# no dar abasto



## chicalita

¿Es la frase 'no dar abasto' reflexivo?

Podria decir yo "Yo no doy abasto el nieve" o "el no da abasto su trabajo"?

Y ¿hay una frase 'dar abasto' también? 

¿Es diferente que decir : No soportar / no aguantar?





_Espero que termino en un color que me favorece: soy un 'otoño', gracias_


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## _LC_

Podría ser: no me doy abasto con el trabajo.


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## juandiego

chicalita said:


> ¿Es la frase 'no dar abasto' reflexivo?
> Podria decir yo "Yo no doy abasto el nieve" o "el no da abasto su trabajo"?
> Y ¿hay una frase 'dar abasto' también?
> ¿Es diferente que decir : No soportar / no aguantar?
> _Espero que termino en un color que me favorece: soy un 'otoño', gracias_


I think you are a little bit confused with the meaning of "no dar abasto". It is a seldom used expression that means not to be able to carry out all that is coming at the same time. Oddly, it is used as negative(no) the most of time. But it doesn't mean to bear, to take, to stand someone or something.

So, the sentences:
_No doy abasto la(not el) nieve_, has not the sense of I can't stand the snow. Actually it has no sense unless we'd add the preposition _con_ (No doy abasto con la nieve) and I am a snowplower that can not remove all the snow I have to.
The same with _Él no da abasto su trabajo_. It doesn't mean he can't stand his job. _Él no da abasto *con* su trabajo_, means that he is not able to carry out all the work he has.


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## chicalita

juandiego said:


> I think you are a little bit confused with the meaning of "no dar abasto". It is a seldom used expression that means not to be able to carry out all that is coming at the same time. Oddly, it is used as negative(no) the most of time. But it doesn't mean to bear, to take, to stand someone or something.
> 
> So, the sentences:
> _No doy abasto la(not el) nieve_, has not the sense of I can't stand the snow. Actually it has no sense unless we'd add the preposition _con_ (con la nieve) and he is a snowplower.¨
> The same with _Él no da abasto su trabajo_. It doesn't mean he can't stand his job. _Él no da abasto *con* su trabajo_, means that he is not able to carry out all the work he has.


 

So if I really can't stand the snow, and I can't, I would be better off saying "no sorporto a la nieve"?

And what if someone couldn't stand their job - no soportar or no aguantar?  And would you use 'con'?



_Espero que termino en un color que me favorece: soy un 'otoño', gracias_


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## juandiego

chicalita said:


> So if I really can't stand the snow, and I can't, I would be better off saying "no sorporto a la nieve"?
> 
> And what if someone couldn't stand their job - no soportar or no aguantar?  And would you use 'con'?
> 
> _Espero que termino en un color que me favorece: soy un 'otoño', gracias_



Yes. No soporto/aguanto mi trabajo/la nieve. Both combinations are possible.

No, you don't have to use *con* there. *con* is required by "dar abasto", not by _soportar_ and _aguantar_, although, depending on the context, those latter could wear it.


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## chicalita

I think I get it now, thanks!


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## Seba W.

Hi,

  Just a note for people looking at this one in the future… 

  “No dar abasto” implies that the amount of something (could be an abstract something of course) is too high, too big, AND that because of that you cannot catch up with it. The sense of the impossibility of “catching up” is strong.   

  Junadiego’s example here would probably be alright in most contexts but not all:   

_“Él no da abasto con su trabajo_, means that he is not able to carry out all the work he has”.

  True, he’s not able to carry it out, but _only_ because of the amount of it (“workload” here would be better) and not for any other reasons -that some of the work wrongly gets into his office, that standards are low, or that things need to be resent, for example. 

  Also, is it really true that this expression is not much used…? I don’t know about other places but in my vernacular rioplatense I’d say it’s fairly common… 

  Some examples would make it more clear:

  “El negocio va muy bien pero apenas sí doy a basto” (con los pedidos/clientes/tareas).
  “Me encanta el ejercicio de quitar la nieve de la entrada pero la verdad es que no doy abasto.” (It’s clear here that we’re talking about the amount of it –no-one would be thinking about “cold weather” here for example).   
  “El hospital no da abasto con la cantidad de enfermos.” 

  “Cope with it” would work alright I suppose but only when the context of “the amount of it” is clear enough…  Look: 

  “?Cómo te va con las traducciones?” “Apenas doy abasto…” 
  “Can hardly cope with them…” would not work here cause in English it could be implying many other possible reasons besides “the amount of it”, whereas in Spanish is clear that it is ONLY the amount/timing of it that’s troubling you. You cannot catch up.

  Saludos.


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## sjoyc

Another example -- in a neighborhood called "Abasto" in Buenos Aires there is a bar called "No doy abasto."  I assumed it was something clever but had to look it up here...
Cheers!


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## ORL

> Another example -- in a neighborhood called "Abasto" in Buenos Aires there is a bar called "No doy abasto." I assumed it was something clever but had to look it up here...
> Cheers!



It is not a neighborhood, it¡s a building. The neighborhood is called "Almagro", but the Abasto building is so prominent that many people call the neighborhood "Abasto".
"El abasto" used to be the market where goods like meat and vegetables were sold in bulk to supply the city with food. Abasto comes from the verb "abastecer" (to supply with).
"No doy abasto con mi trabajo/estudio/etc." is a very usual phrase in Argentina, and it means that you have so much to do that you can´t cope with the amount of work/lessons to study/etc.
Saludos


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## HolaATodos

La expresión es "_*dar abasto*_" y significa dar o ser suficiente o bastante.
http://buscon.rae.es/draeI/SrvltGUI...US=2&FORMATO=ampliado&sourceid=mozilla-search

Usamos esta locución cuando queremos expresar que algo nos desborda o supera nuestras capacidades para hacer algo:
_Tengo tanto trabajo amontonado que no doy abasto._
_El agujero de la barca era tan grande que no daban abasto a achicar agua_.


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## HolaATodos

Se me olvidaba. Chicalita, ¿qué pasa con el subjuntivo'
_Espero que termino en un color que me favorece: soy un 'otoño', gracias_ 
_Espero *que* termin*e* en un color *que* me favore*zca*: soy un 'otoño', gracias_
Recuerda que el subjuntivo se suele introducir con la conjunción *que*.


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## Mitcho999

A mi me parece que "no doy abasto con algo" es el equivalente a "I can't keep up with something" en inglés.

Ej. I can't keep up with all the work I have to do at the office.

Saludos!

PD  Mejor tarde que nunca....


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## chicalita

HolaATodos said:


> Se me olvidaba. Chicalita, ¿qué pasa con el subjuntivo'
> _Espero que termino en un color que me favorece: soy un 'otoño', gracias_
> _Espero *que* termin*e* en un color *que* me favore*zca*: soy un 'otoño', gracias_
> Recuerda que el subjuntivo se suele introducir con la conjunción *que*.




¡Ay que verguenza¡ Gracias por corregir me.


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## LisaPaloma

Now, you know I search the forum before posting-- I always end up posting on threads that are 4 or 5 years old.

I was going to write, "Mi hija estaba trabajando en ... pero no le daba abasto," with the intention of saying that she didn't make any money at it. I think it would also be equivalent (more-or-less) to "no era rentable." ¿Tengo razón?"


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## jsvillar

I would say 'no le merecía la pena económicamente', 'no *(le)* era rentable', 'no ganaba lo suficiente'... I have added 'le' because I think it is implied that it wasn't worth it for her. If the business was not viable at all for anybody, you could say 'no era rentable'.

BTW, you cannot say 'no le daba abasto'. You would say 'no daba abasto'.


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## LisaPaloma

¡Gracias por su respuesta!


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## yeehawk

Can "no dar abasto" refer to something not being of high enough quality? I don't have a lot of context for this, but a person comments that because the Italian hotels he was staying in "no daban abasto," they went to Switzerland. It's pretty vague, but could it mean that the hotels aren't good enough?
_Como los hoteles italianos no daban abasto viajamos en tren a Laussane [sic], Suiza..._


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## Amapolas

The hotels were full, and they couldn't cope with the high inflow of tourists. So they (the travellers) couldn't find accomodation for all of them.


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## yeehawk

Ay, gracias!


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## Ferrol

Llego tarde a este hilo y varios compañeros han expresado ya muy correctamente , en mi opinión, la equivalencia a "no doy abasto /con el trabajo/de trabajo" cion I can't cope with (creo que mejor que I can't put up with)
Dos expresiones coloquiales muy usadas "I'm up to my neck (with work)", "I'm snowed under (with work)"
Saludos a todos


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## gato radioso

Hola Chicalita:
_"¿Es la frase 'no dar abasto' reflexivo?"_
No. Puede existir una expresión como: "En el hotel no *se *daba abasto en verano", pero es un "se" que no funciona como reflexivo, sino como impersonal, cuando el sujeto de la acción no es importante: "P: ¿Hay vida en otros planetas? R: No *se* sabe"
Como han dicho antes, en inglés sería algo como "to be able to keep up with something" o bien "to be able to deal with something efficiently".
Salu2


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## Amapolas

Ferrol said:


> Dos expresiones coloquiales muy usadas "I'm up to my neck (with work)", "I'm snowed under (with work)"


Otra que me gusta es I'm swamped. La aprendí hace poco y me pareció muy pictórica.


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## Amapolas

gato radioso said:


> Hola Chicalita:
> _"¿Es la frase 'no dar abasto' reflexivo?"_
> No. Puede existir una expresión como: "En el hotel no *se *daba abasto en verano", pero es un "se" que no funciona como reflexivo, sino como impersonal, cuando el sujeto de la acción no es importante: "P: ¿Hay vida en otros planetas? R: No *se* sabe"
> Como han dicho antes, en inglés sería algo como "to be able to keep up with something" o bien "to be able to deal with something efficiently".
> Salu2


No me parece reflexivo. Sí se puede usar de manera impersonal como en tu ejemplo.


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## Jessy1978

hola, alguien sabe como se dice, "el metro no da abasto".

Gracias!


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## Ferrol

Jessy1978 said:


> hola, alguien sabe como se dice, "el metro no da abasto".
> 
> Gracias!


Si lo que quieres decir es que está abarrotado de gente...
The subway/undeground is overcrowded


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## Jessy1978

quiero decir, "factores como la cobertura de los buses que no da abasto y la congestión han impulsado a la gente a usar la bicicleta como medida alternativa"


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## Cerros de Úbeda

- No dar abasto
- Not to be able to + inf
- Not to (be able to) manage to + inf/with + n
- Not to cope (with something)




Jessy1978 said:


> quiero decir, "factores como la cobertura de los buses*, que no da abasto,* y la congestión han impulsado a la gente a usar la bicicleta como medida alternativa"



A tu frase le faltan comas, porque es una cláusula explicativa en aposición - con ellas, esa frase se refiere a 'la cobertura de los autobuses'.

Ahí, 'no da abasto' creo que es 'no es suficiente (para atender la demanda)' - bien de viajeros, o de rutas necesarias. Es decir, 'está sobrecargado', 'which is overloaded'.


"..., which is not coping / able to cope (with the demand)."
"..., which can't manage (with the demand)."

"..., which is not enough (to attend the demand)."
"... which is overloaded."


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## Jessy1978

Muchas gracias Cereros de Úbeda y Ferrol!


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## Blade Runner

ORL said:


> It is not a neighborhood, it¡s a building. The neighborhood is called "Almagro", but the Abasto building is so prominent that many people call the neighborhood "Abasto".
> "El abasto" used to be the market where goods like meat and vegetables were sold in bulk to supply the city with food. Abasto comes from the verb "abastecer" (to supply with).
> "No doy abasto con mi trabajo/estudio/etc." is a very usual phrase in Argentina, and it means that you have so much to do that you can´t cope with the amount of work/lessons to study/etc.
> Saludos


Same here in Valencia (Spain). The district around the former _mercado de abastos_ (supplies market) is known as Abastos. It also gives name to the high school, police station, sport centre and library which are based there nowadays. And I absolutely agree with your explanation of "no doy abasto (con...)" It's a very common expression here, too.


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## michelmontescuba

Con respecto al uso de la frase, solo decir que en Cuba es muy común.


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## bandini

Lo oí decir hace rato en una peli mexicana de los 70 pero de forma reflexiva.  Una enfermera le dijo a Vicente Fernandez, hablando de un hospital mal financiado, que no se da abasto.


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