English grammar - Too and enough

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Form

too + adjective or adverb
too much/many + noun
too much/many + of + pronoun/determiner

adjective or adverb + enough
enough + noun
enough + of + pronoun/determiner

Meaning

1. We use too to mean more than sufficient or more/less than necessary.
   • It's too late to stop him.
   • Jerry was too young to watch the movie.
   • There are too many people on this train, there's nowhere to sit.
   • You have too much money, give some to me.
   • You've eaten too many of those cakes.
2. We use enough to mean sufficient.
   • Your clothes are big enough to fit me.
   • You've done enough work. You can stop now.
   • Have you got enough money to buy me a drink?
3. We use enough in negative sentences to mean less than sufficient or less than necessary.
   • You're not working fast enough, you won't finish on time.
   • Sorry, I haven't got enough food for everyone.
   • Not enough of my friends are coming to the party.

Additional points

1. We can use enough without a noun if the meaning is clear.
   • There's a lot of food but not enough for everyone.
2. We can replace enough with the before a noun.
   • I don't have the money to go on holiday.
   • His company doesn't have the resources to do the job.
3. We can use time or room alone to mean enough timeor enough room.
   • Is there room in your car for one more person?
   • Do we have time for a coffee?

Teaching too and enough

How do you teach too and enough? Add your idea »

Anonymous

  Give the rules of both in a very simple way and give importance to exercises, example sentences. I start with too. Students convert the sentences from too to enough.
"She is too young to go to a disco by herself." _______________ (enough)
"She isn't old enough to go to a disco by herself."

Monica

  Find pictures, for example a small girl standing next to a bicycle (adult) and say:
"What's the problem? Why can't she ride the bike?"
The students should come up with: "It's too big or she's too small..."

Brahim

  I usually show the students a picture of a fat woman and ask them if she can win a race and why. I then elicit sentences like:
"She is too fat to win a race or she is not fast enough..."
Another picture shows a man trying to change a bulb, but can't because he's short. Of course, visual aids are very important for this activity. I also show them picture of poor people and help students make sentences such as:
"They are too poor to buy a car / they're not rich enough..." etc.

Monique

  When I teach the difference between too and enough, I take a cup and fill it with water until it overflows: students cry out: 'It's too much!' I then take another cup and will ask students to tell me when I fill the cup until I have enough: They tell me: 'Enough!' Then I ask the students to give me more examples of too and enough. It works with young children (who need visuals) as well as with students around 18!

Thiby

  I usually ask a student to stand up and try to reach the ceiling. After the others see that it not possible, I ask why he cant do it. If they don't give the answer I want, I say that the student isn't tall enough and then that he is too short to do it.

Carlos Jauregui

  I usually tell ss that an average size man needs to buy clothes and he goes to a clothing store where he finds several items like big shoes, a small shirt or an expensive suit, then he leaves the store feeling sad becasue he is not satisfied. I show pictures with the real size of the man and the items. Students notice the items are not right for him and i elict "too" and "not... enough" with the nouns

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