Grammar Time: Too Very Enough

Let’s learn how to use too very enough. Study the rule.

Exam in Mind Level A2

Very and Too + adjective

Very + adjective – Very has a positive or a negative meaning
Too + adjective – Too has a negative meaning; Too implies a negative result.

Compare: 

The exam is very difficult, but Jim can complete it.
The exam is too difficult. Jim can’t complete it.

Very difficult = it is difficult but possible for Jim to complete the exam.
Too difficult = It is impossible for Jim to complete the exam.

The coffee is very hot but I can drink it. (= hot, but possible to drink)
The coffee is too hot. I can’t drink it. (= not possible to drink)

Too and Enough

Too and enough indicate degree. They modify adjectives, adverbs and nouns. Too means more than what is needed. Enough means sufficient.

  • He is too old to play football with the kids.
  • Dave is intelligent enough to do the right thing.
  • You’re not working fast enough
  • I don’t have enough time.
  • He has too many friends.
  • She has got too much patience.

Too comes before adjectives and adverbs:

TOO + ADJECTIVES   or   TOO + ADVERBS

  • It’s too hot to wear that coat.
  • I was driving too fast.

Too may also come before nouns when it is used with the expressions too much and too many.

Too much is used before uncountable nouns.

TOO MUCH + UNCOUNTABLE NOUNS

  • There is too much salt in this food.
  • There is too much water in the bucket.

Too many is used before countable nouns.

TOO MANY + COUNTABLE NOUNS

  • There are too many students in this classroom.
  • There are too many cars in the street.

Too + adjective + infinitive

  • Alex was too short to play basketball.
  • We are too tired to go to the gym.
  • Mary was too ill to finish her food.

Too + adjective + for (someone) + infinitive

  • Valparaiso is too far for me to walk.
  • It is too late for me to go out.
  • The soup is too cold for Tim to eat.
  • The price of the ticket is too expensive for Mike to fly to Europe.

Enough = sufficient

Enough comes after adjectives and adverbs:

ADJECTIVE + ENOUGH   or   ADVERB + ENOUGH

  • He isn’t old enough to watch this program.
  • We’re not walking quickly enough.

Enough may also precede nouns:

ENOUGH + NOUN

  • We have enough money .
  • I have not got enough money to buy this computer.
  • There was enough food for everybody at the party.
  • I had enough money to pay for dinner with my girlfriend.
  • Is there enough time to finish the test?

Enough + infinitive

  • When she lost her dog, it was enough to make her cry.
  • He was sick enough to stay home from work today.
  • I arrived at the airport early enough to make my flight to New York.

Have Practice Use too very enough

Exercise 1. Choose very or too. 

  1. I think James is nice. Karen thinks James is nice, too. James is ___ nice.
  2. It’s cold outside. I hate it. I might become sick if I go out. It’s ___ cold outside.
  3. That box is so big. I can’t pick it up. That box is ___ big.
  4. Tony’s cat is fat. It weighs 8 kg. Tony’s cat is ___ fat.
  5. Tony’s cat is fat. It can’t run. It may not live a long time. Tony’s cat is ___ fat.

Exercise 2. Complete the sentences with too and enough.

  1. The film was ______ boring to watch so we left the cinema early.
  2. The house on the corner isn’t cheap ______ for us to buy.We will find another one.
  3. I know Sarah is very enthusiastic but she isn’t tall and talented ______ to play in the school basketball team.
  4. The soup is ______ cold to eat. Shall we heat it on the stove?
  5. I think this t-shirt is ______ big for me to wear. I would like to give it to you.
  6. He was not good ______ to play in the school band so the teacher chose another student.
  7. Some of the probems in the Maths exam were ______ difficult for me to answer so I got a bad mark.
  8. The racer couldn’t drive fast ______ to come first in the World Championship.
  9. Look! This knife is ______ blunt to chop the onions.
  10. The shopping bags were ______ heavy for the old woman so she wanted help.
  11. Toby wasn’t strong ______ to lift the desk so his friend Laura helped him carry it.
  12. These cars are ______ expensive for me to buy.Have you got cheaper ones?
  13. The weather was ______ cold to go out so the two boys stayed at home and played chess.
  14. The sea isn’t warm ______ to swim in March in Turkey.
  15. Daniel isn’t hardworking ______ to pass all his exams.

Exercise 3. Answer the questions using too.

  1. Why can’t elephants jump?
  2. Why can’t a child drive a car?
  3. Why couldn’t you solve the problem?
  4. Why couldn’t he drink the coffee?
  5. Why can’t she touch the ceiling?

Exercise 4. Complete each sentence with ‘too’ or ‘enough’ and one of theses adjectives: late, heavy, cheap, fat, short, light, good

  1. I can’t wear this skirt. It’s _______________________.
  2. Tom can’t buy this camera. It isn’t _________________________.
  3. Winnie-the-Pooh couldn’t get through the hole. He was _____________________.
  4. Let’s buy these jeans. They are ___________________.
  5. I can’t carry this suitcase. It is ___________________.
  6. Where is Mike? It is __________________.
  7. Switch on the lamp. It is not _________________.

Exercise 5. Choose the correct word.

  1. There are too much / too many hotels in the town.
  2. There are too much / too many people on the plane.
  3. They haven’t got many / enough water in the bath tab.
  4. There aren’t much / enough hotels at the seaside.
  5. I’ve got too much / too many work to do.
  6. There wasn’t many / enough rain last month.
  7. There is too much / too many salt in the soup.

Exercise 6. Complete the sentences. Use ‘too’ or ‘enough’ and the adjectives: sweet, cold, long, warm

  1. Could I have some hot water, please? The tea is ___________________.
  2. Jane, you should get a hair cut. It’s __________________
  3. You needn’t your coat today. It is ___________________.
  4. The coffee isn’t _______________. Can I have some sugar, please?

Exercise 7. Complete the sentences. Use ‘too much’ or ‘too many’.

  1. I can’t watch the film. I’ve got ______________ homework.
  2. I can’t find the pen. There are _______________ books on the desk.
  3. I didn’t enjoy the holidays. There were _______________ people there.
  4. Don’t make _______________ noise. I’ve got a headache.

Exercise 8. Complete the sentences with the words in brackets. Use ‘too’ or ‘enough’ as in the example.

Example: I can’t drink this tea. It’s … (hot). – I can’t drink this tea. It’s too hot.

  1. My father didn’t like this coffee. It was _______________ for him. (weak)
  2. I don’t like this cake. It’s ______________ for me. (dry)
  3. We need a new TV set. This one is not ______________ (good).
  4. They didn’t stay at that hotel. It wasn’t ______________________ (comfortable)
  5. Don’t go! This voyage is ______________________ (dangerous)
  6. It’s not a difficult job but it’s ______________________ (troublesome)

Exercise 9. Complete the letter. Use ‘too much’, ‘too many’ or ‘not enough’.

Hello, everybody!

I live in Istanbul. It is a beautiful city. But there are ____________ people living there. There is _________________ work for them. There is ________________ traffic. Also there are _______________ parks and children have to play in the streets.

Best wishes,

Aylin

Exercise 10. Rewrite the sentences using enough.

  1. The book was too boring to read so I stopped reading it. – The book wasn’t iteresting enough to read, so I stopped reading it. OR: The book was boring enough to stop reading it.
  2. I was too sick to go to work so I stayed at home on Monday.
  3. The room was too dark to find my pink gloves.
  4. The horse was too wild to ride so I decided not to.
  5. The weather is too cold.
  6. My teacher is too bad-tempered.
  7. His girlfriend is too old-fashioned.
  8. Her clothes are too shabby.
  9. His arms are too short.
  10. Their friends are too rich.
  11. Tom is too young to come to this class.
  12. It is too hot outside to wear a jumper.
  13. Mary is too old to come to our party.
  14. Phillip is too ill to go to work.
  15. Niki arrived too late to see the film.
  16. This lorry is too high to go under that bridge.

Exercise 11. Answer the questions using enough.

  1. Why can’t you buy a Ferrari?
  2. Why can’t Sue lift 100 kilos?
  3. Why couldn’t Sam reach the cupboard?
  4.  Why couldn’t she put on the dress?
  5. Why can’t she catch the mouse?

Exercise 12. Put the word enough in the correct place in each sentence.

  1. We don’t have time. – We don’t have enough time.
  2. There aren’t people.
  3. Do you have money?
  4. Is the music loud?
  5. There isn’t to do.
  6. She looks happy.
  7. Do you have food to eat?

Exercise 13. Circle the correct words.

  1. Try not to make too many / too much noise.
  2. I don’t like it here. There are too many / too much tourists.
  3. Wow! I’m sorry but it costs too many / too much money.
  4. Do we have enough time? There are too many / too much places to visit.
  5. There are too many / too much problems.
  6. I think there’s too many / too much rain.
  7. Come on! There really isn’t too many / too much time.

Exercise 14. Complete with too/enough+one of these words: big, busy, warm, loud, expensive, low, far

  1. Please, turn the radio down. It is too __________
  2. Can you turn up the radio, please? It isn’t  __________
  3. I don’t want to walk home. It’s  __________
  4. Don’t buy anything in that shop. It’s  __________
  5. You can’t put all your things in that bag. It  __________
  6. We didn’t go to the beach. It  __________
  7. I can’t talk to you now. I’m  __________

Exercise 15. Join these pairs of sentences using too and enough.

  1. This desk is very small. I can’t work on it. – This desk is small enough to work on it.
  2. They were too far away. Sam couldn’t see them without his glasses. – They were too far for Sam to see them without his glasses.
  3. That house is very expensive. We can’t buy it.
  4. The teacher’s voice was very low. The children couldn’t hear her.
  5. Peter walked very slowly. He didn’t get to the concert on time.
  6. This chair is old. It can’t be repaired.
  7. The blackboard was dirty; we couldn’t write the sentence.
  8. The soup is very hot. It can’t be eaten.
  9. That evening dress is very old. I can’t use it to go to that party.
  10. This game is too difficult. It can’t be understood.
  11. That boy is very young. He can’t travel alone.
  12. He’s driving very slowly. He isn’t going to win the race.
  13. My grandmother is very old. She can’t drive a car.
  14. My car is very fast. My daughter can’t drive it.
  15. The wind is very strong today. We can’t play tennis.

Exercise 16. Fill in the gaps with too very enough.

  1. This coffee is __________ hot, but I can still drink it.
  2. This coffee is __________ hot. I cannot drink it.
  3. This coffee is cold. It’s not hot ____________.
  4. Jenny is __________ young to drive. She isn’t old __________.
  5. A: This cake is __________, but it’s nice. B: No, I think it’s __________ sweet.
  6. A marathon is __________ long. Charles is __________ old to run it, but William is young __________.
  7. The suit was __________ expensive so he bought a shirt instead.
  8. It’s __________ cold outside right now but tomorrow it will be __________ cold to go outside at all.
  9. There are __________ many students for this class. The classroom is __________ small, and there aren’t __________ desks.
  10. They were __________ poor. They didn’t have __________ food to eat.

Exercise 17. Answer the following questions using too very enough.

  1. Why don’t you eat fast food three times a day?
  2. What is the weather like in Antarctica?
  3. Why don’t you buy a mansion in Hollywood?
  4. Why can’t a child drive a car?
  5. What are some good things about your city?
  6. What are some drawbacks about living in your city?

Exercise 18. Rewrite the sentences using too very enough.

  1. I’ve had so much to eat today that I couldn’t eat another bite.
  2. I can’t see anything, turn on the light.
  3. This room is hot. Maybe we should open a window.
  4. That movie was so sad. I almost cried.
  5. This curry is so spicy. I can’t eat it.

Use Too Very Enough in your own sentences.