Too and Enough (Degree)

Updated 27 Oct 2026 4 min read LingoLadder Editorial Team

Cover: English too and enough — too hot to drink, warm enough, enough time, not strong enough

Short answer

Too means more than you want and goes before an adjective or adverb: 'too hot'. Enough means as much as you need; it goes after an adjective but before a noun: 'warm enough', 'enough time'.

On this page10 sections · tap to jump

01The rule
02The forms
03Example sentences
04Common mistakes
05A short conversation
06Usage notes
07Compared with…
08Practice
09Quiz
10Recap cheat-sheet

Level: A2. Too and enough both talk about degree — how much of something there is. Too says there is more than you want; enough says there is as much as you need. The tricky part is where each word goes, so the position rules below are the heart of this lesson.

The rule

Degree means how much: not just hot, but hot enough or too hot. English uses too for an excess (a bad thing — more than wanted) and enough for sufficiency (just the right amount, or, in the negative, not the right amount).

An adjective describes a noun (hot, tall, big); an adverb describes a verb (quickly, loudly). A noun is a person, place or thing (time, money, chairs).

The positions are not the same for the two words:

too comes before an adjective or adverb: too hot, too slowly. For a noun amount it becomes too much (uncountable) or too many (countable): too much noise, too many people.
enough comes after an adjective or adverb, but before a noun: warm enough, slowly enough, but enough time, enough chairs.

Both are often followed by a to-infinitive (what the result allows or prevents) or by for + a person (who it affects): “old enough to vote”, “too heavy for me.”

The forms

Pattern	Position	Example
too + adjective/adverb	before the word	It’s too hot. / He drives too fast.
too much + uncountable noun	before the noun	There’s too much traffic.
too many + countable noun	before the noun	There are too many cars.
adjective/adverb + enough	after the word	She’s tall enough. / He ran fast enough.
enough + noun	before the noun	We have enough chairs.
… + to-infinitive	after the phrase	warm enough to swim / too tired to cook
… + for + person	after the phrase	too spicy for me / big enough for us

Example sentences

This coffee is too hot to drink.

too + adjective (+ to-infinitive).
He is old enough to drive.

adjective + enough (+ to-infinitive).
We don't have enough money.

enough + noun.
There are too many people here.

too many + countable noun.
There is too much noise in this room.

too much + uncountable noun.
She isn't tall enough to reach the shelf.

Negative: not + adjective + enough.
You're driving too fast.

too + adverb.
Is the water warm enough for the baby?

adjective + enough + for + person.
I ate too much at lunch.

too much on its own, meaning too large an amount.
Do we have enough chairs for everyone?

enough + noun + for + people.
This box is too heavy for me to lift.

too + adjective + for + person + to-infinitive.
He speaks too quickly.

too + adverb describing how he speaks.
The soup isn't salty enough.

Negative: adjective + enough, meaning it needs more.
There weren't enough tickets for the show.

enough + noun, in the past.
It's too late to call her now.

too + adjective + to-infinitive.
Are you strong enough to carry this?

Question: adjective + enough + to-infinitive.
I've had enough coffee for today.

enough + uncountable noun.
The music was too loud, so we left.

too + adjective shows the problem.
She knows enough English to travel alone.

enough + noun (+ to-infinitive).
This test was too difficult for most students.

too + adjective + for + people.

Common mistakes

❌ She is enough tall. → ✅ She is tall enough. Enough goes after an adjective.
❌ We have money enough. → ✅ We have enough money. Enough goes before a noun.
❌ He is too much tall. → ✅ He is too tall. Use too (not too much) before an adjective.
❌ There are too much cars. → ✅ There are too many cars. Use too many with countable nouns.
❌ I’m not enough strong to lift it. → ✅ I’m not strong enough to lift it. Enough follows the adjective.
❌ This is too hot for drink it. → ✅ This is too hot to drink. Use to + base verb, not for.

A short conversation

A: Can we sit outside? B: It’s a bit too cold for me. And there aren’t enough chairs anyway. A: Is the café warm enough? B: Yes, but it’s too noisy to talk. Let’s find somewhere quieter.

Usage notes

Too = excess, enough = sufficiency. Too is negative in feeling (a problem); enough is neutral and just marks the right amount. The negative not … enough means less than needed.
much vs many for amounts. With noun amounts, too much goes with uncountable nouns (too much sugar) and too many with countable plurals (too many mistakes).
The to-infinitive shows the result. “Old enough to vote”, “too tired to cook” — the to clause tells you what the degree makes possible or impossible.
for + person shows who it affects. “too spicy for me”, “big enough for us” — add for + object when the judgement depends on a person.

Compared with…

so / such. So and such also intensify, but they do not carry the “problem” meaning of too: “It’s so hot!” is an exclamation, while “It’s too hot” means it is more than bearable. So goes with an adjective (so hot) and such with a noun phrase (such a hot day). See So and Such.
Intensifiers (very, really, quite). Words like very, really and quite raise or soften a degree neutrally (very hot, quite cold), unlike too, which signals excess, and enough, which marks sufficiency. See Intensifiers and Mitigators. Both too and enough work on the adjectives you met in Adjectives: Position and Basic Use.

Recap card for the English too-and-enough lesson showing the position of too and enough

Quick recap before you practise.

Practice

Too and enough practice

Try each one, then press Check. No sign-up, nothing is sent anywhere — it all runs in your browser.

1 Choose the correct sentence. She is enough old to drive. She is old enough to drive. She is too much old to drive. She is old too to drive.

Show answer

She is old enough to drive. — 'Enough' goes after the adjective: old enough.

2 Fill the gap with too, too much or too many: 'There are ____ people in here.'

Hint: people is countable

Show answer

too many — Use 'too many' with countable plural nouns like people.

3 Put the words in order to make a correct sentence.

Show answer

We don't have enough money — 'Enough' comes before the noun: enough money.

4 Match each start to its correct ending.

too Match for too
tall Match for tall
too much Match for too much
too many Match for too many

Show answer

too → hot
tall → enough
too much → sugar
too many → cars

too + adjective; adjective + enough; too much + uncountable; too many + countable.

5 Which sentence is correct? He is too much tired. He is too tired. He is enough tired. He is tired too much.

Show answer

He is too tired. — Use 'too' (not 'too much') before an adjective.

6 Complete with to or for: 'This box is too heavy ____ lift.'

Hint: a base verb follows

Show answer

to — Use 'to' + base verb to show the result: too heavy to lift.

Quiz

Recap cheat-sheet

Word	Goes…	Example
too	before adjective/adverb	too hot, too slowly
too much / many	before a noun	too much sugar, too many cars
adjective + enough	after the adjective	tall enough, warm enough
enough + noun	before the noun	enough time, enough chairs

Next grammar topic: Order of Adjectives Before a Noun
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The rule

The forms

Example sentences

Common mistakes

A short conversation

Usage notes

Compared with…

Practice

Too and enough practice

Quiz

Too and enough quiz

Recap cheat-sheet

Next

All English grammar topics

Grammar path