Blog about English
Expressing sufficiency and excess.
Enough expresses sufficiency, while too expresses excess.
Both are used to describe whether an amount, degree or quantity is appropriate.
Enough is used before both countable and uncountable nouns.
Examples include enough money, enough chairs and enough information.
Enough follows adjectives and adverbs.
Examples include old enough, quickly enough and strong enough.
Too comes before adjectives and adverbs to express excess.
Examples include too expensive, too slowly and too difficult.
Too much is used with uncountable nouns, while too many is used with plural countable nouns.
Examples include too much traffic and too many mistakes.
Enough is often followed by an infinitive to express ability or suitability.
Examples include old enough to drive and enough time to finish.
Too is commonly followed by an infinitive to express an undesirable result.
Examples include too tired to work and too heavy to lift.
Enough indicates that a requirement is met, while too indicates that a limit has been exceeded.
Compare warm enough with too warm.
English has several expressions that strengthen or modify the meaning of enough.
Examples include quite enough, more than enough and just enough.
Enough and too are used in both spoken and written English.
Formal writing may prefer more precise alternatives depending on the context.
Enough and too appear in many fixed expressions and idioms.
Examples include enough is enough and all too often.
Pay attention to the position and meaning of enough and too.
Common mistakes include placing enough before adjectives, confusing too with very and using too much with countable nouns or too many with uncountable nouns.