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06-Oct-2004, 13:21
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| |  the part of speech of the word 'man'
Dear teachers,
As is known, 'man' can be used as a noun. However, I came across a sentence'He is not man enough'. I think the word 'man' is an adjective. But I can't prove it by consulting my dictionries which define 'man' as a noun. Could you please explain the usage if the word in the sentence is a noun?
Looking forward to hearing from you.
Thank you in advance.
Jiang |
06-Oct-2004, 13:28
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| | Re: the part of speech of the word 'man'
Quote: |
Originally Posted by jiang Dear teachers,
As is known, 'man' can be used as a noun. However, I came across a sentence'He is not man enough'. I think the word 'man' is an adjective. But I can't prove it by consulting my dictionries which define 'man' as a noun. Could you please explain the usage if the word in the sentence is a noun?
Looking forward to hearing from you.
Thank you in advance.
Jiang | It seems to act like an adjective:
He is good enough.
He is sure enough.
He is positive enough.
He is man enough.
All the best, :D |
06-Oct-2004, 13:39
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| |
Interesting question, Jiang. I did a lot of thinking and googling without coming up with a real answer. My opinion is that 'man' remains a noun, and that the expression 'man enough' is idiomatic, meaning 'having sufficient masculine attributes', or perhaps is a shortened form of 'manly enough'.
I cannot think of another 'noun + enough' phrase, unless it is a facetious mimicry of this one ('woman enough', Yankee fan enough').
I look forward with curiosity to the posting of a definitive explanation. |
07-Oct-2004, 07:54
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| | Re: the part of speech of the word 'man'
:D
Dear Casiopea,
Thank you very much for your explanation. Now I see.
Jiang Quote: |
Originally Posted by Casiopea Quote: |
Originally Posted by jiang Dear teachers,
As is known, 'man' can be used as a noun. However, I came across a sentence'He is not man enough'. I think the word 'man' is an adjective. But I can't prove it by consulting my dictionries which define 'man' as a noun. Could you please explain the usage if the word in the sentence is a noun?
Looking forward to hearing from you.
Thank you in advance.
Jiang | It seems to act like an adjective:
He is good enough.
He is sure enough.
He is positive enough.
He is man enough.
All the best, :D | |
07-Oct-2004, 08:10
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| |
:)
Thank you very much for your response. I asked the question because there are no other examples of 'noun+enough'.
Jiang Quote: |
Originally Posted by Mister Micawber Interesting question, Jiang. I did a lot of thinking and googling without coming up with a real answer. My opinion is that 'man' remains a noun, and that the expression 'man enough' is idiomatic, meaning 'having sufficient masculine attributes', or perhaps is a shortened form of 'manly enough'.
I cannot think of another 'noun + enough' phrase, unless it is a facetious mimicry of this one ('woman enough', Yankee fan enough').
I look forward with curiosity to the posting of a definitive explanation. | | | Thread Tools | | | | Display Modes |  Linear Mode | 
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