To say that something happened a moment ago — "I just ate," "she just left," "we just finished" — Brazilian Portuguese uses the construction acabar de + infinitive. The verb acabar (literally "to finish") carries the sense of recency, and the de links it to whatever action just wrapped up. This is one of those high-frequency patterns that learners often get wrong because English "just" doesn't map onto a single Portuguese word.
How it works
Conjugate acabar for the subject and tense, add de, then the infinitive of the action.
| Subject | Acabar (preterite) |
|
|---|---|---|
| eu | acabei | acabei de comer |
| você / ele / ela | acabou | acabou de chegar |
| a gente | acabou | a gente acabou de ver |
| nós | acabamos | acabamos de ver |
| vocês / eles / elas | acabaram | acabaram de sair |
Eu acabei de comer, não tô com fome.
I just ate, I'm not hungry.
A gente acabou de ver o filme e adorou.
We just watched the movie and loved it.
Eles acabaram de sair, você não pegou eles por pouco.
They just left — you missed them by a hair.
The preterite is the everyday form
The most common and natural way to express "just did" is acabar in the preterite: acabei de, acabou de, acabaram de. This is the direct equivalent of English "I just ate / she just left."
Acabei de falar com ela no telefone.
I just talked to her on the phone.
O ônibus acabou de passar, vamos ter que esperar o próximo.
The bus just went by, we'll have to wait for the next one.
Why the preterite? Because the action is over — it just finished. Portuguese, like English, treats a completed recent action as past. The preterite of acabar nails the timing: the finishing happened a moment ago.
The present is more formal or written
You will also see acaba de + infinitive (present tense of acabar). Acaba de chegar literally maps to a "present-tense" framing of recency. In Brazilian Portuguese this present form sounds more formal, more written, or more journalistic than the everyday preterite.
A empresa acaba de lançar um novo aplicativo.
The company has just launched a new app.
O presidente acaba de assinar o decreto.
The president has just signed the decree.
These read like headlines or news copy, which is exactly where the present form thrives. In casual speech a Brazilian would say a empresa acabou de lançar. So:
| Form | Register | Example |
|---|---|---|
| acabei / acabou de (preterite) | (informal) everyday speech | Acabei de chegar. |
| acabo / acaba de (present) | (formal) / journalistic / written | A loja acaba de abrir. |
The imperfect: 'had just done'
Put acabar in the imperfect (acabava de) and you shift the reference point into the past: "had just done." It describes something that had only just happened relative to another past moment.
Eu acabava de sair quando começou a chover.
I had just left when it started to rain.
Ela acabava de acordar e ainda estava meio sonolenta.
She had just woken up and was still half asleep.
This is the natural Portuguese rendering of English "had just." Note that here the acabava de sets the background and another past verb (começou, estava) anchors the scene. The imperfect is the right choice precisely because "had just" describes an ongoing state at a past reference point, not a single finished event — and the imperfect is Portuguese's tense for past states and backgrounds.
Why English speakers get this wrong
English speakers reach for the adverb just and look for a one-word Portuguese equivalent. The trap is the word apenas (or só), which means only, not "a moment ago." Saying eu apenas comi does not mean "I just ate" — it means "I only ate" (and nothing else). The temporal "just" requires the whole construction acabar de + infinitive.
Eu acabei de comer.
I just ate. (a moment ago)
Eu apenas comi, não bebi nada.
I only ate, I didn't drink anything.
The two sentences are worlds apart. English collapses both senses into "just," but Portuguese keeps them strictly separate: acabar de for recency, apenas/só for "only." Spanish learners have an easier time here because Spanish uses the parallel acabar de — but they must still drop any extra preposition and respect the Brazilian preference for the preterite.
Common Mistakes
❌ Eu apenas comi.
Incorrect for 'I just ate' — this means 'I only ate'.
✅ Eu acabei de comer.
I just ate.
❌ Ela acabou chegar.
Incorrect — the linking 'de' is missing.
✅ Ela acabou de chegar.
She just arrived.
❌ Eu acabei de comi o almoço.
Incorrect — the second verb must be an infinitive, not a conjugated form.
✅ Eu acabei de comer o almoço.
I just ate lunch.
❌ A gente acabaram de ver o filme.
Incorrect — 'a gente' takes singular 'acabou', not 'acabaram'.
✅ A gente acabou de ver o filme.
We just watched the movie.
❌ Eu acabo de comer agora.
Awkward in casual speech — the present sounds journalistic; use the preterite.
✅ Eu acabei de comer agora.
I just ate (a moment ago).
Key Takeaways
- acabar de + infinitive = "just did." The de is mandatory and the second verb stays an infinitive.
- Everyday speech uses the preterite: acabei de comer, acabou de chegar.
- The present (acaba de) is formal/journalistic; the imperfect (acabava de) means "had just."
- Never translate the temporal "just" with apenas — that means "only."
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