nog...för att

Enough...to

Level 4

Use nog...för att to say something is 'adjective/adverb enough to do something'.

How It Works

The nog...för att construction is used to express sufficiency. A useful common pattern is:

[Adjective/Adverb] + nog + för att + [Infinitive Verb / Subclause]

This structure indicates that the degree of the adjective or adverb is sufficient to allow for a certain action or result. För att can be followed by either an infinitive verb or a full subclause (a clause with its own subject and verb).

  • Followed by an infinitive: The infinitive has no expressed subject. Its understood actor can be the main subject, but does not have to be: in Kaffet är varmt nog för att dricka, someone drinks the coffee; the coffee is not the drinker.
    Han är stark nog för att lyfta den tunga stenen. (He is strong enough to lift the heavy stone.)
  • Followed by a subclause: A finite subordinate clause expresses its own subject, so it can identify a different participant explicitly.
    Hon talar tydligt nog för att alla ska förstå. (She speaks clearly enough for everyone to understand.) Here, 'she' speaks, but 'everyone' understands.

Compare this sufficiency pattern with för...för att, which means 'too...to'.

Compare:
Vattnet är varmt nog för att bada. (The water is warm enough to swim.)
Vattnet är för kallt för att bada. (The water is too cold to swim.)

It's important to remember that nog as a standalone particle usually means 'probably' or 'I suppose'. The context and the för att clause make the 'enough' meaning clear.

Accepted Alternatives
Det är ljust nog att läsa and Det är ljust nog för att läsa are both grammatical. För is not obligatory before every infinitive complement of degree nog. Nor is nog before an adjective automatically wrong: Man kan aldrig vara nog försiktig means one can never be careful enough. After the adjective is a useful neutral choice in predicative phrases. Compare also sentence-particle nog in Han är nog stark, usually “He is probably strong”; context and stress help distinguish the meanings.

Examples (5)

  1. Är du gammal nog för att köra bil?

    Are you old enough to drive a car?

    Word by Word: Are you old enough for to drive car?

  2. Hon talar tydligt nog för att alla ska förstå.

    She speaks clearly enough for everyone to understand.

    Word by Word: She speaks clearly enough for that everyone shall understand.

    The finite clause alla ska förstå explicitly names the people who understand. Its subject is different from hon, the person speaking.

  3. Kaffet är varmt nog för att dricka nu.

    The coffee is hot enough to drink now.

    Word by Word: The coffee is hot enough for to drink now.

    The coffee is the understood object of drinking. The infinitive does not require the main-clause subject to perform the action.

  4. Vi har inte tid nog för att se hela filmen.

    We don't have enough time to see the whole movie.

    Word by Word: We have not time enough for to see the whole movie.

    Note that nog can also follow a noun, like tid nog (time enough) or pengar nog (money enough).

  5. Han sprang inte snabbt nog för att vinna loppet.

    He didn't run fast enough to win the race.

    Word by Word: He ran not fast enough for to win the race.

Common Mistakes

  • Putting a present-tense form after the infinitive marker.

    Han är stark nog för att lyfter lådan.
    Han är stark nog för att lyfta lådan.

    Use infinitive lyfta after infinitive att. A finite subordinate clause would need its own structure, such as för att han ska kunna lyfta lådan.

How It Connects

Tap a pattern to see what it builds on and what it leads to.

nog...för attLevel 4Enough...to

Learn This First

To learn 'nog...för att' (enough...to), you need to understand how to use the infinitive marker 'att' and the purpose construction 'för att'. Additionally, since 'nog' often modifies adjectives, you should be comfortable with basic adjective agreement.

Words in This Pattern

nog