Unit 19: A place to live

Goldilocks

Too much / too many / enough / not enough / very

Meaning and use

In English, we can use too, enough and very with adjectives to indicate degree. Too
describes something negative or unwanted, enough describes the right amount of something,
and very makes the adjective stronger.
Matthew: Those shoes were very nice. Did you buy them?
Simon: No, I didnt. They were too expensive.
Jenny: Did you buy that dress?
Sally: No, I didnt. It wasnt big enough.
We can also use too with much and many to talk about an amount or number of something
which is more or less than what we want or need. For countable nouns, such as apples or
people, we use many. For uncountable nouns, like rice or water, we use much.
There are too many people on the bus.
There is too much salt in this soup.

Form
For degree, we use too + adjective.
For amount or number, the order is too + many/much + noun.
Its too hot in here.
James ate too much pizza.
Too many people came to the theatre.

Enough comes after an adjective or before a noun:

adjective + enough
enough + noun

My handwriting is good enough.

His car isnt fast enough.
We have enough food.
I dont have enough money.
Very comes before adjectives and makes them stronger:
very + adjective
not very + adjective
That test was very difficult.
The weathers not very nice today.
Positive
There are too many people in the pool.
We have enough money to buy a house.
Negative
There arent enough tickets for the show.
That meal wasnt too expensive.
Question
Are you comfortable enough?
Are there enough chairs for everyone?

Take note: strong adjectives

We do not use very if the adjective is already strong. These examples are wrong:
The pianist was very excellent.
The Grand Canyon is very enormous.
Her response was very correct.
These are correct:
That movie was incredible.
Her performance was dreadful.
The weathers perfect.

Spoken English
The word enough is pronounced with the short vowel sound // (as in cup) and the voiceless
sound /f/ (as in fat) at the end.
I dont have enough /nf/money.

6 Minute Vocabulary

Normal adjectives - Strong adjectives

funny - hilarious
bad - terrible
good - wonderful, amazing, fantastic, fabulous
Intensifiers for normal adjectives
very, quite, not so, just a little bit
Intensifier for strong adjectives
absolutely

6 Minute Vocabulary
Strong adjectives
Rob
Here's Tom. Now, he took his girlfriend to the cinema and then for dinner afterwards. Very
romantic! Let's hear how the evening went. Was it a successful evening out?
Tom
We went to see that new film - I thought it was quite funny, but Jenny thought it was
hilarious. We went for a meal: The food was not so bad but the service was absolutely

terrible! We waited nearly an hour to get our food. When it finally arrived, I was absolutely
starving!
Rob
Tom and Jenny had to wait a long time for their food - nearly an hour!
Catherine
I wouldn't last that long. Twenty minutes, and I'd be gone.
Rob
Well, luckily, they liked the film. Listen to this clip:
I thought it was quite funny, but Jenny thought it was hilarious.
Catherine
Tom said he thought the film was quite funny. Quite funny. Now, when we use an ordinary
adjective, like funny, we can add a word like quite, or very, or just a little bit, to give more
information about the adjective.
Rob
we can say the film was quite funny, or very funny, or just a little bit funny. These words
are called intensifiers - and they are quite useful.
Catherine
They're very useful actually. Yes. So Tom thought the film was funny; but Jenny thought it
was hilarious. And the word hilarious means - very, very funny.
Rob
Hilarious is a special kind of adjective - it already includes the idea of very.
Catherine
and we call this type of adjective a strong adjective, and there are lots of them. For example,
to mean very good, we can say:
Rob
Wonderful! Fabulous! Amazing!
Catherine
Three fantastic words there. But most of the time, we don't use intensifiers like quite,
or very, or just a little bit with these strong adjectives, and that's because the idea of very is
already in the word. So for example, hilarious means very funny, so a little bit
hilarious would mean a little bit very funny.
Rob
Tom used a couple of other strong adjectives, too. Listen again. What's the strong adjective?

The food was not so bad but the service was absolutely terrible!
Catherine
Well, Tom used the ordinary adjective bad, and he used it with an intensifier when he said not
so bad.
Rob
But the strong adjective was terrible. Terrible means very bad.
Catherine
And this time, Tom used an intensifier that we usually only use with strong adjectives - he said
it was absolutely terrible. So, when we want to make a strong adjective even stronger, we
need to use one of these special intensifiers, like absolutely. So, we say very bad, but we
say absolutely terrible.
Rob
And we don't usually say absolutely bad. Here's Tom using another strong adjective.
We waited for nearly an hour to get our food. When it finally arrived, I was absolutely
starving!
Catherine
Tom used the phrase absolutely starving. Starving is a strong adjective, which means very
hungry, and he used the intensifier absolutely to make it even stronger. Absolutely
starving.
Rob
And today our absolutely wonderful topic is strong adjectives and intensifiers.
Catherine
And now it's time for a very quick quiz. Question one. What is the strong adjective for funny?
Rob
And the answer is hilarious. Question two. What is the strong adjective and intensifier
for very bad?
Catherine
And the answer is absolutely terrible. Just one more question! Can you name three strong
adjectives that mean good?
Rob
And in the programme today we had fantastic, wonderful, fabulous and amazing, which
describes me I think. And if you got all those right, you're absolutely wonderful.
Catherine
And we've just got time for that fantastic vocabulary tip we promised you. When you're

learning adjectives, make a picture in your mind of someone or something that reminds you of
that adjective. It will help you remember the word. For example, I think that Rob is absolutely
fantastic.

Modifying adjectives with 'too', 'very' and 'absolutely'

"This porridge is too hot!"
Too + adjective

Let's look at the first example. The porridge was too hot. Could Goldilocks eat it? No. What
about the second bowl? Well, that was too cold. Could she eat this bowl of porridge? Again,
the answer is no. The word too shows there is a problem, or something bad. Look at some
more examples.
Goldilocks sat in the first chair, but it was too big. (The problem is the size of the chair:
it is big and Goldilocks is small, so she can't get comfortable.)
Goldilocks lay down in the first bed, but it was too hard. (This time, the problem is the
softness of the bed. It's hard, so Goldilocks can't rest comfortably.)
I really like these boots, but they're too expensive. (The problem is the price of the
boots: I can't afford to buy them.)
I was too busy to take a break, so I missed my TV programme. (I had a lot of work and
this was a problem because I couldn't take a break and watch TV.)
The form is too + adjective.
too hot
too cold
too big
BE CAREFUL: If we say a sentence with too in the negative form, then we mean it isn't a
problem. The form is not + too + adjective.
I can eat this porridge - it's not too hot and it's not too cold.

Very + adjective

Goldilocks was very tired. Do you think this is just normal tiredness or something more?
Well, the word very makes the adjective stronger. Goldilocks was very tired so she went to
sleep in the baby bear's bed.
The form is very + adjective. Here are some more examples.
Papa bear was very angry because someone had slept in his bed.
I like your shoes - they're very nice!
That English test wasn't very difficult! Studying with BBC Learning English really
helps!
BE CAREFUL: We don't use very with strong adjectives. Look here:
Goldilocks was terrified! (The word terrified already means 'very scared', so we don't
say 'very terrified'.)
To make strong adjectives even stronger, use absolutely.
That was the worst play I have ever seen in my life - it was absolutely terrible!
I've been working day and night - I'm absolutely exhausted!
Other strong adjectives are: excellent, enormous, correct, incredible, dreadful, perfect.

There's enough to study - but not too much!

The chair was big enough to sit in
Enough

Let's start with enough. Have a look at this part of the sentence and think about the meaning.
The chair was big enough for Goldilocks to sit in...
Can Goldilocks sit in the chair? Yes, she can. Is the chair too big? No. Is the chair too small?
No.
We use enough and not enough with adjectives in English to talk about the right amount of a
thing or a quality. Take a look at some more examples.
This computer is powerful enough for all your video editing needs. (The computer has
the right amount of power to do all types of video editing.)

It's not a great film really, but it was interesting enough to keep me watching for a
couple of hours. (The film made me have the right amount of interest, even though it
wasn't very good.)
You must be over 1.5 metres tall to go on the rollercoaster - sorry, your kids are not tall
enough. (The right height for the ride is 1.5 metres - the kids are under this height so
they can't go on the ride)
The form is adjective + enough in positive sentences or not + adjective + enough in
negative sentences.
Another way we use enough and not enough in English is with nouns, to say whether there
is the right amount of something. Take a look at these examples.
There was enough porridge for Goldilocks to satisfy her appetite. (She ate it all and
wasn't hungry after - it was the right amount.)
There wasn't enough evidence for Inspector Stone to solve the case. (Inspector
Stone didn't have the right amount of evidence to solve the crime.)
Have you got enough time to complete all your tasks today? (Do you have the right
amount of time to do it all?)
Are there enough chairs for everyone to sit down? (Are there the right amount of
chairs or do we need any more?)
I haven't got enough money to buy lunch today! (I haven't got the right amount of
money to pay for lunch.)
The form here is (not) enough + noun and it can be used with both countable and
uncountable nouns.

Too much, too many

Now, let's look at too much and too many.
...there were too many pieces and it was too much trouble for Goldilocks to fix the
chair.
Could Goldilocks fix the chair? No. Why? Because the chair was broken so badly that she
couldn't fix it.

We use too much and too many in English to talk about an amount of something that
causes a problem because it is more than we want or need. Take a look at some more
examples.
Some people think there are too many rules in English.
There are too many people on the bus.
There is too much salt in this soup.
Chris feels sick. He ate too much chocolate.
We use too many with countable nouns, like rules and people. We use too much with
uncountable nouns, like salt and chocolate.

6 Minute Grammar
Too, very, enough
Rob
We're going to explain how to use the words too and very with adjectives to describe things.
Catherine
and we'll show you how to use the word enough with adjectives and nouns...
Rob
...we'll explain the difference between too much and too many
Catherine
we're clothes shopping!
Rob
Too big... too small. The word too here with the adjectives big and small to say that that the
dress is not right it's bigger or smaller than she wants or needs.
Catherine
It is lovely but... it's very expensive!
Rob
we use very with an adjective to make it stronger. The red dress is not just expensive
it's very expensive.
Catherine
it's cheaper and it looks big enough.

Do you have enough money?

Rob
the word enough with an adjective describes the right amount of something. So, the green
dress is big enough - and long enough.
Catherine
I don't have enough cash on me... and I've left my credit card in the office...

Rob
we can also use enough before a noun to say that we have the right amount of something: so
we can ask: Do you have enough money? ...and we can also use enough in the negative to
say we have less of something than we need. Catherine doesn't have enough cash.
Rob
We use too before an adjective:
Catherine
The blue dress is too small.
Rob
Very goes before an adjective...
Catherine
The red dress is very expensive.
Rob
Enough goes after an adjective...
Catherine
This dress is big enough.
Rob
And enough goes before a noun...
Catherine
I don't have enough money.
Rob
Let's go. I've done enough shopping for today.
Catherine
I ate too much food...
Catherine
...there were too many people wearing my dress!

Rob
this is too with much and many to talk about an amount or number of something that's more
or less than we want or need.
Rob
for plural countable nouns like dresses, we use too many - too many dresses, too many
people.
Catherine
and for uncountable nouns like food and money, we use too much.
Rob
...and Catherine ate too much food...
Catherine
...and the red dress cost too much money.
Rob
Now, be careful not to use very with strong adjectives. You cannot say the party was very
fantastic...
Catherine
Instead, say: the party was absolutely fantastic!
Rob
it's time for a quiz! Fill the gaps. Number one. I can't hear you - there's too [beep] noise.
Catherine
And the answer is: I can't hear you there's too much noise.
Rob
Good. Number two. Hiro is only 13. He's not old [beep] to drive yet.
Catherine
Hiro is only 13. He's not old enough to drive yet.
Rob
And Number three. Those shoes don't fit me. They are [beep] small.
Catherine
Those shoes don't fit me. They are too small.

Pronunciation tip: 'ough' words

A difficult string of letters to learn

Alice
Thats enough work for me today. Oh, hello. Ive just finished work, although I think Ive got
just enough time to go through a language challenge I thought youd like.
OK. Im going to say five words. See if you can spot the link between them. OK, are you
ready? Here goes.
Enough

Thought

Although

Through

Cough

Whats the same about these words? Well, they sound very different, dont they? But there is
a link. They all use the letters o-u-g-h. Have a look.
So, enough. Here the sound, o-u-g-h is /f/ like rough and tough.
Thought. Here o-u-g-h sounds like // Its usually like this before the letter t, the /t/ sound.
So, like bought and brought and ought.
Although. Here o-u-g-h sounds like // Though is the same.
Through. Here o-u-g-h sounds like /u/
And cough. Here the sound is /f/
And unfortunately, thats not all the ways we can say the letters o-u-g-h in English. And Im
afraid there arent any easy rules to learn how to say these words. Its best to just learn each
word individually and practise saying them in example sentences whenever you can like I
did at the start of the video. Watch again and see if you can spot the first times I
used enough, although, and thought.