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够,enough, is a kind of adjective that can only be used as a predicate, not as a modifier. 水够了 is "The water is enough" -- here it is used as a predicate. We cannot say, however: 够水, using 够 as a modifier, like we would with another adjective: 热水 So in an English sentence that uses "enough" as a modifier, like "Be sure to bring enough water", how would you translate it?

2 Answers 2

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You can use 足够, for example, 足够的水. It can be used both predicatively and attributively.

The sentence could be translated to 一定要带足够的水。Or more naturally 记得要带足够的水. In this case, 多 can also be added, so it becomes 足够多的水; 足够 is used adverbially.

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  • In your examples it seems that 足够 is being used adjectivally rather than adverbially...Am I confused?
    – Buddy L
    Mar 3, 2022 at 23:26
  • @Buddy L In 足够的水, it’s used adjectivally, while in 足够多的水, advervially, modifying the adjective 多
    – lilysirius
    Mar 4, 2022 at 0:05
  • Of course! Thank you.
    – Buddy L
    Mar 4, 2022 at 0:06
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It's a hot summer day, you are going for a long walk over sparsely wooded tinder-dry mountain, somewhere in Spain.

Be sure to bring enough water!
确保带够水!

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  • Interesting....would 够 be considered a resultative of 带 here rather than a modifier of 水?
    – Buddy L
    Mar 3, 2022 at 23:26
  • Not too familiar with Linguistese. What I can say is, 够, here representing 'enough', is a quantity or amount, presumably, but not necessarily, greater than none.
    – Pedroski
    Mar 4, 2022 at 21:28
  • It's actually an interesting distinction. If it's a rusultative of 带, then it is specifying the extent to which the water was brought. If it's a modifier of 水, then it would be describing the amount of water that was brought. I think in this case it is a resultative of 带, because if you rearranged the sentence it is much more likely that 够 will stay to the right of 带, rather than to the left of 水:水都带够了, but you would never say *够水都带了
    – Buddy L
    Mar 8, 2022 at 17:59
  • Sorry, but I don't understand what you mean by "a resultative" Do you have a definition of that? A link maybe?? Do you mean somehow the result of bringing something? In this case, the result of bringing is "have enough water" Or you mean 够 is something like "enoughly"??
    – Pedroski
    Mar 9, 2022 at 4:52
  • Resultat complements, or some people call them resultative verbs, are like complementary verbs/adjectives that goes after a main verb. In 看完书, 完 is the result. In 我吃饱了, 饱 is the result complement. A great (and concise) article: ctcfl.ox.ac.uk/Grammar%20exercises/RVC.htm
    – Buddy L
    Mar 9, 2022 at 15:33

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