Study Resource: How to use ‘acabar de’ in Brazilian Portuguese
By: Fabiana Dametto Oliveira
The construction acabar de + infinitive can be used in the preterite tense to describe an action that just happened or has just happened (in the recent past).
Subject Pronouns | acabar de…(to have just…) | Example |
|---|---|---|
eu(I) | acabei de | Eu acabei de acordar. I have just woken up. |
tu(you) | acabaste de | Tu acabaste de acordar. You have just woken up. |
você(you, sg.)ele(he, it)ela(she, it) | acabou de | Ela acabou de acordar. She has just woken up. |
nós(we) | acabamos de | Nós acabamos de acordar. We have just woken up. |
vós*(you, formal) | acabastes de | Vós acabastes de acordar. You have just woken up. |
vocês(you, pl.)eles, elas(they) | acabaram de | Eles acabaram de acordar. They have just woken up. |
Though it is less common, you can also use the present tense of acabar de in this construction to discuss the recent past, with no significant change in meaning. Here are the present tense forms of acabar de:
Subject Pronouns | acabar de…(to have just…) |
|---|---|
eu(I) | acabo de |
tu(you) | acabas de |
você(you, sg.)ele(he, it)ela(she, it) | acaba de |
nós(we) | acabamos de |
vós*(you, formal) | acabais de |
vocês(you, pl.)eles, elas(they) | acabam de |
