Can you say "superb enough"?

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hardworker
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Can you say "superb enough"?

Post by hardworker »

superb means extremely good. Normally, you can say something like:

(1) Your skills are enough or good enough or strong enough to solve this difficult math problem.

I would like to make up a sentence with 'superb'.

(2) Your skills are superb enough to solve this difficult math problem.

Is it correct to say "superb enough"? Thanks a lot.
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Joe
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Re: Can you say "superb enough"?

Post by Joe »

You are right to be doubtful. The word "superb" is a non-gradable adjective and normally it doesn't make sense to say "superb enough", but you could say it if you deliberately intend to be funny or perhaps sarcastic. However, I wouldn't use it in an exam setting, and I would only use it if you know exactly what you're doing. This kind of thing (when spoken) is heavily influenced by tone of voice and pronunciation.
"We are not wholly bad or good, who live our lives under Milk Wood :-| " — Dylan Thomas, Under Milk Wood

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StevenMorris
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Re: Can you say "superb enough"?

Post by StevenMorris »

"Superb" is what we call a superlative. Like "best", this is as good as it gets. There isn't any room for it to mean less than the best.

Good, better, best.

"Good" is a simple indication of something being positive. As Josef says, it is "non-gradable". We can qualify it like this, "pretty good", "rather good", very good", "not so good", not very good", "not good enough".

"Better" is a comparative term. This thing is better than that thing. We cannot grade it. We cannot say, "more better", "less better", "not better enough".

"Best" is a superlative. Like "better", it is also comparative, but "best" means "better than everything else". In the same way as "better", it is not gradable.

"Superb" is similar to "better". It is a superlative and means, "of the highest quality". High-higher-highest... same pattern.
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Tukanja
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Re: Can you say "superb enough"?

Post by Tukanja »

From point of gradability "huge" is a similar adjective, "huge enough" isn't possible.
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