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Russian frequency list

No. 11,774 in Russian

заканчивал

"Заканчивал" means "was finishing" or "had finished."

In a sentence

  • Он заканчивал школу с отличием.

    He was finishing school with honors.

    The word 'заканчивал' is used here in the past imperfective tense to describe the process of completing school, emphasizes the action was ongoing or habitual.

  • Когда я пришёл, он заканчивал сочинение.

    When I arrived, he was finishing his essay.

    In this context, 'заканчивал' denotes an action in progress at a specific point in the past.

  • Мы заканчивали ремонт перед отпуском.

    We were finishing the renovations before the vacation.

    Here, 'заканчивали' is employed to indicate the completion phase of an extended activity in past tense.

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