Hello!
I would really like to know when we use ‘enough’ before and after an adjective and if in this way the meaning is changed.('I have enough money. /He is rich enough to buy an entire town. )
Thank you for your time and support!
Hi Antonella,
The word ‘enough’ is an adjective and modifies a noun (money) in this sentence. It is correctly used, and is the most common word order (adjective noun).
You can also say ‘I have money enough’, but this wording is less commonly used. Usually, the meaning with this wording is similar, but there may also be a sense that the speaker thinks that ‘although more would be desirable, the current amount is acceptable’.
This sentence has no noun directly before or after ‘enough’, but does use the adjective rich. The sentence is correctly worded. When ‘enough’ follows an adjective, then ‘enough’ is frequently followed by a phrase such as the one in your sentence (i.e. ‘to do something’), or ‘to do something’ is implied.
However, you cannot say this: [color=red]He is enough rich to buy an entire town. Generally speaking, you cannot use the word ‘enough’ before a free-standing adjective.
On the other hand, it IS possible to use ‘enough’ before an adjective that directly modifies a noun:
- “All that’s necessary for the forces of evil to win in the world is for enough good men to do nothing.” ~ Edmund Burke
The sentence above is parsed this way: [enough] [good men]
[color=white].
Here is a quote that uses adjective+enough+noun, which is also a commonly used word order:
- “No man has a good enough memory to be a successful liar.” ~ Abraham Lincoln
The sentence above is parsed this way: [good enough] [memory] Here, 'good enough memory ’ means ‘sufficiently good memory’.
[color=white].
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[size=75]“If you can’t explain it simply, you don’t understand it well enough.” ~ Albert Einstein[/size]