Too and Enough: Say What Needs to Change
Too means more than a useful limit; enough means sufficient for a purpose. Use too before an adjective or adverb, enough after an adjective or adverb, and enough before a noun.
Created by Denis M., British English teacher.
Your goal: Use too and enough with adjectives, adverbs and nouns to judge whether something suits a purpose, then suggest a useful change.
Read each explanation, listen to a model and respond aloud at each You say pause. Reveal the model after your attempt, check one point and try again. Finish with the mastery quiz and your own short response.
Keep the learner’s speaking time at each You say pause. Use the brief follow-up, focus feedback on one point and move on. Use the final task to check transfer into the learner’s own words.
Choose your listening model
Listen and say what is excessive or sufficient. Then change one detail to describe a real situation.
These matched British and American examples use the same grammar. Notice the position of enough and the phrases that explain the purpose or problem.
British English · Libby
Download British MP3American English · Amanda
Download American MP31. Compare with a purpose or limit
Very describes a high degree. Too says that a degree or amount goes beyond a useful or acceptable limit. Enough says that the needed level has been reached.
Very heavy
The bag has a lot of weight. This sentence alone does not tell us whether you can carry it.
Too heavy to carry
The weight is beyond the limit for carrying it in this situation. There is a practical problem.
Light enough to carry
The bag meets the needed condition. Carrying it is possible in this situation.
The standard depends on the purpose and person. A room might be big enough for four people but too small for twenty. Make the purpose clear when your listener needs it.
Enough does not mean excellent. Good enough means that something meets the relevant standard. It may be excellent, ordinary or just acceptable; the phrase alone does not decide.
Beyond a useful limit
This bag is too heavy for me to carry.
Sufficient for a purpose
This bag is light enough for me to carry.
2. Put the words in the right place
| What follows or comes before? | Too | Enough |
|---|---|---|
| Adjective | too heavy; too small | light enough; big enough |
| Adverb | too quickly; too slowly | quickly enough; slowly enough |
| Plural countable noun | too many chairs | enough chairs |
| Uncountable noun | too much noise | enough time |
Put too before an adjective or adverb. Put enough after an adjective or adverb, but before a noun. Say clear enough, clearly enough and enough information.
Not enough means that the required level has not been reached: We do not have enough chairs. Keep the same position when negating an adjective: The room is not big enough.
Enough can stand alone
When the noun is already clear, you can omit it: “Do we have enough chairs?” “Yes, we have enough.” It still means a sufficient quantity.
Enough before a noun
We have enough chairs for everyone.
Too many with countable nouns
There are too many people in this room.
Too much with uncountable nouns
There is too much noise to hear the speaker clearly.
Enough after an adverb
He spoke slowly enough for us to follow.
3. Explain the problem, then suggest a change
Add to + verb to explain an action: too heavy to carry; light enough to carry. Add for + person when the person matters: too heavy for me to carry.
In This bag is too heavy for me to carry, the bag is already the thing being carried. Do not add a second object at the end: avoid too heavy for me to carry it in this pattern.
Name the problem
“There are too many people for this room.”
State the need
“We need a room that is big enough for everyone.”
Offer a change
“Let’s move upstairs or divide the group.”
You can sometimes express a similar practical problem with opposite adjectives: too small and not big enough. Check the actual meaning rather than swapping the words mechanically. Too expensive means above an acceptable price; not expensive enough means below a required price or impression.
B2 challenge: enough big boxes or big enough boxes?
“We do not have enough big boxes” concerns the number of big boxes. “Our boxes are not big enough” concerns their size. First decide what needs to change: quantity or a quality.
Repair and explain
Try each repair aloud or in writing before revealing the answer.
Repair: “This room is enough big for the group.”
Check the repair
This room is big enough for the group.
Enough follows the adjective big.
Repair: “There is too many information on this slide.”
Check the repair
There is too much information on this slide.
Information is uncountable, so use much rather than many.
Repair this pattern: “The box is too heavy for me to lift it.”
Check the repair
The box is too heavy for me to lift.
The box is already the understood object of lift in this too + adjective + for + person + to pattern.
Mastery quiz
Open the ten-question mastery quiz
Choose one answer for each question, then check your answers. Read the explanations and retry any you missed. Opening and closing this panel keeps your answers on this page.
Answer key and explanations
- It exceeds a useful limit for a day trip The duration is more than is suitable for this purpose.
- It describes a high degree without automatically meaning excessive Very heavy could describe a bag that a strong person can still carry.
- clear enough Use adjective + enough.
- enough Enough comes directly before time, an uncountable noun.
- too many Use too many with a plural countable noun.
- She explained clearly enough. Adverb + enough is the correct order.
- to reach Too high for me to reach completes the pattern without a duplicate object.
- It is not big enough for eight people Both describe insufficient space for that group.
- How many big boxes are available The problem is the number of big boxes.
- Meeting the relevant standard It means sufficient for the relevant purpose or standard.
Put it into practice
Compare two options for a meeting, journey or purchase. Explain one problem with the first option using too, and why the second is suitable using enough. Add a noun quantity and a practical recommendation.
Self-check: Have you made the purpose clear? Check word order and countable versus uncountable nouns. If you use a to-infinitive, avoid a duplicate object in the target pattern.
Compare with one possible response
The café is too noisy for us to discuss the project. The library room is quiet enough, and it has enough chairs for our group. It is not big enough for a large event, but it is good enough for six people. Let’s book it for an hour.
Next time: return to one point you missed and make a fresh example before replaying a model.