Enough as an adverb
April 3rd, 2011 in Words
Adjective/adverb + enough
Enough is an adverb. It normally comes after the adjective or adverb it modifies.
She is old enough to be a grandmother. (NOT She is enough old to be a grandmother.)
It isn’t big enough. (NOT It isn’t enough big.)
You were not running fast enough.
I can’t wear your shoes – I haven’t got big enough feet.
Enough + noun
Enough can be used before a noun phrase as a determiner. Note that before a noun with a determiner (articles, possessives or demonstratives), we use enough of.
We have got enough rice.
I couldn’t answer enough of the questions.
Position with adjective + noun
We have seen that enough comes after the adjective it modifies. But when enough modifies an adjective and noun together, it comes before the adjective.
Compare:
We haven’t got big enough nails. (We need bigger nails.)
We haven’t got enough big nails. (We need more big nails.)
Enough + infinitive
Enough can be followed by an infinitive.
She is old enough to know better.
These mangoes are ripe enough to eat.
I haven’t got enough money to buy an apartment.