bastavamo

Bastavamo is the first-person plural imperfect indicative form of the Italian verb bastare, meaning to be enough or to suffice. In English, it translates as “we were enough” or “we used to suffice,” and it is used to describe sufficiency in the past. Bastare is an intransitive verb and, in the imperfect, bastavamo is commonly found in narrative or descriptive passages to indicate that a certain amount, provision, or capability was sufficient for a group at a past time.

Formation and usage notes: Bastavamo follows the regular -are verb conjugation in the imperfect tense. The imperfect forms for this verb include io bastavo, tu bastavi, lui/lei bastava, noi bastavamo, voi bastavate, loro bastavano. In practice, bastavamo often appears with temporal or situational cues such as all’epoca, ai tempi, or basta to set the past context. It tends to be more frequent in written or historical language and is less common in casual modern speech, where present forms like basta or bastava are more widely used for current or general statements.

Etymology: The verb bastare originates from Italian and shares roots with other Romance languages, indicating sufficiency or adequacy. The form bastavamo preserves the classic imperfect conjugation pattern that marks ongoing or repeated past action or state.

See also: bastare, bastano, bastava.