一位姓邊的網友來信詢問 “adequate、enough” 和 “sufficient” 的區別。這三個詞的意思都和 “足夠” 有關,但它們的詞性和實際的用法不同。其中,“adequate” 和 “sufficient” 均為形容詞,表示 “足夠的”;“adequate” 強調 “(質量、水平、標準)剛夠好”;“enough” 則可以作限定詞、副詞和代詞使用。聽 “你問我答” 節目,學習區分這三個詞。
歡迎你加入并和我們一起討論英語學習的方方面面。請通過微博 “BBC英語教學” 或郵件與我們取得聯系。我們的郵箱地址是 questions.chinaelt@bbc.co.uk
(關于臺詞的備注: 請注意這不是廣播節目的逐字稿件。本文稿可能沒有體現錄制、編輯過程中對節目做出的改變。)
Phil
Hi, and welcome to Question and Answer of the Week. I'm Phil.
Jiaying
And I'm Jiaying. 本期 “你問我答” 節目的問題來自一位姓邊的網友,問題由我來代讀:
Question
求回答,“adequate、enough” 和 “sufficient” 的區別是什么?
Phil
A great question – we've got three words that are very similar – but there are some differences.
Jiaying
下面,我們就來看一看這三個詞之間有什么不同。
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
先說一說 “enough”。“Enough” 是三個詞當中最常用的一個,作限定詞時,它的意思是 “充足,足夠”。聽兩個例句。
Examples
That's enough food – don't give me any more!
(我的飯已經夠了,別再給我盛了!)
Sorry, I don't have enough money.
(抱歉,我的錢不夠。)
Jiaying
這兩個例句都在談論事物的量 “夠不夠”。在第一個句子中,說話人已經有 “enough food(足量的飯菜)”,所以不需要更多。第二句話是否定句,說話人 “don't have enough money(沒有足夠多的錢)”。兩句話中的 “enough” 都是限定詞。
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,在上面的兩句話中,我們可以用 “sufficient” 替換 “enough”,句意相同。一般用形容詞 “sufficient” 的句子更正式。聽兩個使用了 “sufficient” 的例句。
Examples
We have sufficient time for this – we won't need any more!
(我們有足夠的時間來做這件事情,不需要更多時間了!)
Sorry, there isn't sufficient money in the budget.
(抱歉,預算的錢不夠。)
Jiaying
在上面的兩句話中,形容詞 “sufficient” 與前面講過的 “enough” 的含義相同,都表示 “足夠的”,但兩者的詞性和用法不同。
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
沒錯,除了作限定詞以外,“enough” 還可以作副詞使用,表示 “足夠地”,但 “sufficient” 卻只能作形容詞使用。聽兩個使用了副詞 “enough” 的例句。
Examples
You need to do well enough to pass the exam.
(你需要發揮得夠好才能通過考試。)
I think I've studied enough – I should be OK!
(我想我已經學得夠多了。我應該會考好的!)
Jiaying
在第一個例句中,“well enough” 補充說明在考試中的表現 “夠好”。在第二個例句中,“studied enough” 說明 “學得夠多了”。我們不能用形容詞 “sufficient” 來替換兩句話中的副詞 “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!
(如果你想多干點活兒,我可以分你一些!)
B: I've got enough, thank you. I'm really busy!
(我的活兒夠多了,謝謝你。我真的很忙!)
Jiaying
對話中的男士說:“I've got enough(我的活兒夠多了)”,省略了名詞 “work”,因為我們已知兩人正在討論 “工作”。這里的 “enough” 是代詞。
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” 是形容詞,所以可以與冠詞和名詞一同使用。下面來看看只能用 “sufficient”,不能用 “enough” 的情況。先聽兩個例句。
Examples
I don't have a sufficient understanding of this subject.
(我對這門學科沒有足夠的了解。)
You need to turn the handle at a sufficient speed to make it work.
(你需要以足夠快的速度轉動手柄才能使其工作。)
Jiaying
由于 “enough” 作限定詞時,不能與冠詞同用,所以不適用于上面的兩個例句。
接著,我們講一講問題中的第三個詞 “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” 都是形容詞,所以從語法上來看,它們和 “enough” 都不同。還有,“adequate” 和 “sufficient” 都可以用來談論 “(質量)夠好”,而 “enough” 在單獨使用時,只能談論 “(數量)夠多”。另外,“adequate” 強調 “水平、標準或質量合乎需要的”。聽兩個例句。
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.
(這個房間的標準應該能滿足你的需要。)
Jiaying
在第一個例句中,形容詞 “adequate” 表示 “(工作水平是)合格的”。在第二個例句中,形容詞 “adequate” 表示 “(房間標準是)足夠好的,合乎需要的”。
這兩個例子中的形容詞 “adequate” 都可以用 “sufficient” 或搭配 “good enough” 替換,但不能僅用 “enough” 替換。
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,形容詞 “adequate” 表示 “only just good enough(剛剛夠好)”,強調 “僅僅足以達到標準而已”,所以可能帶有負面色彩。來聽兩個例句。
Examples
The hotel was adequate, I suppose – but I was expecting something a bit better.
(這家酒店還可以,能住,但我本希望條件能更好點。)
The job they did was adequate but nothing more.
(他們的工作表現是合格的,但沒有超出預期。)
Jiaying
在上面的例句中,說話人講到,雖然 “the hotel was adequate(酒店條件)達標”、“the job was adequate(工作表現是合格的)”,卻沒有超出預期,所以感到失望。形容詞 “sufficient” 不能表達這個含義。
來總結一下:“enough(足夠)” 可以用作限定詞、副詞和代詞。
Phil
While 'sufficient' and 'adequate' are both adjectives.
Jiaying
“Sufficient” 和 “adequate” 只能作形容詞使用,含義都是 “足夠的”,但 “adequate” 可以強調 “僅僅足以達到標準或滿足需要的”。
Phil
We hope that's answered your question.
Jiaying
你可以通過我們的微博賬號 “BBC英語教學” 發送你的問題,也可以將問題發送至:questions.chinaelt@bbc.co.uk
Bye, everyone!
Phil
Bye!