Dont Use Je Suis Fini

To say Je suis fini in French is a serious mistake and one to be avoided.   This mistake is caused in part by the fact that in the English translation finished is an adjective, while in French its the past participle of a verb. So when you want to say I am finished, it seems logical to translate that as Je suis fini. Unfortunately, this is quite a dramatic thing to say in French and it means I am dead, Im finished! Im done for! Im ruined! or Im all washed up! Imagine the look on your French girlfriends face if you say, Je suis fini! Shell think youre about to expire! Or shell burst out laughing at your mistake. Either way, not so good. Never use  Ãƒ ªtre fini  and  ne pas à ªtre fini  when referring to people, unless you have something pretty earth-shattering to announce or youre maliciously insulting someone. To avoid this scenario, think of the English as I have finished instead, and this will remind you that you need to use the passà © composà © in French  and that the auxiliary verb for finir is avoir, not à ªtre.  Thus, avoir fini is the correct choice. Even better, use the colloquial avoir  terminà ©, especially when referring to the completion of a task or activity. For instance, if a waiter asks  if he or she can take your plate, the correct (and polite) expression is: â€Å"Oui, merci, j’ai terminà ©.†Ã‚   The Wrong Way and the Right Ways In brief, these are your options: Avoid using finir with à ªtre:   Être fini   to be done for, washed up, finished with, ruined, kaput, dead, or dying.   Choose verbs with avoir: Avoir fini   to be done, to be finishedAvoir  terminà ©   to be finished, to be done Examples of Je Suis Fini Si je dois les rembourser,  je suis fini.  Ã‚  If I have to refund their money,  Im done.Si à §a ne marche pas,  je suis fini.  Ã‚  If it doesnt work out,  Im through.Mà ªme si on sen sort,  je suis fini.   Even if we get out of here,  Im finished.Si je la perds,  je suis fini.  Ã‚  If I lose her,  Im finished.Je suis fini.   My career is over. / I have no future.Il nest pas fini.  (informal)   Hes retarded / a moron. Examples of Jai Fini   Jai donnà © mon à ©valuation, et  jai fini.  Ã‚  I gave my assessment, and  Im done.Je  lai fini  hier soir.  Ã‚  I finished  it last night.Je  lai fini pour ton bien.  Ã‚  I finished  it for your own good.Grà ¢ce à   toi,  je  lai fini.  Ã‚  Thanks to you,  I finished  it. Examples of Jai Terminà © Je vous appelle quand  jai terminà ©.  Ill  call you when  Im done.Donc  je  lai terminà ©Ã‚  au bout de quelques jours. So  I finished  it in a couple days.Jai presque terminà ©.  Ã‚  Im nearly finished.Ça suffit,  jai terminà ©.  Ã‚  Thats all;  Im done.Jai adorà © ce livre. Je  lai terminà ©e  hier soir. I loved this book.  I finished  it last night.  Je suis bien soulagà © den avoir terminà © avec cette affaire. Im so relieved to have seen the end of this business.