn
	conditional	acabariáu	acabariás	acabariá	acabariam	acabariatz	acabarián
compound tenses	present perfect	use the present tense of aver + past participle
	pluperfect	use the imperfect tense of aver + past participle
	past anterior	use the preterite tense of aver + past participle
	future perfect	use the future tense of aver + past participle
	conditional perfect	use the conditional tense of aver + past participle
subjunctive		que ieu	que tu	que el	que nosautres	que vosautres	que eles
	present	acabe	acabes	acabe	acabem	acabetz	acaban
	imperfect	acabèsse	acabèsses	acabèsse	acabessiam	acabessiatz	acabèsson
compound tenses	past	use the present subjunctive of aver + past participle
	pluperfect	use the imperfect subjunctive of aver + past participle
imperative		—	tu	—	nosautres	vosautres	—
			acaba		acabem	acabatz

Derived terms

• acabada
• acabador
• acabadura
• acabament
• acabat

 

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Portuguese

Etymology

From Old Portuguese acabar, from Latin ad (“to”) + caput (“head”), or through a Vulgar Latin root *accapāre. Compare French achever, whence also English achieve. Synchronically, a- +‎ cabo +‎ -ar.

Pronunciation

 

• IPA^(key): (Brazil) /a.kaˈba(ʁ)/, [a.kaˈba(h)]

• IPA^(key): (Brazil) /a.kaˈba(ʁ)/, [a.kaˈba(h)]
  • IPA^(key): (São Paulo) /a.kaˈba(ɾ)/, [a.kaˈba(ɾ)]
  • IPA^(key): (Rio de Janeiro) /a.kaˈba(ʁ)/, [a.kaˈba(χ)]

• IPA^(key): (Portugal) /ɐ.kɐˈbaɾ/, [ɐ.kɐˈβaɾ]

• (Paulista) IPA^(key): /a.ka.ˈba(ɹ)/
• (South Brazil) IPA^(key): /a.ka.ˈba(ɻ)/

• Audio (Oporto, Portugal)

  (file)

• Audio (USA)

  (file)

• Hyphenation: a‧ca‧bar

Verb

acabar (first-person singular present indicative acabo, past participle acabado)

2. (intransitive) to finish (to be over, completed)

   O filme acabou. ― The film is over.

   Synonyms: terminar, finalizar

   Antonym: começar

4. (transitive) to complete; to finish (to make done)

   Acabe suas tarefas antes de sair. ― Finish your chores before going out.

   Synonyms: terminar, completar, finalizar, concluir

   Antonyms: iniciar, começar, inicializar

6. (auxiliary with a verb in the gerund) to end up (to eventually do)

   No fim, acabamos comendo naquele restaurante maltrapilho. ― In the end, we ended up eating at that shabby restaurant.

   Synonym: terminar por

8. (copulative) to end up; to turn out (to become, at the end of a process)

   De tanto misturarmos, a cor da tinta acabou cinza. ― Because we mixed it so much, the colour of the paint ended up grey.

   Synonym: ficar

10. (auxiliary with de and a verb in the infinitive) to have just; just (indicates recency)

    Ele acabou de sair. ― He just left.

12. (transitive with com) to destroy completely, to defeat thoroughly

    O inseticida prometeu que acabaria com as baratas. ― The insecticide promised to exterminate cockroaches.

    Nosso time acabou com o deles! ― Our team murdered theirs!

    Synonyms: destruir, matar

14. (transitive with com) to break up; to put an end to (to make an activity or practice stop)

    Essa lei acabará com a impunidade. ― This law will put an end to impunity.

16. (transitive with com) to break up with (end a relationship)

    Ele acabou com ela. ― He broke up with her.

    Synonym: terminar com

18. (intransitive or takes a reflexive pronoun) to run out (to be entirely used up)

    Todo o dinheiro acabou. ― All the money ran out.

    Synonym: esgotar-se

19. first-person singular (eu) personal infinitive of acabar
20. third-person singular (ele and ela, also used with você and others) personal infinitive of acabar
21. first-person singular (eu) future subjunctive of acabar
22. third-person singular (ele and ela, also used with você and others) future subjunctive of acabar

Conjugation

  Conjugation of the Portuguese -ar verb acabar

Notes:[edit] This is a regular verb of the -ar group. Verbs with this conjugation include: amar, cantar, gritar, marchar, mostrar, nadar, parar, participar, retirar, separar, viajar.
	Singular			Plural
	First-person (eu)	Second-person (tu)	Third-person (ele / ela / você)	First-person (nós)	Second-person (vós)	Third-person (eles / elas / vocês)
Infinitive
Impersonal	acabar
Personal	acabar	acabares	acabar	acabarmos	acabardes	acabarem
Gerund
	acabando
Past participle
Masculine	acabado			acabados
Feminine	acabada			acabadas
Indicative
Present	acabo	acabas	acaba	acabamos	acabais	acabam
Imperfect	acabava	acabavas	acabava	acabávamos	acabáveis	acabavam
Preterite	acabei	acabaste	acabou	acabamos acabámos	acabastes	acabaram
Pluperfect	acabara	acabaras	acabara	acabáramos	acabáreis	acabaram
Future	acabarei	acabarás	acabará	acabaremos	acabareis	acabarão
Conditional
	acabaria	acabarias	acabaria	acabaríamos	acabaríeis	acabariam
Subjunctive
Present	acabe	acabes	acabe	acabemos	acabeis	acabem
Imperfect	acabasse	acabasses	acabasse	acabássemos	acabásseis	acabassem
Future	acabar	acabares	acabar	acabarmos	acabardes	acabarem
Imperative
Affirmative	-	acaba	acabe	acabemos	acabai	acabem
Negative (não)	-	acabes	acabe	acabemos	acabeis	acabem

Related terms

• cabo

Descendants

• Kabuverdianu: kaba
• → Sranan Tongo: kaba

Further reading

• “acabar” in iDicionário Aulete.
• “acabar” in Dicionário inFormal.
• “acabar” in Dicionário Aberto based on Novo Diccionário da Língua Portuguesa de Cândido de Figueiredo, 1913
• “acabar” in Dicionário infopédia da Língua Portuguesa. Porto: Porto Editora, 2003–2022.
• “acabar” in Michaelis Dicionário Brasileiro da Língua Portuguesa.
• “acabar” in Dicionário Priberam da Língua Portuguesa.

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Spanish

Etymology

From the noun cabo (“end, edge”), from Latin caput, or through a Vulgar Latin root *accapāre. Compare English achieve.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /akaˈbaɾ/, [a.kaˈβ̞aɾ]

Verb

acabar (first-person singular present acabo, first-person singular preterite acabé, past participle acabado)

1. (transitive) to finish; to end

   Synonyms: terminar, finalizar, rematar

2. (auxiliary with a verb in the gerund) to end up (to eventually do)

   Acabarás haciendo lo que él diga. ― You'll end up doing what he says.

3. (takes a reflexive pronoun) to run out of

   Se me acabó la paciencia. ― I've run out of patience.

4. (takes a reflexive pronoun) to come to an end, to be over, to be done, to be finished, to be it, to be no more, to be up

   Lo siento. Su tiempo se acabó, señor. ― I am sorry. Your time is up, sir.

5. (Latin America, vulgar, slang) to orgasm; to cum

Conjugation

    Conjugation of acabar (See Appendix:Spanish verbs)

infinitive			acabar
gerund			acabando
past participle				masculine		feminine
		singular		acabado		acabada
		plural		acabados		acabadas
		singular			plural
		1st person	2nd person	3rd person	1st person	2nd person	3rd person
indicative		yo	tú vos	él/ella/ello usted	nosotros nosotras	vosotros vosotras	ellos/ellas ustedes
	present	acabo	acabastú acabásvos	acaba	acabamos	acabáis	acaban
	imperfect	acababa	acababas	acababa	acabábamos	acababais	acababan
	preterite	acabé	acabaste	acabó	acabamos	acabasteis	acabaron
	future	acabaré	acabarás	acabará	acabaremos	acabaréis	acabarán
	conditional	acabaría	acabarías	acabaría	acabaríamos	acabaríais	acabarían
subjunctive		yo	tú vos	él/ella/ello usted	nosotros nosotras	vosotros vosotras	ellos/ellas ustedes
	present	acabe	acabestú acabésvos2	acabe	acabemos	acabéis	acaben
	imperfect (ra)	acabara	acabaras	acabara	acabáramos	acabarais	acabaran
	imperfect (se)	acabase	acabases	acabase	acabásemos	acabaseis	acabasen
	future1	acabare	acabares	acabare	acabáremos	acabareis	acabaren
imperative		—	tú vos	usted	nosotros nosotras	vosotros vosotras	ustedes
	affirmative		acabatú acabávos	acabe	acabemos	acabad	acaben
	negative		no acabes	no acabe	no acabemos	no acabéis	no acaben

¹Mostly obsolete, now mainly used in legal language.
²Argentine and Uruguayan voseo prefers the tú form for the present subjunctive.

    Selected combined forms of acabar

These forms are generated automatically and may not actually be used. Pronoun usage varies by region.

		singular			plural
		1st person	2nd person	3rd person	1st person	2nd person	3rd person
with infinitive acabar
	dative	acabarme	acabarte	acabarle, acabarse	acabarnos	acabaros	acabarles, acabarse
	accusative	acabarme	acabarte	acabarlo, acabarla, acabarse	acabarnos	acabaros	acabarlos, acabarlas, acabarse
with gerund acabando
	dative	acabándome	acabándote	acabándole, acabándose	acabándonos	acabándoos	acabándoles, acabándose
	accusative	acabándome	acabándote	acabándolo, acabándola, acabándose	acabándonos	acabándoos	acabándolos, acabándolas, acabándose
with informal second-person singular imperative acaba
	dative	acábame	acábate	acábale	acábanos	not used	acábales
	accusative	acábame	acábate	acábalo, acábala	acábanos	not used	acábalos, acábalas
with formal second-person singular imperative acabe
	dative	acábeme	not used	acábele, acábese	acábenos	not used	acábeles
	accusative	acábeme	not used	acábelo, acábela, acábese	acábenos	not used	acábelos, acábelas
with first-person plural imperative acabemos
	dative	not used	acabémoste	acabémosle	acabémonos	acabémoos	acabémosles
	accusative	not used	acabémoste	acabémoslo, acabémosla	acabémonos	acabémoos	acabémoslos, acabémoslas
with informal second-person plural imperative acabad
	dative	acabadme	not used	acabadle	acabadnos	acabaos	acabadles
	accusative	acabadme	not used	acabadlo, acabadla	acabadnos	acabaos	acabadlos, acabadlas
with formal second-person plural imperative acaben
	dative	acábenme	not used	acábenle	acábennos	not used	acábenles, acábense
	accusative	acábenme	not used	acábenlo, acábenla	acábennos	not used	acábenlos, acábenlas, acábense

Derived terms

• acabamiento
• acabar con (“to finish; to put an end to”)
• acabar de (“to have just”)
• acabar de una vez (“to get it over with, to be done with it”)
• acabar por (“to end up”)
• acabarse
• de nunca acabar
• muerto el perro, se acabó la rabia
• quien empieza ganando acaba llorando
• y se acabó lo que se daba

 

Further reading

• “acabar”, in Diccionario de la lengua española, Vigésima tercera edición, Real Academia Española, 2014