What is finire in Italian?
The verb finire follows the third regular conjugation pattern –ire and, in its transitive use, takes the verb avere (to have) as an auxiliary.
Have a look at the tables below, in which you will see the conjugation of the verb finire (to end or finish) in presente (present) and passato prossimo (present perfect tense).
| Presente | Passato prossimo |
| io finisco | io ho finito |
| tu finisci | tu hai finito |
| lui finisce | lui ha finito |
| noi finiamo | noi abbiamo finito |
| voi finite | voi avete finito |
| loro finiscono | loro hanno finito |
How to use the verb finire with prepositions?
The verb finire can be used on its own with a direct object or with different prepositions, namely di, per, con, and a.
Depending on the preposition that follows finire, the meaning of the verb can change.
Let’s have a look at some examples:
- Finire + direct object: To finish something
Hai finito la torta?
Have you finished the cake?
- Finire+ di: To finish doing something
Finalmente abbiamo finito di lavorare.
We finally finished working.
- Finire + con, per, a: To end up doing something
Finirete per non passare gli esami se continuate così.
You’ll end up not passing your exams if you go on like that.
Finirai con l’essere licenziato se non parli con il tuo capo.
You’ll end up getting fired if you don’t talk to your boss.
Sono finita a fare la cameriera in un ristorante di Londra.
I ended up being a waitress in a restaurant in London.
As you can see, the verb changes its meaning depending on the preposition it goes with, so always be careful which one you choose!
How to use to end up doing?
As we’ve explained above, to say to end up doing something we use the construction finire per + infinitive, finire con + definite article +infinitive, orfinire a + infinitive.
- Finire per and finire con + definite article, have the same meaning but the first version is probably more used in spoken Italian. They both translate as to end up + -ing verb.
Sono certo che finiranno per divorziare.
I am sure they will end up getting a divorce.
Probabilmente finiremo con il trasferirci all’estero.
We will probably end up moving abroad.
- Finire a is used to express a certain situation that has arisen as a consequence, generally negative, of a previous action or behavior. It can translate as end up doing something or find oneself doing something.
The difference in meaning is slight, but it exists. This construction is used with the auxiliary essere (to be) and not avere like the others.
Finirai a fare l’elemosina se non trovi un lavoro.
You will end up begging if you do not find a job.
Siamo finiti a dover chiedere un prestito per aggiustare la macchina.
We found ourselves having to ask for a loan to fix the car.
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