acabar Imperfect Conjugation
acabar — to finish
Acabar in the imperfect is regular: acababa, acababas, acababa, acabábamos, acababais, acababan.
acabar Imperfect Forms
When to Use the Imperfect
Use the imperfect when you want to describe a process of finishing that was ongoing, or a habitual action in the past, like 'I used to finish work at five.'
Notes on acabar in the Imperfect
Acabar is completely regular in the imperfect. Remember that the 'yo' and 'él/ella/usted' forms are identical.
Example Sentences
Antes, siempre acababa mis tareas temprano.
Before, I always used to finish my homework early.
yo
Acabábamos de comer cuando llamaste.
We had just finished eating when you called.
nosotros
Ellos acababan el proyecto poco a poco.
They were finishing the project little by little.
ellos/ellas/ustedes
Common Mistakes
Mistake: Forgetting the accent on the nosotros form: acababamos.
Correct: acabábamos
Why: All -ar verbs in the imperfect require an accent on the 'a' in the nosotros form to maintain the stress on the antepenultimate syllable.
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Related Tenses
Present
yo: acabo
The present tense of acabar is regular: acabo, acabas, acaba, acabamos, acabáis, acaban.
Preterite
yo: acabé
The preterite of acabar is regular: acabé, acabaste, acabó, acabamos, acabasteis, acabaron.
Future
yo: acabaré
The future tense is regular: acabaré, acabarás, acabará, acabaremos, acabaréis, acabarán.
Conditional
yo: acabaría
The conditional is regular: acabaría, acabarías, acabaría, acabaríamos, acabaríais, acabarían.
Present Subjunctive
yo: acabe
The present subjunctive of acabar follows the -ar pattern: acabe, acabes, acabe, acabemos, acabéis, acaben.
Imperfect Subjunctive
yo: acabara
The imperfect subjunctive of acabar uses the -ra endings: acabara, acabaras, acabara, acabáramos, acabarais, acabaran.
Affirmative Imperative
yo: acaba
The affirmative imperative forms are: acaba (tú), acabe (usted), acabemos (nosotros), acabad (vosotros), acaben (ustedes).
Negative Imperative
yo: no acabes
Negative commands use the present subjunctive: no acabes, no acabe, no acabemos, no acabéis, no acaben.