A few weeks ago, I blogged about So, Such & Too. I mentioned that these commonly confused words often trip students up because they have similar meanings and grammatical functions. Two other words that students have trouble keeping straight are too and enough. While their meanings are basically the opposite of each other, these two terms have similar grammatical functions. However, teaching students the different sentence patterns helps to minimize the confusion!
Too
| Patterns: |
|
|---|---|
| Meaning: | Too has the meaning of very or a lot, and it is usually used for negative cases. Too means that something is incomplete or unable to be completed (it basically means can’t). |
| Function: | This adverb comes before the adjective or adverb it’s describing. |
| Examples: |
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Note
The pattern too + Adj/Adv is often followed by an infinitive verb (to + base V).
Enough
| Patterns: |
|
|---|---|
| Meaning: | Enough has the meaning of completion or satisfaction, and it is usually used for positive cases. Enough refers to the correct amount of something. |
| Function: | When functioning as an adverb, enough comes after the adjective or adverb it’s describing. When functioning as an adjective, it comes before a noun. |
| Examples: |
|
Note
The patterns Adj/Adv + enough and enough + N are often followed by for + N or an infinitive verb (to + base V).
Summary
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.
I hope that was clear enough,
Tanya
