se acabó
/se akabo/from spelling rules
In Spanish, "all gone" is translated as se acabó.
The phrase se acabó is used to indicate that a supply of something has been completely exhausted or that an event or situation has reached its end. While it can be used to say "it's over" in the context of a movie or a relationship, when used regarding food or supplies, it specifically means the items are finished.
Meaning: gone (childish) (adj)
What does it mean word for word?
The phrase is a reflexive construction where se acts as a pronominal marker and acabó is the third-person singular past tense of the verb acabar (to finish), literally meaning "it finished itself".
How does it change in a sentence?
If the subject you are referring to is plural, such as cookies, you must change the verb to the plural form se acabaron.
Did you know?
- The reflexive-sounding se in se acabó actually descended from the Latin word for 'to him' or 'to her', which was originally pronounced with a 'zh' sound like 'measure'.
- While se acabó means 'all gone', the verb acabar can be used in the phrase acabo de to describe an action that happened just a few moments ago.
- In many Spanish-speaking cultures, parents use se acabó as a verbal boundary to signal the definitive end of a child's tantrum or play period.
Examples in context
- No queda nada de café en la cafetería.There's no coffee left in the cafeteria. It's all gone.
- Tras el incendio, las pertenencias de la familia han desaparecido. Todo ha desaparecido.After the fire, the family's belongings have vanished. Everything is gone.
- Ya no hay nada de helado en la nevera. Se lo comieron todo.There's no ice cream left in the fridge. They ate it all.
- ¡Se acabó el chocolate!The chocolate is all gone!
Example conversation
Sofía is helping Javier eat his snack.
- SofíaCome un poco más, Javier.Eat a little more, Javier.
- JavierNo puedo, se acabó.I can't, it's all gone.
- Sofía¡Qué rápido se acabó!It's all gone so fast!
- JavierSí, estaba muy rico.Yes, it was very yummy.
Sources
- IPA marked “from spelling rules” is derived from standard Spanish spelling, where Wiktionary gives none.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries se, CC BY-SA 4.0.
