Argthtjtr

When should I put "amount of" after "sufficient" or "adequate"?

I have found a mix of both and I couldn't figure out a pattern or logic in the usage.

1. Many villagers had also felt that the proposal did not offer adequate parking.




2. These boys are not brought up with an adequate amount of respect for the opposite sex.




3. Allocation of adequate resources for research in these fields is highly desirable.




4. If I had not had sufficient cash on me I would have had to find my own way to the nearest cash machine.




5. Therefore, if a sufficient amount of fiat money is supplied, the fixed asset (land) need not play the role of commodity money in the equilibrium.




6. This means that by employing only a user corpus, we cannot obtain a sufficient amount of data to construct a good language model.




7. If not all, then a sufficient amount of material could be made available.




8. They are assumed to save during working periods to ensure they have sufficient income when not working.




9. One of the major stumbling blocks may be the availability of sufficient capital to fund the company's start up operations.

https://dictionary.cambridge.org/example/english/sufficient-amount

https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/sufficient

https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/adequate

so let say we talk about water, then which one of the followings is right?

i. During summer, make sure you drink enough water.

ii. During summer, make sure you drink adequate amount of water.

iii. During summer, make sure you drink sufficient amount of water.

I can't agree with Kris and Poetically Psychotic that "amount of" is superfluous in all cases.

sufficient means as much as is needed for a particular purpose, so "sufficient water" and "a sufficient amount of water" do actually mean the same.

But adequate has two definitions: enough in quantity or of a good enough quality for a particular purpose. So, in theory, "adequate water" could equally mean "water of a good enough quality" (say, potable water as opposed to process water). Arguably, "drink good enough water" is a less likely thing to say than "drink enough water". But I'd still go with "an adequate amount of water", as --to me-- it also sounds more natural.

I think it comes down to a combination of formality and flow. Adding "amount of" makes the phrase slightly more informal, but the difference is subtle enough that much of the time the speaker or writer will choose to include it or not based on which way they feel will make the sentence flow better. Ultimately, either would be correct in any context I can think of.