grammar.verbs.acabar-de
Acabar de + infinitive: 'just did'
Acabo de llegar = 'I just arrived'. In the imperfect, acababa de = 'had just': acababa de salir cuando llamaste.
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Explanation
Present acabar + de + infinitive places an event seconds-to-moments ago: acabo de verlo, acaban de cerrar. No perfect tense needed.
Imperfect for 'had just' relative to a past moment: acabábamos de pedir cuando se fue la luz. Without de, acabar means to finish: acabé el informe.
Only the present and imperfect carry the 'just (had)' meaning — in other tenses acabar de simply means 'finish doing': acabé de pintar el cuarto ('I finished painting the room'). Note too that the recency is genuinely tight: acabo de llegar means moments ago, not 'earlier today'.
Examples
I just sent you the file.
Region: global
They had just arrived when the rain started.
Region: global
I just spoke with her; she had just left when you called her.
Region: global