BBC Learning English 英语教学

你问我答

 

辨析表示 “足够” 的单词:adequate、enough、sufficient

Play audio file

内容简介

一位姓边的网友来信询问 “adequate、enough” 和 “sufficient” 的区别。这三个词的意思都和 “足够” 有关,但它们的词性和实际的用法不同。其中,“adequate” 和 “sufficient” 均为形容词,表示 “足够的”;“adequate” 强调 “(质量、水平、标准)刚够好”;“enough” 则可以作限定词、副词和代词使用。听 “你问我答” 节目,学习区分这三个词。

欢迎你加入并和我们一起讨论英语学习的方方面面。请通过微博 “BBC英语教学” 或邮件与我们取得联系。我们的邮箱地址是 questions.chinaelt@bbc.co.uk

文字稿

(关于台词的备注: 请注意这不是广播节目的逐字稿件。本文稿可能没有体现录制、编辑过程中对节目做出的改变。)

Phil
Hi, and welcome to Question and Answer of the Week. I'm Phil.

Jiaying
And I'm Jiaying. 本期 “你问我答” 节目的问题来自一位姓边的网友,问题由我来代读:

Question
求回答,“adequate、enough” 和 “sufficient” 的区别是什么?

Phil
A great question – we've got three words that are very similar – but there are some differences.

Jiaying
下面,我们就来看一看这三个词之间有什么不同。

Phil
Right, these words have similar meanings – but not quite the same. It's also important to look at how we use them – because there are some grammatical differences as well. OK, 'enough' is the most common of these words. Let's look at it first.

Jiaying
先说一说 “enough”。“Enough” 是三个词当中最常用的一个,作限定词时,它的意思是 “充足,足够”。听两个例句。

Examples
That's enough food – don't give me any more!
(我的饭已经够了,别再给我盛了!)

Sorry, I don't have enough money.
(抱歉,我的钱不够。)

Jiaying
这两个例句都在谈论事物的量 “够不够”。在第一个句子中,说话人已经有 “enough food(足量的饭菜)”,所以不需要更多。第二句话是否定句,说话人 “don't have enough money(没有足够多的钱)”。两句话中的 “enough” 都是限定词。

Phil
In both of these examples, we could also use 'sufficient' – it's less common and it sounds more formal – but here it means the same.

Jiaying
是的,在上面的两句话中,我们可以用 “sufficient” 替换 “enough”,句意相同。一般用形容词 “sufficient” 的句子更正式。听两个使用了 “sufficient” 的例句。

Examples
We have sufficient time for this – we won't need any more!
(我们有足够的时间来做这件事情,不需要更多时间了!)

Sorry, there isn't sufficient money in the budget.
(抱歉,预算的钱不够。)

Jiaying
在上面的两句话中,形容词 “sufficient” 与前面讲过的 “enough” 的含义相同,都表示 “足够的”,但两者的词性和用法不同。

Phil
Yes, the important thing to notice is that 'enough' also works as an adverb, so we can use it after verbs, adjectives and adverbs.

Jiaying
没错,除了作限定词以外,“enough” 还可以作副词使用,表示 “足够地”,但 “sufficient” 却只能作形容词使用。听两个使用了副词 “enough” 的例句。

Examples
You need to do well enough to pass the exam.
(你需要发挥得够好才能通过考试。)

I think I've studied enough – I should be OK!
(我想我已经学得够多了。我应该会考好的!)

Jiaying
在第一个例句中,“well enough” 补充说明在考试中的表现 “够好”。在第二个例句中,“studied enough” 说明 “学得够多了”。我们不能用形容词 “sufficient” 来替换两句话中的副词 “enough”。

Phil
Another way that you can use 'enough' but not 'sufficient' is a pronoun – like here:

Example
A: If you want some more work, I can give you some!
(如果你想多干点活儿,我可以分你一些!)
B: I've got enough, thank you. I'm really busy!
(我的活儿够多了,谢谢你。我真的很忙!)

Jiaying
对话中的男士说:“I've got enough(我的活儿够多了)”,省略了名词 “work”,因为我们已知两人正在讨论 “工作”。这里的 “enough” 是代词。

Phil
OK, so that's where we can't use 'sufficient' – is there anywhere where we can't use 'enough'?

Jiaying
Yes. 由于 “sufficient” 是形容词,所以可以与冠词和名词一同使用。下面来看看只能用 “sufficient”,不能用 “enough” 的情况。先听两个例句。

Examples
I don't have a sufficient understanding of this subject.
(我对这门学科没有足够的了解。)

You need to turn the handle at a sufficient speed to make it work.
(你需要以足够快的速度转动手柄才能使其工作。)

Jiaying
由于 “enough” 作限定词时,不能与冠词同用,所以不适用于上面的两个例句。

接着,我们讲一讲问题中的第三个词 “adequate”。

Phil
Like sufficient, 'adequate' is an adjective, so it's different grammatically to 'enough'. There's also a difference in the meaning: while 'enough' on its own talks about quantity, 'sufficient' and 'adequate' can be used to talk about quality. It means 'to the level, standard or quality that is needed'.

Jiaying
首先,“adequate” 和 “sufficient” 都是形容词,所以从语法上来看,它们和 “enough” 都不同。还有,“adequate” 和 “sufficient” 都可以用来谈论 “(质量)够好”,而 “enough” 在单独使用时,只能谈论 “(数量)够多”。另外,“adequate” 强调 “水平、标准或质量合乎需要的”。听两个例句。

Examples
He's working at an adequate level.
(他的工作水平是合格的。)

The standard of this room should be adequate for your needs.
(这个房间的标准应该能满足你的需要。)

Jiaying
在第一个例句中,形容词 “adequate” 表示 “(工作水平是)合格的”。在第二个例句中,形容词 “adequate” 表示 “(房间标准是)足够好的,合乎需要的”。

这两个例子中的形容词 “adequate” 都可以用 “sufficient” 或搭配 “good enough” 替换,但不能仅用 “enough” 替换。

Phil
So maybe now, we should look a bit more closely at 'sufficient' and 'adequate'. They're often interchangeable, but there can be some differences.

Jiaying
注意,形容词 “adequate” 表示 “only just good enough(刚刚够好)”,强调 “仅仅足以达到标准而已”,所以可能带有负面色彩。来听两个例句。

Examples
The hotel was adequate, I suppose – but I was expecting something a bit better.
(这家酒店还可以,能住,但我本希望条件能更好点。)

The job they did was adequate but nothing more.
(他们的工作表现是合格的,但没有超出预期。)

Jiaying
在上面的例句中,说话人讲到,虽然 “the hotel was adequate(酒店条件)达标”、“the job was adequate(工作表现是合格的)”,却没有超出预期,所以感到失望。形容词 “sufficient” 不能表达这个含义。

来总结一下:“enough(足够)” 可以用作限定词、副词和代词。

Phil
While 'sufficient' and 'adequate' are both adjectives.

Jiaying
“Sufficient” 和 “adequate” 只能作形容词使用,含义都是 “足够的”,但 “adequate” 可以强调 “仅仅足以达到标准或满足需要的”。

Phil
We hope that's answered your question.

Jiaying
你可以通过我们的微博账号 “BBC英语教学” 发送你的问题,也可以将问题发送至:questions.chinaelt@bbc.co.uk

Bye, everyone!

Phil
Bye!

下载

下载文字稿

下载音频

人气排行
Copyright ©