We can use “enough” and “too” to express the same thing. “Enough” means something is okay or satisfactory. “Too” has a negative meaning and means that something is not okay or satisfactory. By using opposite words, we can express the same idea.
We put “too” before the adjective and “enough” after the adjective.
“Too + adjective” has the same meaning as “not + adjective + enough”.
- The bag is too big. = The bag is not small enough.
- It is too hot. = It is not cool enough.
- It is too expensive. = It is not cheap enough.
- The hotel was too expensive. = The hotel wasn’t cheap enough.
- Is it too big? = Is it not big enough?
- Is it too hot? = Is it not cool enough?
“Adjective + enough” has the same meaning “not + too + adjective”.
- It is big enough. = It is not too small.
- They are powerful enough. = They are not too weak.
- It is cheap enough. = It is not too expensive.
- It is good enough to use. = It is not too bad to use.
However, we cannot do this for every sentence. Look at these examples.
- It is too salty. =
It is not bland enough. - It is not salty enough. =
It is not too salty.
The word “salty” does not have an opposite word. So, we can use “too salty” to show that something has too much salt and we can use “not salty enough” to show that something needs more salt.
Here are some more examples.
- I think this idea is good enough to present to our boss.
- It is not hot enough to swim outside. It is too cold.
- I am not good enough at English to feel comfortable speaking with native speakers.
- The boy is not tall enough to ride the roller coaster, but his older brother is tall enough to ride.
- It is too hot outside to go hiking.
- Her English is too good. I hate working with her because I can’t understand what she says. She always uses very advanced words.
- Is it too late to call her?
- Is it too early in the morning to eat ice cream?
- It is never too late to start learning English.
- It is not too late to order a pizza.
We can also use “enough + noun” or “verb + enough” to show that the amount of something is okay or satisfactory. We often use a combination “verb + noun + enough”.
- There are not enough players.
- There is not enough sugar to make a cake.
- I failed the test because I didn’t study enough.
- We don’t practice English enough.
- We don’t have enough milk.
- He doesn’t have enough money to go to university.
- They don’t have enough time to do that today.
We can also use “do not/does not + verb + enough” to show that a person should do more of something.
- He doesn’t study enough.
- They don’t talk to each other enough.
- I don’t practice speaking English enough.
We can use “verb + too much” or “verb + too much + noun”.
- He talks too much.
- She studies too much.
- They work too much.
- He eats too much cake.
- She drinks too much wine.
- Peter thinks too much about everything.
Improve your English grammar and learn to speak fluently with this simple practice. Finish the sentences below and then practice making your own sentences. It is the best way to learn English fast!
The _______________ was not salty enough.
It is too late to _______________.
I am not good enough at _______________.
It is too hot to _______________.
It is too cold to _______________.
It is not hot enough to _______________.
It is not cold enough to _______________.
It is too early to _______________.
He _______________ too much.
He doesn’t _______________ enough.
I don’t _______________ enough.
