Linking: Result expressed with too or enough

When result involves degree (e.g. thin/thick, small/big, etc.) or quantity (e.g. little/much) it can often be expressed by the use of too or enough.

 

Use of too

1. Lucy’s a sensible driver and doesn’t take risks.

• Lucy’s too sensible a driver to take risks.  

- too is used with an adjective followed by a noun: ‘too sensible a driver’ = too + adj + a noun

 

2. Mary’s such a spendthrift that she never saves a penny.

• Mary’s too much of a spendthrift ever to save a penny.

- the equivalent of such a noun (e.g. such a spendthrift) is too much of a noun = ‘too much of a spendthrift’

 

3. The ice is rather thin and one couldn’t skate on it.

• The ice is too thin to skate on / too thin for skating.

- too + adjective (e.g. too thin) when not followed directly by nouns; the exception are quantitative adjectives such as much, little, many, few, e.g.: There are too many logs for one man to carry.

- too expressing result is used either with a full infinitive (see the examples above) or with for + a noun (see this example – No. 3 = too thin for skating; or No. 5 = for my taste); its use with for + gerund (e.g. *‘too heavy for lifting’) should be avoided

- if necessary, the infinitive is followed by a preposition which relates it correctly to the noun at the beginning of the sentence (e.g. The ice is too thin to skate on. X He’s too fat to skate.)

 

4. Those logs are very heavy; one man couldn’t possibly lift them.

• Those logs are much too heavy for one man to lift.

- when there is a significant change of grammatical subject (those logs -> one man), the second subject is introduced into the too construction by for (i.e. much too heavy for one man to lift)

 

5. There’s an awful lot of violence in this film; I don’t like it.

• There’s far too much violence in this film for my liking / for my taste.

- for emphasis, either far or much can precede too (far too much violence; much too heavy…)

 

Use of enough

1. Lucy’s a sensible driver and doesn’t take risks.

• Lucy’s a sensible enough driver not to take risks.

- enough is an adverb of degree here (and also in examples 2. and 3., but not in 4. – there it is ‘an adjective of quantity’); as an adverb it comes after the words it qualifies

- as an adverb, enough can be used with an adjective + a singular countable noun and it is used in the following order: a/an adjective + enough + noun, e.g.: a sensible enough driver

 

2. Tim is such a fool / so foolish as to marry Susan.

• Tim is fool enough / foolish enough to marry Susan.

- here noun + enough is without a/an, because the noun (fool) takes over the function of its corresponding adjective (foolish); if there is no corresponding adjective, neither construction with a noun is normally used (e.g. NOT *‘spendthrift enough’ because spendthrift has no corresponding adjective)

 

3. The fruit isn’t very ripe yet and one couldn’t make jam from it.

• The fruit isn’t ripe enough yet to make jam from / for jam-making.

- adjective + enough comes after uncountable nouns or plural nouns (NOT *There isn’t ripe enough fruit.)

- enough expressing result is followed either by a full infinitive (…ripe enough yet to make jam from) or by for +noun (…ripe enough yet for jam-making); once again (like with too), gerunds must be distinguished from nouns ending in –ing, e.g.:

I don’t think he’s mature enough to marry / for marriage.

BUT NOT:* …he’s mature enough for marrying. – marrying is here a gerund referring to an action, unlike jam-making, which is a noun referring to a particular activity

 

4. Now there’s quite a lot of ripe fruit, so my mother can start her jam-making.

• Now there’s enough ripe fruit for my mother to start her jam-making.

- enough is an adjective of quantity here; as an adjective it comes before the words it qualifies

- like with too, we use for when introducing a second subject (for my mother)

 

Remember and compare the following structures with too and enough:

- with adjectives:

• Lucy is too sensible to take risks.
• Lucy is sensible enough not to take risks.

 

- with an adjective + a noun:

• Lucy is too sensible a driver to take risks.     =   too + adjective + a/an + noun
• Lucy is a sensible enough driver not to take risks.     =   a/an + adjective + enough + noun

!Remember that too is not used with not to express ‘result’!

 

References:

Gethin, H. (1992) Grammar in Context. Harlow: Addison Wesley Longman Limited, pp. 54-59.