bastaban

In a sentence

• Antes, bastaban tres horas para completar ese trabajo.

  Before, three hours were enough to complete that task.

  This sentence uses "bastaban" to indicate that an amount of time used to be sufficient for completing an activity.

• Aunque no eran ricos, bastaban para cubrir sus necesidades básicas.

  Even though they weren't wealthy, they had enough to cover their basic needs.

  Here, "bastaban" refers to having enough of something to meet requirements or satisfy needs in the past.

• Durante la reunión, bastaban las sonrisas para sentirnos bienvenidos.

  During the meeting, smiles were enough to make us feel welcome.

  In this instance, "bastaban" is used to imply that a simple action or element was sufficient to achieve a desired effect in the past.