eng7-6.2· Unit 1· ~13 min

Too and Enough

Use too + adjective and adjective + enough before an infinitive.

Use too before an adjective when a quality is more than needed and prevents an action: 'The coffee is too hot to drink.' Use enough after an adjective when the quality reaches the needed level and allows an action: 'The coffee is warm enough to drink.' Both patterns continue with to + the base form of a verb. Compare 'He is too short to play basketball' with 'She is strong enough to lift that heavy bag.'

Key terms

too — placed before an adjective to mean more than needed for an action
enough — placed after an adjective to mean as much as needed for an action
adjective — a describing word in these patterns, such as old, hot, young or strong
infinitive — to + the base form of a verb, such as to drink or to lift
negative result — the action cannot or should not happen because the quality exceeds the useful limit
needed level — the degree of a quality that makes an action possible
Form and meaning
PatternMeaningExample
too + adjective + infinitivemore than needed; the action is preventedThe coffee is too hot to drink.
adjective + enough + infinitiveas much as needed; the action is possibleThe coffee is warm enough to drink.

The position of too or enough changes, but both patterns end with an infinitive.

Word order
StartDegree phraseAction
He istoo shortto play basketball.
She isstrong enoughto lift that heavy bag.
I amtoo oldto become a student now.
I am notyoung enoughto learn new skills.

Too comes before the adjective; enough comes after it.

✎Why 'too hot to drink' is negative
  1. 1Quality: The coffee is hot.
  2. 2Limit: Its heat is more than the drinker can accept, so put too before hot.
  3. 3Result: The coffee is too hot to drink: drinking it is not possible now.
✎Why 'warm enough to drink' shows sufficiency
  1. 1Quality: The coffee is warm.
  2. 2Needed level: Its warmth is at a suitable level, so put enough after warm.
  3. 3Result: The coffee is warm enough to drink: drinking it is possible.
🚫Position

Write 'young enough', not 'enough young'. Enough follows the adjective.

⚠️Meaning of too

Too does not only make an adjective stronger. It says the degree is more than needed and creates a negative result.

💡Finish the pattern

Use to + base verb after the adjective phrase: too tired to study; brave enough to start.

Rules

  1. 1Too + adjective + to + base verb means that the quality is more than needed, with a negative result.
  2. 2Adjective + enough + to + base verb means that the quality reaches the level needed for the action.
  3. 3Put too before the adjective: too old, too hot, too short.
  4. 4Put enough after the adjective: young enough, warm enough, strong enough.
  5. 5After too + adjective or adjective + enough, use the infinitive: to become, to drink, to lift.

Practice

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