Learning English - Grammar, Vocabulary & Pronunciation (2024)

FAQs

Is adequate vs sufficient vs enough? ›

ADEQUATE, SUFFICIENT and ENOUGH are slightly different in meaning. If something is adequate, there is enough of it, but only just enough. If there is sufficient quantity of something, this suggests that there is as much of it as you need.

enough comes after adjectives and adverbs. I'm not tall enough to reach the top shelf. Your marks are good enough to study engineering at university. I couldn't write quickly enough and I ran out of time.

There is enough of it for everybody. Enough can be used on its own as a pronoun. I've got enough to worry about. Enough has been said about this already.

Position in a Sentence

'Enough' as a determiner stands before a noun or a noun phrase. It does not matter if the noun is countable or uncountable. For example: That's enough money for this trip; let's get started.

'Adequate enough' and 'Sufficient enough' are the appropriate usages. 'Adequate' and 'sufficient' are adjectives in this case. Words ending in '-ly' are adverbs which describe the verbs. Both your examples are correct.

If you have a sufficient amount of something, it's enough — not too much, not too little, just right. Goldilocks would be pleased. Sufficient comes from a Latin verb meaning "to meet the need." If something is sufficient it has met, or satisfied, a need.

adverb. 1. : in or to a degree or quantity that satisfies or that is sufficient or necessary for satisfaction : sufficiently. 2. : fully, quite.

Enough is an adjective that describes something that is adequate for an intended purpose. Enough is also used as an adverb to mean sufficiently or fully. Enough also has senses as a pronoun and an interjection. Enough describes something as being adequate or sufficient.

For example, "I've had enough of this job. I need to find a new one." "I had enough" is the past simple tense and is used to describe a completed action in the past. It implies that you reached your limit at a specific point in the past.

Adverbs of degree are usually placed before the adjective, adverb, or verb that they modify, although there are some exceptions. The words "too", "enough", "very", and "extremely" are examples of adverbs of degree.

What is the sound of enough? ›

Break 'enough' down into sounds: [I] + [NUF] - say it out loud and exaggerate the sounds until you can consistently produce them. Record yourself saying 'enough' in full sentences, then watch yourself and listen. You'll be able to mark your mistakes quite easily.

That's enough talk for now; let's get started. There's enough food for everyone. No, the two of us don't have enough time to write a book. There was the love that didn't last and the affection that wasn't enough.

As an adjective, 'enough' describes a sufficient quantity, degree, or extent of a noun. Examples: We have enough food for the party. There aren't enough chairs in the room. I hope we've made enough copies for everyone.

Adequate and enough are two English words almost similar in meaning though they cannot be used interchangeably. Adequate means good enough or something that is sufficient for a need or requirement. Enough is used in situations where you mean to say sufficient.

While all these words mean "being what is necessary or desirable," sufficient suggests a close meeting of a need. When might adequate be a better fit than sufficient? The synonyms adequate and sufficient are sometimes interchangeable, but adequate may imply barely meeting a requirement.

Adequate is also close in meaning to enough and sufficient. It suggests that something is good enough or large enough for a particular purpose: This country will never maintain an adequate supply of trained teachers if so many leave the profession after four or five years.

"Sufficient" and "enough" are both adjectives and mean the same thing. "Suffice" is a verb meaning to be enough.