What is the meaning of basta in Italian?
There’s a common expression in Italian that we use when we’ve had enough of something: basta! It means enough and it’s quite common among Italians.
We usually use it when someone is bothering or annoying us.
But we also use basta as a verb in a sentence when we want to say that something is or isn’t enough. This is the verb bastare.
Let’s take a look at these two different uses:
Basta! Non litigate più!
Enough! Stop arguing!
Un giorno non basta.
A day is not enough.
How to conjugate bastare?
This verb can, of course, be conjugated, but we mainly use basta and bastano, since we don’t use the equivalent of you’re enough or I’m enough very often.
We use the equivalents of it’s enough and they’re enough much more often.
Anyway, this verb is regular, and its conjugation is the following:
- io basto
- tu basti
- lui/lei basta
- noi bastiamo
- voi bastante
- loro bastano
How to use mi basta?
If we want to specify who something is enough to be, we need an indirect object pronoun.
Let’s have a look at all of them:
- mi: (for) me
- ti: (for) you
- gli/le: (for) him/ her
- ci: (for) us
- vi: (for) you
- gli: (for) them
Have a look at these two very similar sentences, but with a very slight difference:
Basta la tua presenza.
Your presence is enough.
Mi basta la tua presenza.
Your presence is enough for me.
Practice with Quizlet
Here's a set of flashcards and quizzes to practice this grammar topic.Bastare: examples
As you’ll see below, the subject sometimes goes before the verb and other times goes after the verb.
Also, we use it in the negative a lot since sometimes certain things are just not enough!
Let’s now look at some examples:
Bastano questi ingredienti?
Are these ingredients enough?
Non basta un sorriso.
A smile is not enough.
Sinceramente, mi basti tu.
Honestly, you’re enough for me.
La verità non basta.
The truth is not enough.
2 Responses
With ‘bastare’, I always feel like I should use ‘essere’, as in…. Fortuna non e’ basta.
Luck isn’t enough.
Would
‘La fortuna non e’ abbastanza’ be possible ?
Ciao @donaldbell09@gmail.com!
Bastare is a regular verb but in Italian basta (it’s enough) and bastano (they’re enough) are the most used conjugated forms.
The auxiliary of this verb is essere but the sentence you constructed is incorrect. It would be La fortuna non è bastata.
If you wanted to use basta as an expression the sentence would be: La fortuna basta (Luck is enough) or La fortuna non basta (Luck isn’t enough). There is no need for an auxiliary verb.
Regarding your second sentence, La fortuna non è abbastanza, it’s correct but please remember abbastanza can only be used as an adjective and adverb.
If you have any other question or doubt, let us know.