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ITALIAN VERB

bastare

to be enough

  • #77 most used
  • Regular -are verb
  • Past participle: bastato
  • Gerund: bastando

Conjugation

Tap any form to hear it. The part that changes is in colour.

Present

Presente · now, habits and facts

  1. io I am enough
  2. tu you are enough
  3. lui, lei, Lei he/she is enough
  4. noi we are enough
  5. voi you all are enough
  6. loro they are enough

Past

Passato prossimo · finished actions: “ho parlato”

  1. io I was enough
  2. tu you were enough
  3. lui, lei, Lei he/she was enough
  4. noi we were enough
  5. voi you all were enough
  6. loro they were enough

Imperfect

Imperfetto · “used to” and “was …ing”

  1. io I used to be enough
  2. tu you used to be enough
  3. lui, lei, Lei he/she used to be enough
  4. noi we used to be enough
  5. voi you all used to be enough
  6. loro they used to be enough

Future

Futuro semplice · plans and guesses

  1. io I will be enough
  2. tu you will be enough
  3. lui, lei, Lei he/she will be enough
  4. noi we will be enough
  5. voi you all will be enough
  6. loro they will be enough

Conditional

Condizionale · “would”, polite requests

  1. io I would be enough
  2. tu you would be enough
  3. lui, lei, Lei he/she would be enough
  4. noi we would be enough
  5. voi you all would be enough
  6. loro they would be enough

Present subjunctive

Congiuntivo presente · wishes, doubts, “che …”

  1. io (that) I be enough
  2. tu (that) you be enough
  3. lui, lei, Lei (that) he/she be enough
  4. noi (that) we be enough
  5. voi (that) you all be enough
  6. loro (that) they be enough

Imperative

Imperativo · requests and orders: tu, Lei, noi, voi

  1. tu be enough!
  2. Lei be enough! (formal)
  3. noi be enough! (let’s)
  4. voi be enough! (all of you)

How to use bastare

One sentence for each tense, the way people say it.

  1. Present

    Mi basta un panino, grazie.

    A sandwich is enough for me, thanks.

  2. Past

    Sono bastati dieci minuti per convincerlo.

    Ten minutes were enough to convince him.

  3. Imperfect

    Una volta bastava una telefonata.

    Once, a phone call was enough.

  4. Future

    Basterà un'ora per arrivare in centro?

    Will an hour be enough to get downtown?

  5. Conditional

    Basterebbe un po' di pazienza in più.

    A little more patience would be enough.

  6. Present subjunctive

    Spero che bastino due bottiglie per tutti.

    I hope two bottles are enough for everyone.

  7. Imperative

    Basta così, grazie, sono piena.

    That's enough, thanks, I'm full.

Good to know

  • Basta! on its own is that's enough or stop it; basta così, grazie is what you say when you've been served enough.
  • Who it's enough for comes first, with mi, ti, ci: mi basta un caffè.

Where you hear bastare

The lessons that teach a form of it, and how they say it.

Italian · Beginner Level 1

  • Basta un po' di sale, tesoro. A little salt is enough, sweetheart.
  • Per la cena è bastato un etto di parmigiano. A hundred grams of parmesan was enough for dinner.
  • Domani bastano dieci uova. Tomorrow ten eggs will be enough.

Italian · Beginner Level 2

  • Basta un po' di sale, tesoro. A little salt is enough, sweetheart.
  • Per la cena è bastato un etto di parmigiano. A hundred grams of parmesan was enough for dinner.
  • Domani bastano dieci uova. Tomorrow ten eggs will be enough.
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Nonna's Recipe

Beginner Level 2 · Un pizzico di sale. Basta così!

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The Public Meeting

Advanced Level 2 · Mi bastano. Buonasera a tutti.

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The Procession

Advanced Level 3 · Uno a testa, se no non basta.

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Verbs like this one

The same pattern, on other verbs: regular -are verb.