acabo

Acabo is the first-person singular present indicative form of the Spanish verb acabar, which generally means to finish or end. As a transitive verb, acabar can take a direct object, as in “Acabo el informe” (I finish the report). It also appears in fixed expressions related to immediacy, such as “acabar de,” which introduces a recently completed action.

The most common use of “acabar de” expresses that something has just happened. For example, “Acabo de comer” means I have just eaten, and “Acabo de llegar” means I have just arrived. This construction is widely used in everyday speech to indicate recent events. Outside of this phrase, acabo can appear as a regular present-tense verb: “Yo acabo de terminar” is often shortened to “Acabo de terminar” in practical use, while “yo acabo” alone means “I finish” or “I end.”

Conjugation and forms: acabar is a regular verb in its present tense (yo acabo, tú acabas, él acaba, nosotros acabamos, vosotros acabáis, ellos acaban). The verb forms in other tenses follow regular patterns: pretérito perfecto simple (acabé, acabaste, acabó, acabamos, acabasteis, acabaron), participle (acabado), and gerund (acabando). The verb can also pair with “con” to form phrases like “acabar con” meaning to put an end to something or someone, or with other prepositions to convey different nuances, such as “acabar por” indicating an eventual outcome.

In compound tenses, acabar is used with haber to describe completed actions, as in “he acabado,” “has acabado,” and so on. Overall, acabo serves as a versatile present form and a gateway to several common Spanish expressions related to completion and immediacy.