Spanish grammar · Intermediate
Terminar De + Infinitive: How to Say Finish Doing in Spanish
Periphrastic meaning to finish doing. Conjugate terminar (regular -ar verb) or its synonym acabar, add de, follow with an infinitive. Common for completed tasks, meals, and projects.
Acabo de terminar de comer.
I just finished eating.
What it is
Terminar de + infinitive is the standard way to say to finish doing in Spanish. Conjugate terminar (regular -ar verb) or its synonym acabar, add de, then the infinitive. Used for completed meals, tasks, projects, and any action that comes to an end.
In Acabo de terminar de comer (I just finished eating), terminar de comer is the construction for finished eating. The de connects terminar to the infinitive comer.
How to spot it
Look for terminar / acabar + de + infinitive. The de is mandatory. Don't confuse acabar de + infinitive (just did = recent past) with terminar de + infinitive (finished doing = completion).
- Terminé de leer el libro. — I finished reading the book.
- ¿Terminaste de cenar? — Did you finish dinner?
- Vamos a terminar de pintar la casa. — We're going to finish painting the house.
Terminar de and acabar de overlap in finishing meaning, but acabar de + infinitive can also mean just did something (acabo de comer = I just ate). Use terminar de for explicit finishing.
Terminar de + Infinitive Quick Reference
Terminar de across tenses
| Tense | yo form | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| Present | termino de + inf. | I'm finishing... |
| Preterite | terminé de + inf. | I finished... |
| Imperfect | terminaba de + inf. | I was finishing... |
| Future | terminaré de + inf. | I'll finish... |
| Conditional | terminaría de + inf. | I would finish... |
| Subjunctive | termine de + inf. | (that) I finish... |
Common Terminar de + Infinitive Examples in Spanish
Terminar de covers any action that comes to a natural end. It's the periphrastic for completion across tasks, meals, projects, and study.
Finishing Meals and Activities
- Termino de comer en cinco minutos.
- I'll finish eating in five minutes.
- Terminó de cocinar la cena.
- She finished cooking dinner.
- Cuando terminemos de cenar, vemos una película.
- When we finish dinner, we'll watch a movie.
- ¿Has terminado de desayunar?
- Have you finished breakfast?
- Acabo de terminar de almorzar.
- I just finished lunch.
Finishing meals (cenar, almorzar, desayunar) is a very common context for terminar de.
Finishing Tasks and Projects
- Terminé de escribir el informe.
- I finished writing the report.
- Vamos a terminar de pintar la casa.
- We're going to finish painting the house.
- Cuando termine de estudiar, te llamo.
- When I finish studying, I'll call you.
- Quiero terminar de leer este libro hoy.
- I want to finish reading this book today.
- Por fin terminaron de construir el puente.
- They finally finished building the bridge.
Tasks, projects, and longer activities (writing, building, painting, studying) all take terminar de.
Future Completion
- Cuando termine de trabajar, vamos al cine.
- When I finish working, we'll go to the movies.
- En cuanto terminen de comer, salimos.
- As soon as they finish eating, we leave.
- Después de que terminemos, podemos descansar.
- After we finish, we can rest.
- Una vez que termines de hablar, te respondo.
- Once you finish talking, I'll respond.
- Te llamo cuando termine de estudiar.
- I'll call you when I finish studying.
Future-oriented finishing often appears in subordinate clauses with cuando / en cuanto / después de que + subjunctive.
Negative: Not Finishing
- No he terminado de leer todavía.
- I haven't finished reading yet.
- No terminamos de entender el problema.
- We don't fully understand the problem.
- No terminó de explicar.
- He didn't finish explaining.
- Nunca termina de hablar.
- He never finishes talking.
- No terminé de escribir el correo.
- I didn't finish writing the email.
Negative forms express incomplete actions. No terminar de + infinitive can also mean don't fully + verb (no termino de entender = I don't fully understand).
How Terminar De Works
Structure: Terminar + De + Infinitive
Conjugate terminar (regular -ar verb, no stem changes) in any tense, add de (always the same), then an infinitive.
Termino / terminé / terminaba + de + comer.
Tense changes only on terminar.
Terminar + de + infinitive.
Acabar De Has Two Meanings
Acabar de + infinitive can mean: 1) just did something (acabo de comer = I just ate) for recent past, or 2) finish doing (acabamos de terminar = we just finished). Terminar de always means finish, no recent-past meaning. Pick terminar de for explicit finishing.
Acabo de comer (just ate). Termino de comer (finishing).
Acabar de = just / finish (ambiguous).
Terminar de = always finish; acabar de = also just did.
Terminar Is Regular
Terminar follows the regular -ar conjugation pattern with no stem changes or spelling rules: termino, terminas, termina, terminamos, termináis, terminan; terminé, terminaste, terminó, etc. Easy to conjugate across all tenses.
termino, terminé, terminaba, terminaré, termine.
All regular forms.
No surprises in conjugation.
The Preposition Is De
Like dejar de and acabar de, terminar takes the preposition de before an infinitive. The pattern de = stopping / finishing actions. Empezar / comenzar take a (starting).
terminar de, dejar de, acabar de (all with de).
De marks stopping or completing periphrastics.
De = end / stop. A = start.
Common Mistakes with Terminar de + Infinitive
Incorrect: Terminé comer. — I finished eating. (wrong, missing de)
Correct: Terminé de comer. — I finished eating.
Terminar requires the preposition de before the infinitive. Without de, the sentence is incomplete or ungrammatical.
Incorrect: Termino de comiendo. — I'm finishing eating. (wrong, gerund instead of infinitive)
Correct: Termino de comer. — I'm finishing eating.
After terminar de, use the infinitive (comer), not the gerund (comiendo). Spanish uses infinitives in periphrastic constructions.
Incorrect: Terminé a comer. — I finished eating. (wrong, a instead of de)
Correct: Terminé de comer. — I finished eating.
Terminar takes de, not a. The preposition a is used with starting periphrastics (empezar a). Each construction has its own required preposition.
Terminar de + Infinitive FAQs
- How do I say finish doing something in Spanish?
- Terminar de + infinitive (or acabar de + infinitive). Conjugate terminar in any tense, add de, then the infinitive. Terminé de comer (I finished eating). Termino de trabajar a las 5 (I finish working at 5).
- What's the difference between terminar de and acabar de?
- Both mean to finish doing. Acabar de also has a second meaning: to have just done (acabo de comer = I just ate, recent past). Terminar de always means finish (no recent-past meaning). For unambiguous finishing, terminar de is safer.
- Why does terminar use de instead of a?
- Ending-oriented periphrastic constructions (terminar de, dejar de, acabar de) use de. Starting-oriented periphrastics (empezar a, comenzar a, ponerse a) use a. The preposition reflects the direction of the action.
- Is terminar de always followed by an infinitive?
- Yes, in this periphrastic construction. Terminar can also take a direct object (terminar la tarea = finish the homework), but with a verb following, the infinitive is required: terminar de hacer la tarea = finish doing the homework.
- How can I learn terminar de naturally?
- Finishing actions is a constant topic of conversation. Parrot's short-form videos surface terminé de comer / cuando termine de trabajar / no he terminado de leer in real contexts, so the construction becomes automatic with exposure.