Learn Italian: Ha finito per abbandonare il progetto. - He ended up abandoning the project.

You use finire di + infinitive when someone actively completes a specific task, like finishing a meal or reading a book. However, the construction finire per + infinitive is a special phrase that means "to end up doing something." It shows the final, sometimes inevitable or unintentional, outcome of a situation rather than just completing a chore.

Why does this sentence use avere (ha finito) instead of essere (è finito)?

When finire means "to end" or "to be over" on its own, it takes essere (for example, il film è finito). But when finire is followed by another verb to describe someone's action (using either di or per + infinitive), it takes the auxiliary avere.

How would the meaning change if I just said Alla fine ha abbandonato il progetto?

Saying alla fine ha abbandonato (in the end, he abandoned) communicates almost the exact same fact. But using the aspectual phrase ha finito per abbandonare emphasizes the process. It suggests he struggled with the decision, maybe tried other options first, and ultimately resulted in abandoning it as a final outcome.

Without a subject pronoun, how do we know this means "He ended up"? Could it be someone else?