ESEN
Which one to use?Beginneradverbadverbio
EnoughvsToo
"Enough" = sufficient (reaches the necessary level); "too" = excessive (exceeds what is acceptable).
Side-by-side comparison
Enough
adverb"Enough" means you have what is needed to do something. It goes after the adjective or adverb: "good enough", "fast enough". The result is possible or acceptable.
The coffee is warm enough to drink now.
Is there enough food for everyone at the party?
She is old enough to make her own decisions.
Too
adverbio"Too" indicates there is more than necessary or desirable, with a negative implication. It goes before the adjective or adverb: "too cold", "too fast". The result is a problem.
The coffee is too hot to drink. I need to wait.
It is too late to call her now. She is probably asleep.
The bag was too heavy for her to carry up the stairs alone.
Common mistake
Word order is the most common error: "the coffee is enough warm" is incorrect: "enough" always goes after the adjective: "warm enough". "Too" always goes before: "too warm". And meaning matters: "too long" = there is a problem of excess. "Long enough" = no problem.
Trick to remember it
- •"Too" = problem (excess, I cannot do something).
- •"Enough" = no problem (sufficient level).
- •Structure: "too + adjective + to + verb" (too cold to swim) / "adjective + enough + to + verb" (warm enough to swim).
- •"Enough" always follows the adjective.
Quick rule
- •"Too" + adjective (before) = there is a problem due to excess.
- •Adjective + "enough" (after) = no problem, the amount is sufficient.
Did you know?
"Enough" has one of the most unpredictable spellings in English: pronounced "i-NUF" but written with "gh" that in modern English is normally silent or sounds like /f/. In Old English it was written "genog" and pronounced with a voiced velar fricative (like the Spanish "g" in "agua"). Phonetic evolution simplified the sound but the spelling remained frozen. Other words with the same pattern: "rough", "tough", "cough", "enough", all with "gh" that sounds like /f/.
Practise what you learned
Exercise 1 · Pick the right one
This coffee is _____ hot. I burned my tongue!
Exercise 2 · Pick the right one
She is old _____ to drive. She passed her test last year.
Exercise 3 · Form the word
Related word pairs
AlmostvsNearly
'Almost' and 'nearly' both mean 'nearly', but 'almost' is more American and 'nearly' more British.
AvsAn
'A' is used before consonant sounds; 'an' is used before vowel sounds.
A lot ofvsMany
'A lot of' works for countable and uncountable; 'many' only for countable; 'much' only for uncountable.
According tovsBased on
'According to' cites an external source; 'based on' indicates the evidence behind a claim.
Bryan López
Founder of SpeakUP Academy