Use very to strengthen a description. Use too to say that a degree is beyond what is wanted, needed or suitable. “The bag is very heavy” emphasises its weight. “The bag is too heavy for me to lift” says that its weight exceeds my limit.
Both words can appear before an adjective or an adverb: very hot, too hot, very quickly and too quickly. Their meanings differ even when both fit grammatically.
Compare the meaning
| Strong description | Beyond a limit |
|---|---|
| “The soup is very hot.” Its temperature is high. | “The soup is too hot to eat.” Its temperature prevents me from eating it now. |
| “The music is very loud.” The volume is high. | “The music is too loud for this small room.” The volume is more than is suitable here. |
| “She speaks very quickly.” Her speaking speed is high. | “She speaks too quickly for me to follow.” Her speed exceeds what I can understand. |
Very does not tell you whether a situation is good or bad: “very helpful” is positive, while “very unpleasant” is negative. In its degree meaning, too signals excess relative to a purpose or limit. The adjective itself need not have a negative meaning: “The design is too elaborate for this simple notice.”
Useful patterns
- Very + adjective or adverb: “The room is very quiet.” “The program works very smoothly.”
- Too + adjective/adverb + to + verb: “The shelf is too high to reach.” “We arrived too late to join the tour.”
- Too + adjective/adverb + for someone + to + verb: “The text is too small for me to read.”
- Too much + uncountable noun: “There is too much noise.”
- Too many + plural countable noun: “There are too many boxes in the doorway.”
For a verb, use a suitable expression such as “I like it very much,” rather than “I very like it.” In “She arrived too late,” too modifies the adverb late. In “I work too much,” the phrase too much expresses an excessive amount of work.
Five-question meaning check
Choose very or too to match the meaning stated in each prompt. Some sentences can take either word grammatically; this exercise asks you to choose the intended meaning.
- Make the description stronger without saying that there is a problem: “The garden is ___ beautiful.”
- Express that the weight exceeds what I can lift: “This suitcase is ___ heavy for me to lift.”
- Express that the temperature is beyond what I can comfortably eat: “The soup is ___ hot to eat now.”
- Emphasise speed without suggesting a problem: “The train travels ___ quickly.”
- Express that a speaker’s speed exceeds what I can follow: “The speaker talks ___ quickly for me to understand.”
Check your answers and explanations
- Very. The prompt asks for a stronger description, with no claim that the beauty exceeds a limit.
- Too. The weight prevents the stated action: lifting the suitcase.
- Too. The temperature is beyond the stated comfortable limit.
- Very. The prompt asks only for emphasis. Here very modifies the adverb quickly.
- Too. The speaking speed is more than the listener can follow.
Frequently Asked Questions About Very and Too
Very strengthens a description. Too, in its degree meaning, says that something exceeds a suitable, wanted or possible degree. The context tells you what limit matters.
Yes, but the meaning changes. Very cold emphasises the temperature. Too cold says that it is beyond a relevant limit, such as what is comfortable for an activity.
Yes. In “I enjoyed the lesson, too,” it means also. This is a different use from too + adjective or adverb.
No. It indicates excess relative to a purpose or expectation. An adjective can be positive in another context, as in “The explanation is too detailed for this short notice.”
It modifies late, which is an adverb in this sentence. It does not directly modify arrived. Compare “We arrived very late” with “We arrived too late to enter.”
Write two sentences about the same object: one with very to emphasise a feature and one with too to explain a limit. For example: “The desk is very wide” and “The desk is too wide for this doorway.”
Continue with the grammar lesson directory. For further explanation, see Cambridge English Grammar Today’s guide to too and Oxford Learner’s Dictionaries’ entry for too.