was usually finished with

[Maybo]

He used the time well and was usually finished with his homework by the time I picked him up each day.

Source: At Home With the Horrors: 14 Tales by Sammy Scott

Why did the writer use "was finished with"? Can "finished" replace "was finished with"?

 

[tedmc]

Yes, but you change the verb to a participle..

 

[Maybo]

Had finished?

 

[Tarheel]

Yes, you could say "he usually had finished his homework by ...."

 

[emsr2d2]

Yes, you could say "He usually had finished his homework by ...".

That would be a very unusual word order in BrE.