Abbastanza

Italian word of the day

Abbastanza is both an adverb and an adjective. It translates into English as enough and quite/pretty.

Abbastanza

Enough, quite

Examples

Hai dormito abbastanza stanotte?	Did you have enough sleep last night?
Non avete ancora mangiato abbastanza? Siete dei pozzi senza fondo!	Haven’t you had enough to eat yet? You are bottomless pits!
Avrai abbastanza forza per alzare questo masso?	Will you have enough strength to lift this boulder?
Questo vestito è abbastanza caro. Non credo di potermelo permettere.	This dress is quite expensive. I don’t think I can afford it.
Non ho abbastanza olio per friggere.	I don’t have enough frying oil.

Using abbastanza in Italian

As an adverb, abbastanza modifies a verb.

Hai riposato abbastanza?	Have you rested enough?
Non ho mangiato abbastanza. Ho ancora fame.	I haven’t eaten enough. I’m still hungry.

As an adjective, it modifies a noun or another adjective. It always translates as enough.

Sei abbastanza alto per prendere il barattolo su quello scaffale?	Are you tall enough to get the jar on that shelf?
Non ci sono abbastanza uova in frigo.	There are not enough eggs in the fridge.

It’s interesting to note that, unlike regular Italian adjectives, abbastanza in Italian doesn’t have to match the word in both gender and number. It has only one form.

	Singular	Plural
Masculine	Abbastanza	Abbastanza
Feminine	Abbastanza	Abbastanza

So it doesn’t matter if you’re talking about a singular or a plural noun.

Abbastanza… sale, pagine, farina, sedie.

Enough… salt, pages, flour, chairs.

Abbastanza in Italian can also act as a quantifier, meaning “quite” or “pretty”.

Dario mi sta abbastanza simpatico.	I quite like Dario.
Bisogna studiare molto per imparare l’italiano? – Sì, abbastanza.	Do you have to study a lot to learn Italian? – Yes, quite a lot.
La zuppa è abbastanza buona.	The soup is pretty good.

That’s enough!

Averne abbastanza is a popular expression in Italian that translates as to have enough.

Ne ho abbastanza di te!	I’ve had enough of you!
Ne ho abbastanza di questa discussione! Me ne vado!	I’ve had enough of this debate! I’m out of here!

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