Bastante, demasiado and suficiente are very similar but different Spanish words. Their usage might cause a lot of confusion among Spanish learners. In this Spanish lesson you will learn everything you need to know about these three Spanish quantifiers.
Suficiente – the necessary amount of something (=enough)
Tengo suficiente dinero. – I have enough money.
Bastante
1) The same as suficiente (=enough)
No puedo comprar este reloj. No tengo bastante dinero. – I can’t buy this watch. I don’t have enough money.
2) Big quantity but not too much (=very, quite a lot, pretty much)
Había bastante gente en la conferencía. – There was quite a lot of people at the conference.
Demasido – more than necessary (=too, too much, too many)
El chico es demasiado alto para su edad. – The boy is too tall for his age.
If we put these Spanish words on the scale, we get this:
Demasiado – mucho – bastante (suficiente) – poco – nada
This scale will help you while expressing the quantity.
Bastante and demasiado can be adverbs or adjectives. Suficiente is only adjective (the adverb is suficientemente). As an adverb, bastante is usually used in a positive context whereas demasiado has a negative connotation:
He comido bastante. – I ate quite a lot. (More than I usually eat but I’m satisfied.)
He comido demasiado. – I ate too much. (Maybe I will have a stomachache.)
Let’s see bastante and demasiado used as adjectives:
El hotel tiene bastantes habitaciones para 100 personas. – The hotel has enough rooms for 100 people.
Rodrigo come demasiados pasteles. – Rodrigo eats too many pies.
As you can see, used as adjectives bastante and demasiado change their form according to the noun that follows.
Note that we can use suficiente(s) before or after a noun:
Hay suficiente agua./ Hay agua suficiente. – There’s enough water.
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