Too & Enough

Level A2 · Adjectives & Adverbs

too and enough judge an amount against what is needed: too = more than is good or acceptable (a problem), enough = as much as is needed (sufficient). This coffee is too hot means you can't drink it; This coffee is hot enough means it's exactly as hot as you want. too is not a stronger very — very hot is just a description, too hot always means something is wrong.

The two words sit in different positions, and that position is fixed:

• too goes before an adjective or adverb: too expensive, too quickly, too tired.
• enough goes after an adjective or adverb: warm enough, fast enough (never enough warm).
• enough goes before a noun: enough money, enough time, enough chairs.
• too much + uncountable noun, too many + countable noun: too much noise, too many people.

Both words can link to a follow-up action with to + infinitive, and optionally for + person: The box is too heavy to carry; She's old enough to vote; The coffee is too hot for me to drink. Note that the sentence stays positive in form even though too implies a negative result — too heavy to carry means it can't be carried.

The most common mistake is putting enough before the adjective, where most other languages put their equivalent word: enough warm and enough fast are wrong — with adjectives and adverbs, enough always follows: warm enough, fast enough. (Before nouns it does come first: enough money.) A second frequent error: using too as if it were very — I'm too happy to see you sounds like a problem; if you just mean 'very', say I'm very happy to see you.

Look for too + adjective/adverb signalling a problem or excess, adjective + enough or enough + noun signalling sufficiency, too much/too many marking excess quantities, and a following to + infinitive (often with for + person) spelling out the consequence.

Practice

Position of Too & Enough · Too/Enough + Infinitive & Mixed Practice