Portuguese 4.5. Time Expressions: “Ainda,” “Já,” “Acabar,” & “Desde”

In this section, we will learn more advanced time expressions that are common in Portuguese: “ainda,” “já,” “acabar,” and “desde.”

1. “Ainda” & “Já”

When followed by a verb in the present tense, “ainda” generally means “still” in affirmative and negative expressions. “Ainda” can also mean “yet” in a negative expression when followed by a verb in the preterite tense, for example:

Ainda moro na Espanha.	I still live in Spain.
Ainda não falo bem inglês.	I still don’t speak English well.
Ainda não voltei para casa.	I haven’t returned home yet.

One can think of “já” as the opposite response to “ainda não” and of “já não” as the opposite response to “ainda.” Below are some examples in both the present tense and the preterite tense:

a) Present Tense (“já não” as the opposite of “ainda”)

Ainda moro na Espanha.	I still live in Spain.
Já não moro em Espanha.	I don’t live in Spain anymore.

b) Present Tense (“já” as the opposite of “ainda não”)

Ainda não falo bem inglês.	I still don’t speak English well.
Já falo bem inglês.	I already speak English well.

c) Preterite Tense (“já” as the opposite of “ainda não”)

Ainda não voltei para casa.	I haven’t returned home yet.
Já voltei para casa.[1]	I have already returned home.

In addition, “já” can mean “now” or “shortly” if it is followed by a verb in the present tense that implies a future action. A common expression representing this case is “já vou,” which means “I’m coming.” Similarly, “já volto” means “I will return shortly.”

The expression “já que” is often translated as “considering that” or “since,” e.g., “Já que você está aqui, podemos conversar” (Since you are here, we can talk).

2. “Acabar”

The verb “acabar” is an important verb that expresses the timing of an action.

If used on its own, the verb “acabar” often means “to finish or complete” or “to reach an end” or “to run out of something.” For example:

Acabamos o projeto no ano passado.	We finished the project last year.
A partida acabou.	The match ended.
O leite na geladeira acabou.	The milk in the fridge ran out.
Se tudo isso acaba, sairei de férias.	If all this ends, I’ll go on vacation.

The verbal “acabar” in the preterite followed by the gerund is used to describe the meaning of finally doing something or ending up doing something unexpectedly. For example:

Acabei indo para a Itália.	I ended up going to Italy.
Você acabou fazendo a lição de casa.	You ended up doing the homework.
Acabamos viajando sozinhos.	We ended up traveling alone.

The verbal expression “acabar de” in the preterite followed by the infinitive is used to describe an event that has just finished in the present. For example:

Acabei de chegar em casa.	I have just arrived home.
Ela acabou de comer.	She has just finished eating.

Finally, the verbal expression “acabar com” followed by the infinitive means “to finish off,” “to put an end to,” or “to ruin.” For example:

Você acabou com nossa amizade.	You ruined our friendship.
A guerra acabou com nossos planos.	The war ruined our plans.
A chuva acabou com o jogo.	The rain finished off the match.

3. “Desde”

Depending on the context, “desde” is used to indicate a point in time and can mean “since” or “from.” For example:

Desde criança jogo futebol.	Since I was a child, I have played football.
Desde então, não fomos lá.	Since then, we didn’t go there.
Eu te disse isso desde o princípio.	I told you that from the beginning.

Next: Present Subjunctive Tense

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