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Hans51 Posted 10 years ago
Grammar

He has enough money to buy the car = He has money enough to buy the car.

He has enough money to buy the car = He has money enough to buy the car.

I have learned that enough can modify nouns before and after them and then I was wondering if native English speakers think that to buy the car modifies money in both sentence or in the second sentence to buy the car modifies enough as an adverbial phrase but in the first sentence to buy the car modifies money as an adjective phrase? However, I feel like whichever it is, they carry the same meaning.

What do you native English speakers think? Thank you so much as usual in advance.
  

Top answer

The determinative “enough” is special in being able to appear before the noun, in which case it is a determiner, or after the noun where it is a modifier. Although in both cases the infinitival clause “to buy the car” is 'licensed' by "enough", its function is that of complement to the noun “money”. BillJ

— BillJ

  • The determinative “enough” is special in being able to appear before the noun, in which case it is a determiner, or after the noun where it is a modifier.
  • Although in both cases the infinitival clause “to buy the car” is 'licensed' by "enough", its function is that of complement to the noun “money”.
  • BillJ
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7 Answers
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The determinative “enough” is special in being able to appear before the noun, in which case it is a determiner, or after the noun where it is a modifier.

Although in both cases the infinitival clause “to buy the car” is 'licensed' by "enough", its function is that of complement to the noun “money”.

BillJ
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In the first sentence, I think you can argue that "to buy the car" modifies, or further explains, either "enough" or "money", depending on how you look at it.

How much money? Enough to buy the car.
Enough what? Money to buy the car.

However, the first of these is the more obvious to me.
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GPYIn the first sentence, I think you can argue that "to buy the car" modifies, or further explains, either "enough" or "money", depending on how you look at it. How much money? Enough to buy the car. Enough what? Money to buy the car.However, the first of these is the more obvious to me.
Infinitival clauses can't modify determinative "enough", which is what i
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BillJInfinitival clauses can't modify determinative "enough", which is what it is in both the OP's examples.They can however modify fused-head NPs like the "enough" in "Have you enough to buy the car"?
You are probably viewing it according to some particular technical grammar model. I am describing how it intuitively feels (to me).
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GPY BillJInfinitival clauses can't modify determinative "enough", which is what it is in both the OP's examples.They can however modify fused-head NPs like the "enough" in "Have you enough to buy the car"?You are probably viewing it according to some particular technical grammar model. I am describing how it intuitively feels.
I was describing the usual syntax
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BillJI was describing the usual syntax, which I thought was the OP's main concern. The intuitive feeling that you talk about is, I think, covered by the point I made in my first reply, i.e. that although the infinitival "to buy the car" is complement to "money", it is licensed by "enough".
Oh, OK, sorry, I didn't know that was what you meant by "licensed".
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BillJInfinitival clauses can't modify determinative "enough"
This is hard to understand given that "to buy the car" is the action with respect to which the money is enough.
Is it the word "modify" that's the focus here? That is, what is the status of the same statement with "complement"? Infinitival clauses can't be complements of the determina
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