Too and Enough - English Grammar (2024)

Too and Enough - English Grammar (1)

  • Updated 13 October, 2023

Forming sentences with Too and Enough

too + adjective/adverb
too much/many + noun
too much/many + of + pronoun/determiner

adjective/adverb + enough
enough + noun
enough + of + pronoun/determiner

Meaning

  1. Too is used to mean more than sufficient or more/less than necessary.
    • It’s too late to stop him.
    • Jerry was too young to watch the movie.
    • There are too many people on this train, there’s nowhere to sit.
    • You have too much money, give some to me.
    • You’ve eaten too many of those cakes.
  2. Enough is used to mean sufficient
    • Your clothes are big enough to fit me.
    • You’ve done enough work. You can stop now.
    • Have you got enough money to buy me a drink?
  3. Enough is used in negative sentences to mean less than sufficient or less than necessary.
    • You’re not working fast enough, you won’t finish on time.
    • Sorry, I haven’t got enough food for everyone.
    • Not enough of my friends are coming to the party.

Additional points

  1. Enough can be used without a noun if the meaning is clear.
    • There’s a lot of food but not enough for everyone.
  2. Enough can be replaced with the before a noun.
    • I don’t have the money to go on holiday.
    • His company doesn’t have the resources to do the job.
  3. Time or room can be used alone to mean enough time or enough room.
    • Is there room in your car for one more person?
    • Do we have time for a coffee?

Related grammar points

Comparative adjectives

Too and enough worksheetsDownload our free PDF grammar worksheets, games and activities to use in the classroom.

Too and Enough - English Grammar (2)

Comments

  1. I usually ask a student to stand up and try to reach the ceiling. After the others see that it is not possible, I ask “why can’t he do it?” If they don’t give me the correct structure, I tell them that “he/she isn’t tall enough” and that “he/she is too short”…

    Reply

    • That’s helpful and interesting

      Reply

  2. Find pictures, for example of a small girl standing next to a bicycle (adult) and say:

    “What’s the problem? Why can’t she ride the bike?”

    The students should come up with: “It’s too big or she’s too small”

    Reply

  3. I think the best way to teach this lesson is by using visual aids and pictures. For example, you could show 3 cups of water. One with a little water at the bottom, one full of water and one with water overflowing… students should reach the meaning on their own.

    Reply

  4. ok i get this, how can we use too and enough in interrogative sentence

    Reply

  5. We can choose 2 students, 1 taller than 2 and ask them to touch the bulb. Then ask them to make different sentences with too and enough.

    Reply

  6. I would like to say thank you

    Reply

  7. Thanks

    Reply

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Too and Enough - English Grammar (2024)

FAQs

Too and Enough - English Grammar? ›

Too and enough can modify both nouns, adjectives, and adverbs. Too indicates that there is too much of a quality, or too much or too many of some object. Enough means that there is no need for more of a quality or object.

What are the rules for using enough? ›

We normally only use enough of when it is followed by a determiner or a pronoun (a/an/the, this/that, my/your/his, you/them, etc.). There isn't enough of that bread to make sandwiches for everyone. I've seen enough of his work to be able to recommend him. There's enough of us to make a difference.

How to teach too and enough to kids? ›

Use too for negative situations and enough for positive ones. Too comes before the adjective or adverb it's describing, while enough comes after the adjective or adverb. Enough comes before a noun, whereas too is never used before a noun.

How to use too enough such in sentences? ›

We use so, such, enough and too to indicate degree. So and such give emphasis and mean 'very'. Too means more than necessary, and enough indicates the right amount of something. It's so cold today!

What's the difference between too and enough? ›

The word too means more than sufficient or more or less than necessary. For example, “It's s too late to stop him”. However, enough is used to mean sufficient which can be stated by the example “Your clothes are big enough to fit me”.

What is the rule for using too? ›

“Too” is an adverb. It can be used to replace words such as “excessively”, “additionally”, “as well” or “also”. “To”, on the other hand, is a versatile preposition that can be used in various situations and contexts. It's used to indicate a direction, like “toward” and “*ntil”.

What is an example sentence for enough is enough? ›

I have to say firmly that enough is enough. After seven years of membership, enough is enough. What emergency measures does he have to prevent the prison officers and the prisoners deciding to say, as they will soon, enough is enough? They are all saying the same thing: enough is enough.

How do you use enough in English sentence? ›

Examples of enough in a Sentence

Adverb I couldn't run fast enough to catch up with her. She's old enough to know better. Are you rich enough to retire? That's good enough for me.

How do you use too much too many and enough? ›

We use too many before countable nouns and too much before uncountable nouns. There are too many shops here - we can't go to them all. I did too much shopping yesterday - I haven't got any money now. We use enough + noun to say 'all that is necessary'.

What is an example of too and not enough? ›

Using not adjective enough

All we have to do is use the opposite adjective: big - small. Let's look at some other examples: 'My coffee is too cold (to drink)' becomes 'my coffee is not hot enough'. 'The test was too difficult' becomes 'the test was not easy enough'.

Can we use enough in a positive sentence? ›

Enough can be used as a quantifier when it is placed before any noun, to indicate the quantity required or necessary. It can be used in both affirmative and negative sentences.

Is it rich enough or enough rich? ›

Money is a noun, so it comes after enough. 2. "I will never be rich enough." Rich is an adjective so it comes before enough.

Can you start a sentence with too? ›

“Too” is sometimes used as a conjunctive adverb to introduce a sentence. If you use “too” in this way, it needs to be followed by a comma, just like other introductory words (e.g., “however“).

Is too much proper grammar? ›

Only 'too much' is correct and can be used. 'To much' is a case of misspelling and 'too much' is the correct spelling of this phrase.

How to use too to in a sentence? ›

too…to
  1. He was too nervous to perform well on the stage. => He was very nervous. He could not perform well on the stage.
  2. I was too busy to talk to her. => I was very busy. I could not talk to her.
  3. The task was too difficult to do without help. => The task was very difficult. ...
  4. It was too hot to go out. => It was very hot.

Where to place too in a sentence? ›

In most contexts, you don't need a comma before “too.” For example, “too” commonly appears between the subject and the verb or at the end of a sentence.

What is the rule of adverb too? ›

' 'Too' is used before adjectives or adverbs in negative statements and means 'to a high degree or extent, very or extremely. ' It is used to show that the speaker is cautious or polite.

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