Bastar Conjugation in Spanish
The Spanish verb bastar means to be enough, and it is a verb you will use again and again once you know it. Bastar means to be enough, and it is used when a quantity, a time or a word is sufficient: a little water is enough, one hour of study is enough, your word is enough. It is usually used in the third person, as in basta con un poco, because the thing that is enough is the subject, not a person. Like every Spanish verb, bastar changes its ending for each person and tense, but it is normally used in the third person, because the thing that is enough is the subject. This page gives you the complete picture: every tense, every person, the gerund and the past participle, all from the verified conjugation tables. For example, in the present tense you say Eso basta con un poco de agua, and in the preterite you say Eso bastó con tu palabra. Work through the tables below, read the notes for each tense, and then test yourself with the examples, the common mistakes and the quiz at the end of the page.
Quick facts
- Infinitive: bastar
- English: to be enough
- Verb type: regular -ar verb
- Ending: -ar
- Gerund: bastando
- Past participle: bastado
- Auxiliary verb: haber (all perfect tenses are formed with haber + bastado)
Pronunciation is not listed on this page: the verified tables do not include IPA for bastar, so no pronunciation is given rather than an invented one. Bastar is usually used in the third person: basta con un poco, bastó con una hora. The thing that is enough is the subject.
Full conjugation tables
Every form below comes from the verified conjugation tables for bastar. The imperfect subjunctive is shown in its -ra forms; the -se forms use the same stem. For reflexive verbs, the pronoun column shows the reflexive pronoun that goes before each form.
Present indicative
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | basto |
| tú | bastas |
| él/ella/Ud. | basta |
| nosotros/as | bastamos |
| vosotros/as | bastáis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | bastan |
Preterite
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | basté |
| tú | bastaste |
| él/ella/Ud. | bastó |
| nosotros/as | bastamos |
| vosotros/as | bastasteis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | bastaron |
Imperfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | bastaba |
| tú | bastabas |
| él/ella/Ud. | bastaba |
| nosotros/as | bastábamos |
| vosotros/as | bastabais |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | bastaban |
Future
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | bastaré |
| tú | bastarás |
| él/ella/Ud. | bastará |
| nosotros/as | bastaremos |
| vosotros/as | bastaréis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | bastarán |
Conditional
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | bastaría |
| tú | bastarías |
| él/ella/Ud. | bastaría |
| nosotros/as | bastaríamos |
| vosotros/as | bastaríais |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | bastarían |
Present perfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | he bastado |
| tú | has bastado |
| él/ella/Ud. | ha bastado |
| nosotros/as | hemos bastado |
| vosotros/as | habéis bastado |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | han bastado |
Pluperfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | había bastado |
| tú | habías bastado |
| él/ella/Ud. | había bastado |
| nosotros/as | habíamos bastado |
| vosotros/as | habíais bastado |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | habían bastado |
Future perfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | habré bastado |
| tú | habrás bastado |
| él/ella/Ud. | habrá bastado |
| nosotros/as | habremos bastado |
| vosotros/as | habréis bastado |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | habrán bastado |
Conditional perfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | habría bastado |
| tú | habrías bastado |
| él/ella/Ud. | habría bastado |
| nosotros/as | habríamos bastado |
| vosotros/as | habríais bastado |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | habrían bastado |
Present subjunctive
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | baste |
| tú | bastes |
| él/ella/Ud. | baste |
| nosotros/as | bastemos |
| vosotros/as | bastéis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | basten |
Imperfect subjunctive (-ra)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | bastara |
| tú | bastaras |
| él/ella/Ud. | bastara |
| nosotros/as | bastáramos |
| vosotros/as | bastarais |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | bastaran |
Imperative (affirmative)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| tú | basta |
| él/ella/Ud. | baste |
| nosotros/as | bastemos |
| vosotros/as | bastad |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | basten |
Imperative (negative)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| tú | bastes |
| él/ella/Ud. | baste |
| nosotros/as | bastemos |
| vosotros/as | bastéis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | basten |
Gerund and past participle
| Form | Spanish | Use |
|---|---|---|
| Gerund | bastando | with estar for the progressive: estoy bastando |
| Past participle | bastado | with haber for the perfect tenses: he bastado |
How to use each tense
Present indicative
Use the present for routines, general facts and what is happening right now. For this verb the tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard endings for its verb class. For bastar, the present looks like this in a real sentence: Eso basta con un poco de agua. Learn the present forms in the table above alongside this example, and notice how the ending, not the stem, usually carries the meaning of the tense.
Preterite
Use the preterite for finished actions with a clear end, often with ayer, el año pasado or anoche. For this verb the tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard endings for its verb class. For bastar, the preterite looks like this in a real sentence: Ayer, eso bastó con una hora de estudio. Learn the preterite forms in the table above alongside this example, and notice how the ending, not the stem, usually carries the meaning of the tense.
Imperfect
Use the imperfect for background, habits and actions in progress in the past, often with de niño, antes or mientras. For this verb the tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard endings for its verb class. For bastar, the imperfect looks like this in a real sentence: Antes, eso bastaba con tu palabra. Learn the imperfect forms in the table above alongside this example, and notice how the ending, not the stem, usually carries the meaning of the tense.
Future
Use the future for plans, predictions and promises, often with mañana, el año que viene or pronto. For this verb the tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard endings for its verb class. For bastar, the future looks like this in a real sentence: Mañana, eso bastará con este dinero. Learn the future forms in the table above alongside this example, and notice how the ending, not the stem, usually carries the meaning of the tense.
Conditional
Use the conditional for polite requests, hypotheticals and what would happen, often with si clauses. For this verb the tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard endings for its verb class. For bastar, the conditional looks like this in a real sentence: Eso bastaría con un poco de agua si tuvieras más tiempo. Learn the conditional forms in the table above alongside this example, and notice how the ending, not the stem, usually carries the meaning of the tense.
Present perfect
Use the present perfect for recent actions and experiences, often with hoy, esta semana or ya. For this verb the tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard endings for its verb class. For bastar, the present perfect looks like this in a real sentence: Hoy, eso ha bastado con una hora de estudio. Learn the present perfect forms in the table above alongside this example, and notice how the ending, not the stem, usually carries the meaning of the tense.
Pluperfect
Use the pluperfect when one past action happened before another past action. For this verb the tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard endings for its verb class. For bastar, the pluperfect looks like this in a real sentence: Eso había bastado con tu palabra antes de salir. Learn the pluperfect forms in the table above alongside this example, and notice how the ending, not the stem, usually carries the meaning of the tense.
Future perfect
Use the future perfect for something that will already be finished by a future time. For this verb the tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard endings for its verb class. For bastar, the future perfect looks like this in a real sentence: Para mañana, eso habrá bastado con este dinero. Learn the future perfect forms in the table above alongside this example, and notice how the ending, not the stem, usually carries the meaning of the tense.
Conditional perfect
Use the conditional perfect for what would have happened under different conditions. For this verb the tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard endings for its verb class. For bastar, the conditional perfect looks like this in a real sentence: Eso habría bastado con un poco de agua con más tiempo. Learn the conditional perfect forms in the table above alongside this example, and notice how the ending, not the stem, usually carries the meaning of the tense.
Present subjunctive
Use the present subjunctive after expressions of wish, doubt, emotion and hope, such as espero que or quiero que. For this verb the tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard endings for its verb class. For bastar, the present subjunctive looks like this in a real sentence: Espero que eso baste con una hora de estudio. Learn the present subjunctive forms in the table above alongside this example, and notice how the ending, not the stem, usually carries the meaning of the tense.
Imperfect subjunctive (-ra)
Use the imperfect subjunctive after past wishes and in si clauses about the past, and note the -ra forms shown here; the -se forms use the same stem. For this verb the tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard endings for its verb class. For bastar, the imperfect subjunctive looks like this in a real sentence: Si eso bastara con tu palabra, todo cambiaría. Learn the imperfect subjunctive forms in the table above alongside this example, and notice how the ending, not the stem, usually carries the meaning of the tense.
Imperative (affirmative)
Use the affirmative imperative for direct commands, instructions and invitations. For this verb the tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard endings for its verb class. For bastar, the affirmative imperative looks like this in a real sentence: ¡Basta con este dinero! Learn the affirmative imperative forms in the table above alongside this example, and notice how the ending, not the stem, usually carries the meaning of the tense.
Imperative (negative)
Use the negative imperative, always with no, to tell someone not to do something. For this verb the tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard endings for its verb class. For bastar, the negative imperative looks like this in a real sentence: No basta con un poco de agua. Learn the negative imperative forms in the table above alongside this example, and notice how the ending, not the stem, usually carries the meaning of the tense.
Example sentences
Ten natural sentences with bastar, covering different tenses and persons. Each one uses a form from the tables above.
- Eso basta con un poco de agua. — A little water is enough.
- Eso basta con una hora de estudio. — One hour of study is enough.
- Ayer, eso bastó con tu palabra. — Yesterday, Your word was enough.
- Antes, eso bastaba con este dinero. — Before, This money used to be enough.
- Mañana, eso bastará con un poco de agua. — Tomorrow, A little water will be enough.
- Eso bastaría con una hora de estudio si tuvieras más tiempo. — One hour of study would be enough if you had more time.
- Eso ha bastado con tu palabra. — Your word has been enough.
- Espero que eso baste con este dinero. — I hope this money is enough.
- Eso había bastado con un poco de agua antes de salir. — A little water had already been enough before leaving.
- Eso bastaba con una hora de estudio cuando éramos jóvenes. — One hour of study used to be enough when we were young.
Common mistakes
- Wrong: Yo basto con un poco de agua. — Right: Eso basta con un poco de agua. — Bastar is normally used in the third person, because the thing that is enough is the subject. Say eso basta, not yo basto, for enough.
- Wrong: Treating bastar and ser suficiente as identical in every context. — Right: Bastar means to be enough, while ser suficiente means to be sufficient. — They overlap, but each has uses the other does not: bastar fits sentences such as Eso basta con un poco de agua, while ser suficiente belongs in a different sentence. Check the meaning you want before choosing.
- Wrong: Yo soy bastado con una hora de estudio. — Right: Yo he bastado con una hora de estudio. — Spanish perfect tenses use haber, not ser: he bastado, has bastado, ha bastado. Ser plus the participle makes a passive, not a perfect tense.
- Wrong: De niño, yo basté con tu palabra todos los días. — Right: De niño, yo bastaba con tu palabra todos los días. — For a repeated habit in the past, use the imperfect (bastaba), not the preterite. The preterite (basté) is for one finished action.
Quiz: test yourself
Ten questions on bastar. Choose the right form, then check the answer key below.
Complete the sentence: Eso ___ con un poco de agua. (present tense) A. basta B. basto C. bastas D. bastamos
Complete the sentence: Ayer, eso ___ con una hora de estudio. (preterite) A. basté B. bastaste C. bastaron D. bastó
Complete the sentence: Antes, eso ___ con tu palabra. (imperfect) A. bastaban B. basto C. bastaba D. bastabas
Complete the sentence: Mañana, eso ___ con este dinero. (future) A. basto B. bastará C. bastaré D. bastaremos
Complete the sentence: Eso ___ con un poco de agua si tuvieras más tiempo. (conditional) A. bastaría B. bastarías C. bastarían D. basto
Complete the sentence: Espero que eso ___ con una hora de estudio. (present subjunctive) A. bastes B. bastemos C. basto D. baste
Complete the sentence: Si eso ___ con tu palabra, todo cambiaría. (imperfect subjunctive, -ra form) A. bastáramos B. basto C. bastara D. bastaras
Complete the sentence: Eso ___ con este dinero. (present perfect) A. han bastado B. ha bastado C. he bastado D. has bastado
Which sentence uses bastar correctly? A. Eso basta con un poco de agua. B. Yo basto con un poco de agua. C. Tú bastas con un poco de agua. D. Nosotros bastamos con un poco de agua.
Which is the gerund of bastar, used with estar for the progressive? A. bastado B. basto C. basté D. bastando
Answer key
- basta — Bastar is used in the third person: the present is basta.
- bastó — The third-person preterite of bastar is bastó.
- bastaba — The third-person imperfect of bastar is bastaba.
- bastará — The third-person future of bastar is bastará.
- bastaría — The third-person conditional of bastar is bastaría.
- baste — After espero que, the subjunctive is required: the third-person present subjunctive of bastar is baste.
- bastara — The third-person imperfect subjunctive (-ra) of bastar is bastara.
- ha bastado — The third-person present perfect of bastar is ha bastado: ha + bastado.
- Eso basta con un poco de agua. — Bastar is used in the third person: the thing that is enough is the subject, so eso basta is correct.
- bastando — The gerund of bastar is bastando: estoy bastando. The participle bastado is used with haber instead.
Frequently asked questions
What does bastar mean in English?
Bastar means to be enough. It is normally used in the third person, because the thing that is enough is the subject: Eso basta con un poco de agua means A little water is enough.
Why is bastar usually used in the third person?
Because the subject of bastar is the thing that is enough, not a person. You say eso basta con un poco de agua or eso bastó con una hora de estudio, and the other persons are rare. Learn the third-person forms first: basta, bastó, bastará.
What is the difference between bastar and ser suficiente?
Bastar means to be enough, while ser suficiente means to be sufficient. They are easy to confuse because they appear in similar situations, but they are not interchangeable: use bastar when you mean to be enough, as in Eso basta con un poco de agua, and use ser suficiente for to be sufficient. When in doubt, check the object of the sentence — it usually shows which verb fits.
How do I say something was enough in the past?
For one finished moment, use the preterite: eso bastó con una hora de estudio. For a repeated situation in the past, use the imperfect: eso bastaba con tu palabra. For something that has just been enough, use the present perfect: eso ha bastado con una hora de estudio.
How do I practise bastar?
Start with the present tense table, then drill the preterite and the imperfect, since those two past tenses cause the most mistakes. Try the bastar examples and quiz page for more sentences, and use the Spanish Verb Quiz to test the forms under pressure.
Related links
- Bastar in the present tense — the full present-tense table for bastar.
- Bastar examples and quiz — more example sentences and practice for bastar.
- Spanish verbs — the Spanish hub, with every verb and tense guide.
- Beneficiar conjugation — another -ar verb to compare with bastar.
- Basar conjugation — another -ar verb to compare with bastar.
- Bloquear conjugation — another -ar verb to compare with bastar.
- Spanish Verb Conjugator — conjugate any Spanish verb in every tense.
- Spanish Verb Quiz — test yourself on real conjugated forms.