Do you think you know how to use the word “enough” well enough?
The word “enough“ means ‘sufficient for the purpose’. It is used together with a noun, an adjective, a verb, or an adverb. It also sometimes be a pronoun.
Enough + Adjective or Adverb
- “Enough” goes before an adjective and an adverb.
It is not hot enough to cook the meat.
Your performance is good enough to get a pay rise.
I couldn’t read the questions quickly enough and I wasn’t able to answer all of them.
Verb + Enough
- “Enough” follows a verb.
She makes sure she sleeps enough.
They feel that they don’t visit enough.I think you’ve practiced enough.
Enough + Noun
- “Enough” comes after a noun.
We don’t have enough flour to bake a cake.
She hasn’t got enough money.Are there enough people on your team?
The Pronoun Enough
- “Enough” sometimes also acts as a pronoun. It can be used without a noun provided that you already know what the noun is based on the context.
I need more papers. These aren’t enough.
A: Can she still be with him? B: She can’t anymore. She’s had enough.
Using Enough With an Adjective and a Noun
There are to possible ways to use “enough” with an adjective and a noun. However, the two sentences do not have the same meaning.
He hasn’t got a big enough car. (=The car is too small.)
They haven’t got enough big cars. (=They have big cars but they need more.)
The Phrase Enough Of
Use “enough of” before a determiner or a pronoun such as: a, an, the, this, that, my, your, his, you, them, and others.
We don’t have enough of these white sheets.
They’ve eaten enough of their mother’s lasagna.
There’s enough of them there to finish the project.