Today’s Spanish word of the day is “acabar”.
It’s a verb meaning “to finish”, “to end”, “to use up”. In the reflexive form (“acabarse”), it can mean “to run out”, for example:
- Se acabó el café, necesitamos comprar más. – The coffee has run out, we need to buy more.
When followed by “de” and another verb in the infinitive, it means “to have just done something”, for example:
- Acabo de llegar. – I’ve just arrived.
Etymologically speaking, the verb “acabar” originally meant something like “to come to a head”, since it’s formed from the following elements: a (“to”) + cabo (“head”) + ar (verb ending).
Example sentences
La historia acabó con un final inesperado.
The story ended with an unexpected twist.
Acabamos de aterrizar en Santiago.
We just landed in Santiago.
Aunque parecía que nunca acabaría, la tormenta finalmente cesó al amanecer.
Although it seemed it would never end, the storm finally ceased at dawn.
La discusión acabó en pelea.
The discussion ended in a fight.
Su paciencia se acabó completamente.
His patience ran out completely.
