Like faltar, which we looked at recently, sobrar is a verb that regularly trips off the tongue of native speakers while being underused by learners, despite the abundance of contexts where it would be so useful.
While faltar points to a lack of something, sobrar is the other side of the coin, indicating there is a surplus, more than enough, more than needed or wanted, or a quantity left over of something, whether this be money, time, tables, food or something else:
También hace queso si sobra leche.
She also makes cheese if there’s any milk left over or to spare.
Actualmente sobran tiendas de vapeo.
These days there are too many vape shops.
Sobran los motivos para estar alerta.
There are more than enough or plenty of reasons to be vigilant.
Era el centro de enseñanza más grande del pueblo y siempre sobraban plazas.
It was the largest educational institution in the town and there were always places to spare.
Hay veces que sobran las palabras.
There are times when words are unnecessary or redundant.
The subject of the verb sobrar is whatever there is a surplus of or whatever is left over. This stays the same even if you mention the people affected:
Usted piensa que me sobra el dinero… Pues no.
You think I have money to spare… Well I don’t.
Le sobran razones para estar contento.
He has more than enough reasons to be happy.
Apenas le sobran dos dólares.
He’s hardly got two dollars left.
As you can see from the above, the person or thing affected by the surplus of whatever it is becomes an indirect object in Spanish. So, in the present, you’d use the following construction:
Me/Te/Le/Nos/Os/Les sobra + [whatever is superfluous, spare or unnecessary (singular)]
Me/Te/Le/Nos/Os/Les sobran + [whatever items or people are superfluous, spare or unnecessary (plural)].
Here are some more examples of this construction in a variety of tenses:
Me sobra energía.
I have too much energy.
Como me sobra espacio pienso alquilar habitaciones.
As I have space to spare, I’ve been thinking of taking in lodgers.
¿Qué vas a hacer con lo que te sobra de esta muestra?
What will you do with what you have left over from this sample?
Le sobró dinero del presupuesto de la película.
She orHe had money to spare orleft over from the film’s budget.
Nos ha sobrado mucha comida.
We have a lot of food left over.
Nos sobran motivos para migrar.
We have more than enough orso many reasons to migrate.
Si os sobra tortilla, siempre podéis meterla en la nevera y tomarla al día siguiente.
If you have tortilla left over, you can always put it in the refrigerator and have it the next day.
El tiempo que les sobra, lo utilizan en hacer collares con perlas de colores.
They use their spare time to make necklaces from coloured pearls.
Sometimes this construction is preceded by a + noun/pronoun for clarity or emphasis:
A Sergio no le sobraban muchos kilos.
Sergio didn’t have much excess weight.
Son conscientes de que a él no le sobra el carisma electoral.
They are very aware that he doesn’t have overmuch electoral charisma.
A nosotros no nos sobra el dinero.
We don’t have money to spare.
If you’re already familiar with how gustar and faltar are used, you may recognize the same grammar patterns at work here.
Sobrar is also used with a following infinitive, when the action in question is unnecessary:
El original, sobra decirlo, es una de las esculturas más famosas del mundo.
The original, it goes without saying, is one of the most famous sculptures in the world.
Sobra decir que el sistema nervioso central tiene una importancia vital en esto.
Needless to say, the central nervous system is vitally important in this.
No sobra recordar que la reducción de los impuestos tiene un efecto modesto sobre el crecimiento económico.
There is no harm in remembering that reducing taxes has a modest effect on economic growth.
PRACTICE
Can you complete the following using sobrar in an appropriate form together with any necessary indirect pronouns?
- Ahora no pierdo un segundo porque el tiempo que …………… ……………. es para el bebé.
Now I don’t waste a second because any time I have to spare is for the baby. - los restos procedentes de la preparación de los alimentos, junto con la comida que ……………
the scraps from food preparation together with any food that’s left over - Si algo no …………… ……………. al partido es tiempo.
If there’s one thing the party doesn’t have enough of, it’s time. - las claras que …………… de la crema
the egg whites left over from the custard - Si …………… pan, trato de regalárselo a los clientes.
If there’s any bread left over, I try to give it to our customers. - Yo odio que sientan pena por mí, así que …………… ……………. los comentarios del tipo: “¡ay, pobrecita!”
I hate being pitied, so for me comments of the ‘you poor thing’ sort are unnecessary. - A muchos agricultores …………… ……………. toneladas de tomates o pepinos.
Many farmers have tons of tomatoes and cucumbers to spare orleft over. - Como …………… ……………. papel y tienta decidieron crear un universo imaginario.
As they had paper and ink to spare, they decided to create an imaginary universe. - Aseguran los autores que …………… ……………. ideas para extender la serie.
The authors say they have more than enough ideas to extend the series. - Vendieron los 378 rollos de papel higiénico que …………… …………….They sold the 378 rolls of toilet paper they had left over.
ANSWERS
- Ahora no pierdo un segundo porque el tiempo que me sobra es para el bebé.
- los restos procedentes de la preparación de los alimentos, junto con la comida que sobra
- Si algo no le sobra al partido es tiempo.
- las claras que sobran de la crema
- Si sobra pan, trato de regalárselo a los clientes.
- Yo odio que sientan pena por mí, así que me sobran los comentarios del tipo: “¡ay, pobrecita!”
- A muchos agricultores les sobran toneladas de tomates o pepinos.
- Como les sobraba papel y tinta decidieron crear un universo imaginario.
- Aseguran los autores que les sobran ideas para extender la serie.
- Vendieron los 378 rollos de papel higiénico que les sobraban.
