No quería un souvenir caro; me bastaba con una taza sencilla del barrio antiguo.

I

Breakdown of No quería un souvenir caro; me bastaba con una taza sencilla del barrio antiguo.

• querer: to want
• un: a
• una: a

Questions & Answers about No quería un souvenir caro; me bastaba con una taza sencilla del barrio antiguo.

Why is it quería and not quise?

Quería is the imperfect of querer, and here it gives a background idea: I didn’t want / I wasn’t looking for / I had no desire for an expensive souvenir.

A native English speaker often expects a simple past, but Spanish makes a distinction:

• No quería un souvenir caro = I didn’t want an expensive souvenir / I wasn’t after one.
• No quise un souvenir caro = I refused or decided not to want one at a specific moment.

In this sentence, quería sounds more natural because it describes the speaker’s general attitude at that time, not one single completed decision.

What does me bastaba con mean exactly?

Bastar means to be enough or to suffice.

So:

• me bastaba = it was enough for me
• con una taza sencilla = with / just a simple mug

Put together:

• me bastaba con una taza sencilla = a simple mug was enough for me / I was satisfied with just a simple mug

This is a very common structure in Spanish:

• Me basta con eso = That’s enough for me.
• Nos bastaba con poco = Very little was enough for us.

Why is there a in ?