El trabajo terminó finalmente.

In Spanish, the definite article is used more often than in English. El trabajo can mean the work, the job, or the project/task, depending on context.

Using el makes it sound like a specific piece of work already known in the conversation. If you just said Trabajo terminó finalmente, that would sound ungrammatical in normal Spanish.

Trabajo most commonly means work or job, but in a sentence like this it can also refer to:

• a piece of work
• a task
• a project
• an assignment

So the exact English equivalent depends on context. Spanish often uses one word where English might choose several different ones.

Terminó is the pretérito form, which is used for a completed action at a specific point in the past.

So El trabajo terminó finalmente presents the ending as a finished event.

Compare:

• terminó = it ended / it finished
• terminaba = it was ending / used to end / would end, depending on context
• ha terminado = it has ended / it has finished

In much of Spain, ha terminado is especially common for recent past events, but terminó is still perfectly correct and natural, especially when telling a story or describing a completed event.

The accent mark is important because it distinguishes different forms:

• termino = I end / I am ending
• terminó = he/she/it ended or you (formal) ended

So in this sentence, the accent shows that the subject is el trabajo and the action happened in the past.

Because the subject, el trabajo, is singular. In Spanish, the verb must agree with the subject.

• El trabajo terminó = the work ended
• Los trabajos terminaron = the works/projects ended

Even though work can feel uncountable in English, trabajo here is treated as a singular noun.

Here it is being used intransitively, meaning the subject itself comes to an end.

• El trabajo terminó = the work ended

But terminar can also be transitive:

• Terminó el trabajo = he/she finished the work

So Spanish allows both:

• something ends
• someone ends/finishes something

The meaning depends on what functions as the subject.

Adverbs like finalmente are fairly flexible in Spanish. Putting it at the end is completely natural.

You could also say:

• Finalmente, el trabajo terminó.
• El trabajo finalmente terminó.
• El trabajo terminó finalmente.

All are grammatical, but the rhythm and emphasis change slightly.

• Finalmente, ... sounds a bit more literary or like a narrative transition.
• ... terminó finalmente often puts a little extra focus on the fact that the ending happened at last.

They are similar, but not always identical.

• finalmente often means finally in the sense of in the end or eventually
• por fin often means at last, and can sound more emotional or relieved

So:

• El trabajo terminó finalmente = the work finally ended / the work eventually ended
• El trabajo terminó por fin = the work ended at last

In many contexts, both work, but por fin often feels more personal or expressive.

No, not as written. In El trabajo terminó finalmente, el trabajo is the subject, so the sentence means that the work itself ended.

If you want to say Someone finished the work, you would need a different structure, for example:

• Él terminó el trabajo finalmente.
• Finalmente terminó el trabajo.

In those sentences, the person is the subject, and el trabajo is the object.

Yes, sometimes finalmente can sound a little more formal, written, or narrative than the most everyday spoken option.

In casual conversation, many speakers might prefer:

• El trabajo terminó por fin.
• Al final, el trabajo terminó.

But finalmente is still perfectly normal and correct. It is not overly formal, just slightly more neutral or polished in some contexts.

A broad Spain pronunciation would be approximately:

el tra-BA-ho ter-mi-NO fi-nal-MEN-te

A few useful points:

• j in trabajo is pronounced like a strong breathy sound, not like English j
• the stress in trabajo is on ba
• the stress in terminó is on the last syllable because of the accent mark
• the stress in finalmente is on men

So the main stressed syllables are:

• traBAjo
• termiNÓ
• finalMENte

Yes, if the context already makes the subject clear. Spanish often omits subjects when they are understood.

So Terminó finalmente could mean:

• it finally ended
• he finally ended
• she finally ended
• you finally ended

The context tells you which one is meant. Including El trabajo makes the sentence explicit and removes ambiguity.