Enough, Too Much, Too Little, Very: satis, nimis, parum, valde

Enough, Too Much, Very

Level 3

Put the amount word before the verb or the adjective.

How It Works

Adverb	Meaning	Example
satis	enough	satis bene (well enough)
nimis	too, too much	nimis magnus (too big)
parum	too little, not enough	parum dormit (sleeps too little)
valde	very, very much	valde laetus (very happy)
magnopere	greatly	magnopere timet (fears greatly)

Do not mix up nimis and valde. In classical prose nimis means more than is good, so nimis laetus is too happy. Valde only means very. Church Latin sometimes uses nimis for greatly, as in the Confiteor line quia peccavi nimis, so let the sentence decide.

These adverbs usually stand just before the word they describe: valde laetus, nimis ridet. English puts enough after the word, as in big enough, but Latin puts satis first: satis magnus.

Satis also stands alone in the phrase satis est, it is enough.

Examples (5)

Marcus nimis ridet.
Marcus laughs too much.
Nimis stands before the verb.
Marcus valde laetus est.
Marcus is very happy.
Valde stands before the adjective.
Iulia parum dormit.
Iulia sleeps too little.
Parum says that the amount is not enough.
Satis bene legis.
You read well enough.
Satis stands before the adverb bene.
Erant valde bona.
They were very good.
Valde stands before bona. The words are from Genesis 1:31.

Common Mistakes

Using nimis to mean very.
Marcus nimis laetus est.
Marcus valde laetus est.
Nimis means too in classical prose, so this sentence says that Marcus is too happy. Church Latin sometimes uses nimis for greatly, but valde is the safe word for very. The intended meaning was: Marcus is very happy, which needs valde.

How It Connects

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Enough, Too Much, Too Little, Very: satis, nimis, parum, valdeLevel 3Enough, Too Much, Very

Learn This First

These are adverbs that say how much.

Words Like Now and Here
Know adverbs of time and place, because satis, nimis, parum and valde never change their endings either: Nimis ridet.
Level 2

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Patterns that build on this one.

Words in This Pattern

satisnimisparumvaldemagnopere

Practice Enough, Too Much, Too Little, Very: satis, nimis, parum, valde in Bubblegum

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