implied 'enough'?

mmmatt

mmmatt

Hi in 7.4 we are given the following translation

Me falta dinero para comprar la leche.

I don't have enough money to buy the milk.

Wouldnt that just translate to “I dont have money to buy the milk”? Is the ‘enough’ implied in the phrasing or should we be saying either 

Me falta suficiente dinero para comprar la leche.

or 

Me falta bastante dinero para comprar la leche.

Liss-Rocket-Languages-Tutor

Liss-Rocket-Languages-Tutor

¡Hola mmmatt!

Thanks for your question! Let's dive right in.

The most direct translation for faltar in English is “to lack," so the sentence Me falta dinero para comprar la leche more literally means “Money to buy the milk is lacking for me.” Essentially, the speaker is saying that they do not have the required amount of money to buy the milk. To express this same meaning in English, we can use phrases like “to lack,” “to not have enough,” “to be short,” etc.:

“I lack the money to buy the milk.” 
“I don't have enough money to buy the milk.”
“I am short the money to buy the milk.”

And you could also say “I don't have money to buy the milk” if you wanted. They all boil down to the same problem: not having the required amount of money to buy the milk.

So ultimately, faltar does indeed already carry the meaning of “not enough,” which means that including words for “enough” like suficiente or bastante in the Spanish isn't necessary. 

I hope that this clears everything up! It might also help to check out the literal translations for the sentences in this lesson, as they can demonstrate the nuances of the Spanish a little more directly.

Saludos,

Liss

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