too and enough
Apprentissage rapide
Too and enough measure qualities and quantities against a requirement, showing excess or sufficiency.
À retenir
- Too comes before adjectives and adverbs to express negative excess: the water is too cold to drink.
- Enough comes after adjectives and adverbs to express sufficiency: he is strong enough to lift the box.
- Enough comes before nouns: we have enough time, there are enough chairs for everyone.
Exemples
- 1The morning coffee was too hot to drink immediately, so I waited five minutes.
- 2David is strong enough to carry those heavy cardboard boxes up the stairs.
Piège courant à éviter
Never place enough before an adjective: say warm enough and fast enough, never enough warm or enough fast.
Approfondir
La règle
Measuring against a need
Too and Enough are modifiers used to evaluate qualities and quantities against a specific requirement, norm, or expectation.
Too
(1) TOO expresses excess with an intrinsically negative or restrictive implication (meaning "more than is desirable, acceptable, or possible"): Formula 1: Too + Adjective / Adverb.
- The coffee is too hot to drink
- He was driving too fast
Formula 2: Too much + Uncountable Noun.
- There is too much sugar in this dessert
Formula 3: Too many + Plural Countable Noun.
- There are too many cars parked on this narrow street
Enough
(2) ENOUGH expresses sufficiency with an intrinsically positive or satisfactory implication (meaning "as much or as many as is needed"): Formula 1: Adjective / Adverb + ENOUGH (Note the post-position: enough always follows the adjective or adverb):
- The room is warm enough
- She ran fast enough to catch the bus
Formula 2: ENOUGH + Countable or Uncountable Noun (Note the pre-position: enough precedes the noun):
- Do we have enough chairs for the guests?
- There is enough fresh water for everyone
With to + verb
The To-Infinitive Complement: Both too and enough frequently combine with to + base verb to show whether an action is possible:
- He is old enough to drive a car
- The suitcase is too heavy to carry
Anatomie de la phrase
Des phrases de cette leçon, découpées dans l'ordre qu'exige l'anglais.
SujetDavidVerbeisAttributstrong enoughPropositionto carry those heavy cardboard boxes up the stairs.
SujetThe historical museum entrance feeVerbeisAttributtoo expensiveAttributfor a large family group.
SujetHeVerbewasn'tAttributbrave enoughPropositionto jump off the high diving board into the swimming pool.
Guide visuel
How to read this B1 topic
At B1, grammar links ideas: condition, result, reported meaning, experience, and narrative order.
1. Name the relationship
Ask whether the sentence gives a condition, contrast, cause, report, or result.
If it rains, we will stay home.
2. Separate time from aspect
Finished event, visible result, duration, and background action use different forms.
I had left before she arrived.
3. Test both clauses
In complex sentences, the second half often proves the first half.
I wish I knew.
Decision path before answering
Use these checks before choosing between close options.
- 1Mark the subject, main verb, object, and any connector.
- 2Underline the time expression or discourse clue.
- 3Reject any option with the wrong agreement, tense, article, pronoun case, or word order.
- 4Read the whole sentence once more for naturalness and register.
Contrasts that often decide the answer
Event or background
Simple forms move events forward; continuous forms show an action in progress.
I left while she was talking.
Fact or stance
Modals, hedges, and reporting structures show how certain or responsible the speaker sounds.
This may indicate a problem.
Clause or compressed phrase
Advanced writing often compresses full clauses into participle, noun, or prepositional phrases.
Having reviewed the data, we revised the plan.
Exemples
- 1The morning coffee was too hot to drink immediately, so I waited five minutes.
- 2David is strong enough to carry those heavy cardboard boxes up the stairs.
- 3There are too many passenger vehicles trying to cross the narrow old bridge.
- 4Do we have enough fresh vegetables in the refrigerator to cook dinner tonight?
- 5She spoke quietly enough so that she did not wake the sleeping baby in the cot.
- 6The historical museum entrance fee is too expensive for a large family group.
- 7Is the conference room large enough to accommodate sixty attendees comfortably?
- 8You have spent too much time playing video games instead of studying for tests.
- 9He wasn't brave enough to jump off the high diving board into the swimming pool.
- 10There were not enough clean glasses on the table for all of the dinner guests.
Exceptions
Position of Enough: The most vital rule to memorize is word order: Adjective / Adverb + Enough ("warm enough"), but Enough + Noun ("enough warmth", "enough money"). Negative with Enough: Not enough means insufficient or lacking: "The soup is not hot enough" (= it is too cold). Too with For + Object: To specify who experiences the excess, insert for + person: "The jacket is too small for me to wear."
Erreurs fréquentes
Pre-posing enough before an adjective
Erreur
The tea is enough hot.
Correct
The tea is hot enough.
Enough follows adjectives and adverbs.
Confusing too and very
Erreur
I am too happy to see you!
Correct
I am very happy to see you!
Implies excessive to the point of a negative result. Very strengthens without negative consequence.
Confusing too much and too many
Erreur
too much problems
Correct
too many problems
Récap
L'essentiel de la leçon sur une carte, avant de te tester.
À retenir
- Too comes before adjectives and adverbs to express negative excess: the water is too cold to drink.
- Enough comes after adjectives and adverbs to express sufficiency: he is strong enough to lift the box.
- Enough comes before nouns: we have enough time, there are enough chairs for everyone.
Erreurs fréquentes
Erreur: The tea is enough hot.
Correct: The tea is hot enough.Erreur: I am too happy to see you!
Correct: I am very happy to see you!Erreur: too much problems
Correct: too many problems
Teste-toi
Write two sentences with too, two with adjective plus enough, and two with enough plus a noun, then practise.
Points de grammaire associés
Poursuivez votre apprentissage avec d'autres notions de ce niveau.