Unit 103 · Adjectives and adverbs

enough and too

Study

Enough goes after adjectives and adverbs:

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I can’t run very far. I’m not fit enough. (not enough fit)

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Let’s go. We’ve waited long enough.

Enough normally goes before nouns:

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We have enough money. We don’t need any more.

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There weren’t enough chairs. Some of us had to sit on the floor.

We also use enough alone (without a noun or adjective):

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We don’t need more money. We have enough.

Compare too … and not … enough:

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You never stop working. You work too hard. (= more than is necessary)

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You’re lazy. You don’t work hard enough. (= less than is necessary)

Compare too much/many and enough:

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There’s too much furniture in this room. There’s not enough space.

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There were too many people and not enough chairs.

We say enough/too … for somebody/something:

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Does Joe have enough experience for the job?

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This bag isn’t big enough for all my clothes.

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That shirt is too small for you. You need a larger size.

We say enough/too … to do something. For example:

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Does Joe have enough experience to do the job?

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Let’s get a taxi. It’s too far to walk home from here.

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She’s not old enough to have a driving licence.

The next example has both for … and to … :

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The bridge is just wide enough for two cars to pass one another.

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

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The food was too hot to eat. (not to eat it)

In the same way we say:

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These boxes are too heavy to carry. (not to carry them)

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The wallet was too big to put in my pocket. (not to put it)

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This chair isn’t strong enough to stand on. (not to stand on it)

Exercises (3)

0/3 exercises checked

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103.1

Complete the sentences using enough + the following words:

buseschairscupshardroomtalltimevegetableswarmwide

1
You’re lazy. You don’t work .example
2
Some of us had to sit on the floor. There weren’t .example
3
Public transport isn’t good here. There aren’t .
4
I can’t park the car here. The space isn’t .
5
I always have to rush. There’s never .
6
You need to change your diet. You don’t eat .
7
I’m not good at basketball. I’m not .
8
The car is quite small. Do you think there’s for five of us?
9
Are you ? Or shall I switch on the heating?
10
We can’t all have coffee at the same time. We don’t have .

103.2

Complete the answers to the questions. Use too or enough + the word(s) in brackets.

1
Does Sophie have a driving licence?
(old) No, she’s not to have a driving licence.example
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 outside?
(warm) It’s not outside.
5
Would you like to be a politician?
(shy) No, I’m a politician.
6
Would you like to be a teacher?
(patience) No, I don’t have a teacher.
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.

103.3

Make one sentence from two. Complete the new sentence using too or enough + to … .

1
We couldn’t carry the boxes. They were too heavy.
The boxes were .example
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 was .
4
Don’t eat these apples. They’re not ripe enough.
These apples .
5
I can’t explain the situation. It is too complicated.
The situation is .
6
We couldn’t climb over the wall. It was too high.
The wall was .
7
Three people can’t sit on this sofa. It isn’t big enough.
This sofa .
8
You can’t see some things without a microscope. They are too small.
Some things are .