Acabar de vs. Acabar Fazendo: ‘Just Did’ or ‘Ended Up Doing’?
A small change after acabar changes the timeline: acabei de chegar means ‘I just arrived,’ while acabei chegando can mean ‘I ended up arriving.’
Real Life Portuguese · 5 min read · Updated October 14, 2026
The short answer
Acabar de + infinitive places an event very recently in the past. Conjugate acabar for the subject, then use de and the base form of the next verb: acabei de sair (I just left).
Use acabar de + infinitive for something that just happened
The phrase can describe a completed action without saying that it was accidental. The surrounding sentence supplies the details about when or why it happened.
Acabei de chegar em casa.
I just got home.
Eles acabaram de fazer o pedido.
They just placed the order.
Você acabou de falar com ela?
Did you just speak with her?
Use acabar + gerund for an outcome or final result
Acabar + gerund often means that something ended up happening, sometimes after a different plan or a series of events. It does not mean that the action happened just now.
Listen for the contrast: acabei comprando emphasizes the result of the situation, while acabei de comprar emphasizes how recently the purchase happened.
A gente acabou pedindo comida em casa.
We ended up ordering food at home.
Ele acabou esquecendo o guarda-chuva.
He ended up forgetting the umbrella.
Acabei de comprar o ingresso.
I just bought the ticket.
Put it into practice
After acabar de, use an infinitive for a recent event. With a gerund, acabar often presents the eventual outcome.
Quick practice
Which Portuguese example matches “Did you just speak with her”?
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