Enough | Enough To | Too … To

Enough is a degree modifier. When enough modifies an adjective/adverb, it normally comes after the adjective/adverb.

  • Are you warm enough?
  • You are not old enough to become a grandmother.

But note that when enough modifies an adjective and noun together, it comes before the adjective.

  • We haven’t got big enough chairs. (= We need bigger chairs – enough modifies big.)
  • We haven’t got enough big chairs. (= we need more big chairs – enough modifies big chairs.)

Enough + noun

Enough can be used before a noun phrase as a determiner.

  • Are you getting enough sleep?
  • There is enough room for everybody to sit down.

Before a pronoun or a noun with a determiner, we use enough of.

  • The exam was bad. I couldn’t answer enough of the questions.

Enough of is also used after personal and geographical names.

  • I haven’t seen enough of Europe.

Enough + infinitive

Enough can be followed by an infinitive.

  • You are not old enough to marry.
  • I haven’t got enough money to buy a car.

Infinitives can be introduced by for + noun/pronoun.

  • It is late enough for the children to go to bed.

Enough … to vs. Too … to

Enough to shows sufficiency and has a positive meaning.

  • He is strong enough to lift that box.
  • The boy is clever enough to understand this.
  • We are not rich enough to buy a car.
  • He was foolish enough to listen to her.

Too—to shows undesirable excess. It has a kind of negative meaning.

  • She was too tired to walk.
  • This is too good to be true.
  • The coffee is too hot for me to drink.

Note that She was too tired to walk means She was so tired that she could not walk.

Manjusha Nambiar

Hi, I am Manjusha. This is my blog where I give English grammar lessons and worksheets.

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