How do you spell right: finish or finish?

Many rules of the Russian language cause difficulty even for its speakers, not to mention foreigners. How it is correctly written: to finish or finish? Are these two verbs interchangeable, is there a difference between them? Detailed answers to these questions are contained in the article. There are also simple examples that will help you better understand the material.

Finish or finish: what's the difference

It may seem that these verbs have absolutely the same value. Whether a person uses verb "to finish" or "finish" in oral or written speech, this does not have any effect on the meaning of the phrase. People who sincerely believe so, forget that there is no place for chance in Russian. Each element is subject to a specific goal, and the verb prefixes are no exception.

Different prefixes are used precisely in order not to distort the meaning of the phrase, to accurately convey the meaning of the word depending on the semantic context. The difference between the verbs "finish" and "finish" does exist. You just need to understand what it is.

The verb "finish"

So, to finish or finish? Suppose that a person wants to talk about the completion of an action that involves the performance of a particular job or only a part of it. It can be intellectual, physical, creative. Or we are talking about the completion of a certain process, which has nothing to do with human activities.

What verb should he use in this case? The correct answer is to finish.

Examples with prefix "for"

The examples below will help to better understand when the verb "finish" is used.

• "Pyotr Fyodorovich has finally finished the construction of the cottage and has been engaged in the development of a private plot."
• "The writer finished the novel with a sad phrase about unhappy first love."
• "The storming of the fortress walls ended the era of the reign of a cruel dynasty."
• "The reporter finished her performance with stormy applause and took her place in the auditorium."
• "Tatyana Vitalievna needs time to finish sewing the dress."
• "The opponents decided to end the dispute, because they could not come to a consensus in the debate."
• "Victoria should finish cleaning the apartment before the arrival of guests, since she wants to make a good impression."
• "Alina Arkadevna drew attention to the fact that the rain had ended."
• "The winter is coming to an end, the long-awaited spring will soon come."

The verb "to finish"

Let's say the girl's education at the university came to an end. Correctly how to write: finished or graduated from high school? In this case, use the verb "to finish". This option comes to the rescue only when it comes to the learning process, it is the only correct one.

There are stable expressions that are useful to remember in order not to hesitate in choosing the right variant. School, lyceum, seminary, university, technical school - all these institutions can only be graduated. How it is correct: to finish or finish high school? The correct answer in this case is the verb with the prefix "o".

Also, the verb "to finish" should not hesitate to choose when it comes to completing the training on certain courses, and not to doubt how to correctly write: finished or graduated. For example, courses of foreign languages, cutting and sewing, extreme driving, oratory.

Examples with prefix "o"

"It was hard to study, but Maria graduated from the university with a red diploma."

"Alexander graduated with honors, and then moved to St. Petersburg."

"Elena Nikolaevna finished English language courses in order to find a job abroad."

"Alexei Mikhailovich graduated from the extreme driving courses, because he wanted to feel more confident at the wheel of the car."

"Svetlana did not want to spend five years studying at university, she preferred to graduate from technical school and get a job."

"Nicholas began to act in films and serials after he graduated from the Shchukin School."

"Life circumstances forced Eugene to quit the university immediately after he finished the first year."

So, did Antonina graduate or graduate from the university? The only possible answer is that she graduated.

About interchangeability

The rules of the Russian language, which are relevant in our day, allow us to use the verb "to finish" without hesitation, where it is a question of the completion of an action or process. For example, you can say "patient's treatment is over" or "the construction of the dacha is over", this will not be considered a gross mistake.

However, the verb "finish" can not be used in cases where the completion of training is implied. The school (university, lyceum, technical school) can only be graduated, but not finished. Therefore, do not think about whether the student graduated or graduated from the institute.

Deprecated

There were times when the verb "to finish off" was actively used in the Russian language, and not only in colloquial, but also in written speech. As a proof, we can bring the conversation of two heroes from the work of Viktor Astafiev "Visible Staff". One person tells another that "he finished school and became literate."

The times when the use of the verb "to finish" did not violate the rules of the Russian language, remained in the distant past. Nowadays, "finish school" is no longer spoken, since it is a gross mistake that a literate person should not perform.

Let's sum up the results

The verb "finished" is used when it is necessary to report the completion of an action in a broad sense. Whereas the verb "graduated" is used only when the completion of the learning process is implied.

The verb "finished" is part of the stable combinations, while the verb "finished" does not form them. The variant with the prefix "for" can be used in any speech structure that is appropriate in meaning.

The verb "finished" can not be replaced with the verb "finished", it will be considered an error. How correctly: did he graduate or graduate from college? The only possible option - graduated.

The verb "finished" can be replaced with the verb "graduated", not paying attention to the context.

Interesting fact

At the moment, there is talk about how to finally make the verbs "finish" and "finish" interchangeable. This proposal is supported by some of the linguists, but by no means all.

It can only be said with certainty that no serious steps have been taken in this direction so far. It is possible that there will still come a time when it will be possible not to specify whether the student graduated or graduated from the university, but confidently use any of the possible options. After all, the rules of the Russian language sometimes change.