I couldn't believe how hard it was to say, "I just got home" or, "They just arrived" -- I tried to use só or, somente for just. Then I would say something like, I soon got home or, I now arrived home. Crazy difficult. Then I discovered ACABAR DE.
ACABAR + de + VERB = to have just done something. The second verb is always in the infinitive (unconjugated). Acabar is in the past tense.
Translating the first clip above:
Mom, I just finished waking up.
The just is included because when you use ACABAR + de, you really are saying that you JUST NOW finished doing something. It always takes on this meaning. Always.
I just (now) finished working. ➜ Eu acabei de trabalhar.
acabar de ~ the Magic Formula
We are using plain old ACABAR (to finish, to end) and placing de + any verb in it's infinitive (unconjugated) form after it. Like this:
She just arrived. ➜
Ela acabou de chegar.
He just went out. ➜
Ele acabou de sair.
We just finished coffee. ➜
This just (now) happened. ➜
Isso acabou de acontecer.
I just cooked. ➜
Eu acabei de cozinhar.
Getting Fancy with ACABAR de
And you can get pretty advanced and say something like,
I had just gotten home when... ➜
Eu tive acabado de chegar em casa quando...
I would always just arrive home when... ➜
Eu sempre acabava de chegar em casa quando...
Very advanced.
➜ From our online Portuguese course.
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