End or finish?

We use the verbs end and finish in similar ways, to mean ‘come to a stop’:

I think that his contract ends this month.

What time does the film finish?

We use finish to say that we complete something that we are doing. It emphasises that the process stops within a specific period of time. End would not normally be used in these examples:

He finished his meal in just three minutes.

If we had the right tools, we could finish the job by Friday this week.

Her brother finished last in the race.

We use end to say that stopping something is significant, and has a clear conclusion or shape. Finish wouldn’t normally be used in these examples:

The course of the river ended in a delightful harbour with small sailing boats everywhere.

Many historians agree that the medieval period in Europe ended in the mid-sixteenth century.

Verbs that end in -ed are usually in the past tense.

Finish can be followed by the -ing form, but not by a to-infinitive:

They’ve finished playing those computer games.

Not: They’ve finished to play …

I haven’t finished drying my hair yet.

Not: I haven’t finished to dry …

End cannot be followed by either a to-infinitive or the -ing form:

Call me when you’ve finished writing the report.

Not: Call me when you’ve ended writing …