Breakdown of Aún no termino mi tarea de español.
Questions & Answers about Aún no termino mi tarea de español.
In Spanish, the present simple can express an action that is in progress but not completed, especially with words like aún or todavía (yet, still).
- Aún no termino mi tarea de español.
= I haven’t finished my Spanish homework yet / I still haven’t finished my Spanish homework.
This is very natural in Latin American Spanish. You could also say:
- Todavía no termino mi tarea de español.
- Aún no he terminado mi tarea de español.
The version with he terminado (no he terminado) is closer to English “I haven’t finished”, but aún no termino is equally correct and very common, especially in speech.
In this sentence, aún and todavía are practically interchangeable:
- Aún no termino mi tarea de español.
- Todavía no termino mi tarea de español.
Both mean: I haven’t finished my Spanish homework yet / I still haven’t finished my Spanish homework.
Some nuances:
- In everyday Latin American speech, todavía is more common.
- Aún can sound a bit more formal or literary in some regions, but many people use it in normal conversation too.
- In most contexts of “yet / still”, if you can use todavía, you can use aún.
So for everyday talking in Latin America, you’ll hear todavía a lot, but aún is fully correct.
Yes, aún with an accent and aun without an accent can be different, though in modern usage the distinction is getting weaker.
aún (with accent) usually means “still / yet” and can often be replaced by todavía.
- Aún no termino. → Todavía no termino.
aun (without accent) often means “even”, similar to incluso / hasta.
- Aun los profesores se equivocan. → Even the teachers make mistakes.
In your sentence, it’s aún (still, yet) so the accent is standard:
- Aún no termino mi tarea de español.
In practice, many native speakers don’t always respect this distinction in informal writing, but it’s good to learn the “correct” rule.
In Spanish, the basic rule is:
The word “no” always comes directly before the conjugated verb.
So:
- No termino. → I don’t finish / I’m not finishing.
- No quiero ir. → I don’t want to go.
- No entiendo. → I don’t understand.
The pattern “termino no” is not correct in standard Spanish word order.
Modifiers like aún / todavía can move around a bit, but no must stay right before the verb:
- Aún no termino mi tarea.
- Todavía no termino mi tarea.
- No termino mi tarea todavía.
All of those are possible, but no stays before termino.
You can say:
- Aún no estoy terminando mi tarea de español.
…but it doesn’t mean quite the same thing. It sounds like you’re focusing on the process of finishing, as if someone interrupted you in the very last phase.
In Spanish, the present progressive (estar + gerund) is for an action that is happening right now, at this exact moment:
- Estoy haciendo mi tarea. → I’m doing my homework (right now).
For the idea “I haven’t finished yet,” Spanish normally uses:
- Aún no termino mi tarea de español.
- Todavía no termino mi tarea de español.
- Aún no he terminado mi tarea de español.
So for everyday use, prefer one of those instead of “no estoy terminando”.
Tarea has a few related meanings:
Homework / school assignment – very common in Latin America
- Tengo mucha tarea. → I have a lot of homework.
Task / job / duty in general
- Mi tarea es contestar el teléfono. → My task is to answer the phone.
In context with a school subject, like tarea de español, it clearly means homework / assignment for Spanish class.
In many Latin American countries, people say tarea much more than deberes for “homework.”
Deberes sounds more common in Spain.
Spanish usually expresses “X of Y” with de, not by putting two nouns together like English.
So:
- mi tarea de español = my Spanish homework
Literally: my homework of Spanish
Other examples:
- clase de historia → history class
- libro de matemáticas → math book
- profesor de inglés → English teacher
The structure “español tarea” is not correct in Spanish. You need:
tarea de español
Yes, but it changes the meaning slightly:
- Mi tarea de español → my Spanish homework (the piece of homework assigned to you).
- La tarea de español → the Spanish homework (could be “the homework for Spanish class” in general, not necessarily yours).
For example:
No entiendo la tarea de español.
→ Could mean you don’t understand the assignment itself (maybe nobody in the class understands it).Aún no termino mi tarea de español.
→ Clearly about your homework; you haven’t finished it.
You just make tarea plural and adjust the possessive:
- Aún no termino mis tareas de español.
→ I still haven’t finished my Spanish assignments.
Piece by piece:
- mi tarea → mis tareas
- verb termino stays the same (subject is still “yo”)
- de español doesn’t change.
So:
- Aún no termino mi tarea de español.
- Aún no termino mis tareas de español.
Both can translate as “I haven’t finished my Spanish homework yet.” The difference is subtle:
Aún no termino mi tarea de español.
- Present simple.
- Very common in Latin American speech.
- Feels a bit more “ongoing” and conversational.
Aún no he terminado mi tarea de español.
- Present perfect (he terminado).
- Closer in structure to English “I haven’t finished.”
- Slightly more neutral or careful in tone, but also widely used.
In practice, for everyday Latin American Spanish, you can use either one. Many speakers use “Aún/Todavía no termino…” in casual conversation and “Aún/Todavía no he terminado…” in slightly more formal or careful speech.