Breakdown of El presidente acaba de anunciar el plan.
el plan
the plan
acabar de
to have just
el presidente
the president
anunciar
to announce
Questions & Answers about El presidente acaba de anunciar el plan.
Why do we use acabar de to say "has just"?
The phrase acabar de followed by an infinitive verb (like anunciar) is a special formula in Spanish. It translates to "to have just done something." Even though it talks about an action that just happened, you conjugate acabar in the present tense.
Doesn't the verb acabar normally mean "to finish"?
Yes! On its own, acabar means "to finish" or "to end." But when you pair it with the preposition de and an infinitive verb, it changes meaning to show that an action was just completed.
Why is anunciar in its unconjugated (infinitive) form here?
I noticed plan is spelled exactly like the English word. Are they the same?
They are spelled the same and have the same meaning, but the pronunciation is different. In Spanish, the "a" makes an "ah" sound, similar to the "a" in "father." Also, notice it uses the masculine article el, making it el plan.
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