Breakdown of Finalmente termino de escribir este informe.
de
from / of
escribir
to write
terminar
to finish / to end
este
this
Questions & Answers about Finalmente termino de escribir este informe.
Why do we need the word de in termino de escribir?
The verb terminar (to finish) needs the preposition de when it is followed by another action. The set phrase terminar de plus an infinitive verb is how you say you are finishing an activity.
Why does the translation say writing, but the Spanish uses the infinitive escribir instead of the -ing form escribiendo?
In English, we use the -ing form after the verb finish. However, Spanish rules say that anytime a verb comes directly after a preposition like de, it must stay in its infinitive form (like escribir). You will never see an -ndo verb immediately after de.
I always mix up the words for this. Why do we use este here instead of esto?
Because informe is a masculine singular noun, we use este to say this report. You only use esto when the noun is abstract or you do not actually name the object you are talking about (for example, if you just point and ask What is this?).
Does informe mean information?
They look similar and share a root, but informe specifically translates to a report. If you want to talk about information in general, you would use the word información}]}```