CONTENT
Indefinites are words that indicate the non-specific quantity of a noun. As adjectives, demasiado, bastante, and suficiente will help you indicate different amounts of something. As adverbs, they indicate that something was done with a certain intensity.
Spanish
English
Hay demasiada gente en el cine.
There are too many people in the cinema.
Demasiado - Use and Form
Rule 1. Demasiado expresses that there is too much of something. In other words, the quantity is more than what is needed or desired.
Spanish
English
Hay demasiada comida para la fiesta, ¿qué vamos a hacer?
There is too much food for the party, what are we going to do?
Rule 2. As you can see in the example, demasiado has a feminine variation, which means that it must agree in number and gender. Moreover, it is placed before the noun that it is complementing. Here are its four variations with examples:
| Masculine | Feminine | |
|---|---|---|
| Singular | demasiado | demasiada |
| Plural | demasiados | demasiadas |
| Masculine | Feminine | |
|---|---|---|
| Singular | demasiado | demasiada |
| Plural | demasiados | demasiadas |
Spanish
English
Vinieron demasiados invitados en esta fiesta.
There were too many guests at this party.
Hay demasiadas personas en este lugar.
There are too many people in this place.
Alejandra tiene demasiado dinero, le puedes pedir prestado.
Alejandra has too much money, you can borrow from her.
Hicimos demasiada comida, hay que repartirla.
We made too much food, it needs to be distributed.
Rule 3. To make the form negative, simply add a negative word before the main verb.
Spanish
English
Si la mezcla no es demasiada espesa, agregue más huevos.
If the mixture is not too thick, add more eggs.
Bastante - Use and Form
Rule 4. Bastante expresses that there is plenty of something, or that the quantity is desired and even a little more than what was desired, but not excessive.
Spanish
English
Trajeron bastante comida para la fiesta, alomejor nos sobra.
They brought plenty of food for the party, maybe we will have some left over.
Rule 5. As you can see in the example, bastante does not have a feminine variation, this means that it only varies in number. Just like demasiado, it is placed before the noun that it is complementing. Here are its two variations with examples:
Spanish
English
Hay bastantes invitados en esta fiesta.
There are plenty of guests at this party.
Hay bastante dinero en mi cuenta. ¡Qué bien!
There's plenty of money in my account. That's good!
It is not common to use bastante in a negative sentence. Instead, you can use the negative forms of mucho (not much) or suficiente (not enough).
Suficiente - Use and Form
Rule 6. Suficiente expresses that we have a fair amount of something. In other words, it expresses that the quantity is enough. In contrast with demasiado and bastante, it is not uncommon to see suficiente placed after the noun, though it is still generally placed before.
Spanish
English
Hay suficiente comida para la fiesta, no te preocupes.
There is enough food for the party, don't worry.
Rule 7. Just like bastante, suficiente only varies in number.
Spanish
English
Hay invitados suficientes en esta fiesta, no más, no menos.
There are enough guests at this party, no more, no less.
Hay suficiente dinero en mi cuenta.
There's enough money in my account.
Rule 8. To make the form negative, simply add a negative word before the main verb.
Spanish
English
No había suficientes copas para el brindis.
There were not enough glasses for the toast.
Demasiado and Bastante as Adverbs
When demasiado and bastante are used as adverbs, they do not accompany a noun, so they do not have to be ordered in number or gender. Instead, they will accompany a verb and indicate the intensity with which the action is performed. Suficiente is not used as an adverb.
Spanish
English
Trabajé bastante hoy, me siento orgulloso.
I worked hard today, I feel proud.
Llovió demasiado durante la tarde.
It rained too much during the afternoon.
Quiz
1/4
Tenemos ___________ ropa en la casa. Tenemos que donarla.
(we have more clothes than we need)
0
correct answers.