Unit 103: enough and too

Enough goes after adjectives and adverbs but before nouns. Too means more than is necessary or acceptable. Both can be followed by for somebody and by to do something, and in sentences like too hot to eat there is no object at the end.

Go to the exercises

A enough

Enough goes after adjectives and adverbs: tall enough, quickly enough. It is never enough tall.

Enough normally goes before nouns: enough money, enough chairs.

You can also use enough on its own, without a noun or adjective.

I can't reach the top shelf. I'm not tall enough.
Come on, we've waited long enough.
We've got enough petrol to get to Leeds. We don't need to stop.
There weren't enough plates, so some of us ate off napkins.
No more cake for me, thanks. I've had enough.

B too and not ... enough

Too means more than is necessary or acceptable. Not ... enough means less.

too	not ... enough
You never stop talking. You talk too much.	You hardly say a word. You don't talk enough.
There's too much furniture in here.	There isn't enough space.
There were too many people.	There weren't enough seats.

You never take a day off. You work too hard.
You never do your share. You don't work hard enough.
There's too much stuff in this cupboard and not enough room for the hoover.
There were too many guests and not enough sandwiches.

C enough and too + for ... and to ...

We say enough / too ... for somebody or something.

We say enough / too ... to do something.

Some sentences have both: for somebody to do something.

Has Tariq got enough experience for the job?
This suitcase isn't big enough for all my shoes.
Those trousers are too short for you. You need a longer leg.
Has Tariq got enough experience to run the department?
Let's get the bus. It's too far to walk from here.
He isn't old enough to vote yet.
The lane is only just wide enough for two cars to pass each other.

D too hot to eat, not strong enough to stand on

Compare these three ways of saying the same thing:


The soup was very hot. We couldn't eat it.	normal object
The soup was so hot that we couldn't eat it.	normal object
The soup was too hot to eat.	no object: not too hot to eat it

After too ... to and enough ... to, the subject of the sentence is already the thing affected, so it does not appear again at the end. The soup has suffered enough without being mentioned twice.

The soup was too hot to eat.
These bags are too heavy to carry.
The umbrella was too big to fit in my bag.
That stool isn't strong enough to stand on.

Exercises

103.1 Complete the sentences using enough and one of these words: buses, chairs, cups, hard, room, tall, time, vegetables, warm, wide.

buseschairscupshardroomtalltimevegetableswarmwide

Your marks are slipping. You aren't trying hard enough.
Your marks are slipping. You aren't trying hard enough.
Half the guests had to stand. There weren't enough chairs.
Half the guests had to stand. There weren't enough chairs.
It's hard to get around this town without a car. There aren't .
The van won't get through the gate. The gate isn't .
I never get to finish the crossword at lunch. There's never .
The doctor says your diet isn't balanced. You don't eat .
I can't reach the light bulb. I'm not .
The boot's quite small. Do you think there's for all our bags?
Are you ? Or shall I put the fire on?
We can't all have tea at once. We haven't got .

103.2 Complete the answers to the questions. Use too or enough and the word or words in brackets.

"Can Noah vote in the election?" (old) "No, he's not old enough to vote."
"Can Noah vote in the election?" "No, he's not old enough to vote."
"Have you got a minute? I need a word." (busy) "Sorry, I'm to you now."
"Shall we go for a swim?" (late) "No, it's ."
"Why don't we eat in the garden?" (warm) "It isn't ."
"Would you like to be an actor?" (shy) "No, I'm ."
"Would you like to be a nurse?" (patience) "No, I don't have ."
"Could you see the band properly?" (far away) "No, we were ."
"Can Ilse follow the news on Italian radio?" (Italian) "No, she doesn't know ."

103.3 Make one sentence from two. Begin with the words in brackets and use too or enough + to ....

We couldn't lift the suitcase. It was too heavy. (The suitcase ...)
The suitcase was too heavy to lift.
The suitcase was too heavy to lift.
I can't wear these jeans. They're too tight. (These jeans ...)
Nobody could read the sign. It was too faded. (The sign ...)
Don't touch the paint. It isn't dry enough. (The paint ...)
I can't describe the plot. It's too confusing. (The plot ...)
We couldn't jump over the stream. It was too wide. (The stream ...)
Four people can't sleep in this tent. It isn't big enough. (This tent ...)
You can't see some stars without a telescope. They're too far away. (Some stars ...)

enough and too