Terminar is a regular -ar verb in Spanish.
Practice terminar free →Terminar means 'to finish' or 'to end', and it is a regular -ar verb that is invaluable for talking about routines, plans and sequences of events. Termino mis deberes (I finish my homework), la película terminó tarde (the film ended late). The structure terminar de + infinitive means to finish doing something: terminé de comer (I finished eating). It overlaps with acabar, which means the same. Because describing when things start and finish is part of so many narrative answers, terminar is a useful, predictable regular verb to control across tenses.
Quick facts
Terminar (to finish) is a regular -ar verb.
Real sentences across different tenses — the kind of thing you'd actually say or write.
Termino a las cinco (I finish at five).
Terminar de + infinitive: terminé de comer.
La clase terminó (the class ended).
Acabar means the same and adds variety.
Fixed expressions worth knowing — they come up in listening, reading and writing tasks.
Idiomatic expressions
terminar is a regular -ar verb — it follows the standard -ar pattern in every tense. That makes it a good one to drill: if you know terminar, you know the template for all regular -ar verbs.
Type conjugations from memory and get instant feedback. That's how you actually build the automatic recall the exam needs — not from reading tables.
Practice terminar now →Three questions, no account needed. Type the form, then press Enter or tap Check.
yo: termino, tú: terminas, él: termina, nosotros: terminamos, vosotros: termináis, ellos: terminan
The past participle is terminado (he terminado) and the gerund is terminando (estoy terminando).
Verbs that are easy to confuse with terminar or that behave like it.
Terminar is on the AQA, Edexcel and Eduqas GCSE Spanish vocabulary lists. Compare the exam boards.
Written by Daniel Holmes for GCSE & A-Level Spanish students.