Enough + Noun
Enough is usually placed before nouns, to indicate the quantity required or necessary:
Examples
- There is enough bread for lunch.
- She has enough money.
- We didn't have enough time to visit London Bridge.
- Are there enough eggs to make an omelette?
- Richard has enough talent to become a singing star.
Enough is also used with adverbs (come after adverbs).
Examples
- I couldn’t write quickly enough and I ran out of time.
- I haven’t been to lessons often enough to have really learnt much.
Enough is also used with adjectives, (come after adjectives).
Examples
- She isn’t tall enough to be a ballet dancer.
- I’m afraid your work just isn’t good enough.
Enough of
We don’t use enough of unless there is a determiner (an article, this/that, my/your/his etc).
We use enough of when there is a determiner.
Examples
There isn’t enough of bread- I’ve had enough of your nonsense! ‘Your’ is a determiner here.
- I haven’t seen enough of the film to really form an opinion.
Enough can also be used without a noun.
- That’s enough! Be quiet!
- Enough is enough.
With adjective and noun
When ‘enough’ is used with an adjective and a noun, two positions are possible but the meaning changes. Look at these two sentences.
- We haven’t got big enough nails. None of the nails are as big as we need.
- We haven’t got enough big nails. We have some big nails but we need more.
When enough comes between the adjective and the noun (big enough nails) it qualifies the adjective – it tells us that the nails aren’t big enough. When enough comes before the adjective it qualifies the noun phrase – it tells us that there aren’t enough nails.