Dave's ESL Cafe's Student Discussion Forums

[el7jake]

I think sufficiently is an adverb and enough is an adjective. So why is enough after tall in sentence below but sufficiently goes before tall in this next sentence:

She is sufficiently tall to pass the height requirement.

She is tall enough to pass the height requirement.

thank you

Jake

[dragn]

Sufficiently is an adverb, and usually goes before an adjective:

Tim is sufficiently prepared to pass the exam.

I'm not going to give you a lecture on the subject, but keep in mind that adverb placement in English is rather flexible, with plenty of exceptions and special cases.

Enough can be used as an adverb meaning to (or not to) the necessary degree, and goes after adjectives and adverbs:

My coffee isn't hot enough. (following an adjective)
Sue didn't do well enough on the TOEFL to get accepted to Harvard. (following an adverb)

Enough is also used as a determiner, basically meaning as much as is necessary. (Some books refer to enough as an adjective in this usage, but most call it a determiner). As a determiner, it is placed before nouns:

Do you think we have enough pizza for the party?

Enough can also stand alone as a pronoun if the noun it represents is clearly understood:

There are more details to this topic, but that's enough for now.

Hope this helps.

Greg