Too and Enough: How to Use Them Correctly in English
Use 'too' to say something is more than you want or need, and place it before an adjective or adverb: "This coffee is too hot." Use 'enough' to say you have the right amount; it goes after an adjective or adverb ("She's old enough to drive") but before a noun ("We don't have enough time"). Both words often connect to a 'to' + verb phrase that explains the result or purpose. Watch the word order with 'enough' and don't mix up 'too' with 'very' — 'too good' means more than is acceptable, while 'very good' is simply a strong compliment.
Examples
- This coffee is too hot. hotter than is comfortable
- She's old enough to drive. her age is sufficient to drive
- We don't have enough time. the time is insufficient
The full lesson
Everything in the video, in text.
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Say it's too good and a native speaker hears a problem. Too isn't a stronger very — it means more than you want.
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These two tiny words let you judge amounts precisely. One says there's too much of something. The other says there's just enough. Let's lock in both.
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Position is everything. Too goes before the adjective. Enough goes after an adjective, but before a noun. Get that order wrong and it sounds off.
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Start with too. It comes right before the adjective and means it's past what's comfortable. This coffee is too hot.
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Too works with adverbs the same way — it sits in front and signals excess. You're driving too fast.
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Now enough. After an adjective it means sufficient. Notice it comes after the word, not before. She's old enough to drive.
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But before a noun, enough flips to the front. Here it measures the amount of a thing. We don't have enough time.
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Both words love to link to to plus a verb — that's how you say what the amount is for. It's too cold to swim.
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Here's the number one mistake. Don't put enough before an adjective. It's not enough warm — it's warm enough.
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And the big trap from the start: too is not very. Very good is praise. Too good means there's a problem.
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So: too before the adjective for too much, enough after the adjective but before the noun for just right. And too never means very.