The position of enough
Enough goes after adjectives and adverbs:
* He didn't get the job because he wasn't experienced enough. (not 'enough experienced')
* You won't pass the examination if you don't work hard enough.
* She shouldn't get married yet. She's not old enough.
The opposite is too. (too hard/too old etc.):
* You never stop working. You work too hard. Enough normally goes before nouns:
* He didn't get the job because he didn't have enough experience. (not 'experience enough')
* I'd like to go away on holiday but I haven't got enough money.
* Some of us had to sit on the floor because there weren't enough chairs.
You can also use enough alone (without a noun):
* I'll lend you some money if you haven't got enough.
The opposite is too much.../too many ...:
* We can't go away on holiday. It costs too much (money).
* There are too many people and not enough chairs.
We say enough/too ... for (somebody/something):
* I haven't got enough money for a holiday.
* He wasn't experienced enough for the job.
* This shirt is too big for me. I need a smaller size.
But we usually say enough/too ... to do something (not 'for doing'). So we say:
enough money to buy something, too young to do something etc. For example:
* I haven't got enough money to go on holiday. (not 'for going')
* He wasn't experienced enough to do the job.
* She's not old enough to get married. or She's too young to get married.
* Let's get a taxi. It's too far to walk home from here.
* There weren't enough chairs for everyone to sit down.
* They spoke too quickly for us to understand.
We say:
The food was very hot. We couldn't eat it.
and: The food was so hot that we couldn't eat it.
but: The food was too hot to eat. (without 'it')
Some more examples like this:
* The wallet was too big to put in my pocket. (not 'too big to put it')
* These boxes are too heavy to carry. (not 'too heavy to carry them')
* The water wasn't clean enough to swim in.
EXERCISES
102.1 Complete these sentences using enough with one of the following adjectives or nouns:
adjectives: big old warm well, nouns: cups milk money qualifications room time
1. She shouldn't get married yet. She's not _old enough._
2. I'd like to buy a car but I haven't got ---.
3. Have you got --- in your tea or would you like some more?
4. Are you ---? Or shall I switch on the heating?
5. It's only a small car. There isn't --- for all of you.
6. Steve didn't feel --- to go to work this morning.
7. 1 didn't answer all the questions in the exam. I didn't have ---.
8. Do you think I've got --- to apply for the job?
9. Try this jacket on and see if it's --- for you.
10. There weren't --- for everybody to have coffee at the same time.
102.2 Complete the answers to the questions. Use too or enough with the word in brackets.
1. Is she going to get married?
(old) No, she's not _old enough to get married._
2. I need to talk to you about something.
(busy) Well, I'm afraid I'm --- to you now.
3. Let's go to the cinema.
(late) No, it's --- to the cinema.
4. Why don't we sit in the garden?
(warm) It's not --- in the garden.
5. Would you like to be a politician?
(nice) No, I'm --- a politician.
6. Do you want to play tennis today?
(energy) No, I haven't got --- tennis today.
7. Did you hear what he was saying?
(far away) No, we were --- what he was saying.
8. Can he read a newspaper in English?
(English) No, he doesn't know --- a newspaper.
102.3 Make one sentence from two. Complete the new sentence using too or enough.
1. We couldn't cat the food. It was too hot. _The food was, too hot to eat._
2. I can't drink this coffee. It's too hot. This coffee is ---.
3. Nobody could move the piano. It was too heavy.
The piano ---.
4. I don't wear this coat in winter. It isn't warm enough.
This coat ---
5. I can't explain the situation. It is too complicated.
The situation ---.
6. Three people can't sit on this sofa. It isn't wide enough.
This sofa ---.
7. We couldn't climb over the wall. It was too high.
The wall ---.
8. You can't see some things without a microscope, They are too small.
Some ---.
102.1
2 enough money
3 enough milk
4 warm enough
5 enough room
6 well enough
7 enough time
8 enough qualifications
9 big enough
10 enough cups
102.2
2 too busy to talk
3 too late to go
4 warm enough to sit
5 too nice to be
6 enough energy to play
7 too far away to hear
8 enough English to read
102.3
2 This coffee is too hot to drink.
3 The piano was too heavy to move.
4 This coat isn't warm enough to wear in winter.
5 The situation is too complicated to explain.
6 This sofa isn't wide enough for three people to sit on.
7 The wall was too high to climb over.
8 Some things are too small to see without a microscope.
