Podcast 104 - B1 Too and enough

Hello, again! Welcome back to Practising English! How are you? Well, I hope! What's the weather like where you are today? Here, in Seville, it's sunny and dry. That's a problem, actually. It's always sunny and dry. We don't get enough rain here. We have a drought. That means there's not enough water. The weather is too dry. It's a big problem here in the south of Spain. Because of climate change we don't have enough water... Those words too and enough are the subject of my podcast today and, at the end, there'll be a funny short story. So, here we go...! [Introduction]

How to use 'too'

Sometimes I've noticed my students using the word 'too' (that's T double O) in the wrong context. The other day, a student said to me,

Seville is a wonderful city to live in! The food is too good.

One thing to remember about the word 'too' is that it only talks about problems. We never use it to talk about positive things. My student was obviously trying to be positive. He thinks Spanish food is amazing, and I agree with him. However, I would say,

The food in Seville is really good!

It's delicious! It's very tasty!

The word 'too' is an adverb and we use it in front of adjectives or other adverbs.

In Seville, it's too hot to sit outside during the day in summer. The temperatures are in the forties (40s)!
Slow down! You're walking too quickly. It's too hot to walk fast.

In the introduction to this podcast, I mentioned climate change. This phenomenon is changing the climate in Andalusia, which is the region in the south of Spain. If you look at rainfall charts from twenty or thirty years ago, you can clearly see that there was more rain then than now. Andalusia is, and always has been, a very dry part of the world. You notice that when you leave Seville airport on an aeroplane. You look out of the window, and the ground below is very brown especially in summer.

B1 English too and enough - cork oak

On the other hand, you do see some green - a dark green colour. This is the colour of the oak trees, which grow in the hills around Seville. There are millions of them. They are a special type of oak tree. Some are holm oaks and others are cork oaks. That's right! From cork oaks we get cork. That is the material used to make the cork for bottles of wine. You know, you take out the cork with a corkscrew and then you can pour yourself a glass of wine. Cork is also used in the construction of houses. The famous black Iberian pig live among the oak trees and eat the fruit which falls off the trees. This fruit is called an acorn. The Iberian pig is world famous for its meat - a cured ham. Perhaps you've seen the Spanish actor, Antonio Banderas, advertising this special ham on the television!

These oak trees are always green - in summer and winter. We call this type of tree an evergreen tree. It does not lose its leaves in winter. They are specially adapted to dry climates and grow in many parts of the Mediterranean and Spanish Atlantic coast. Why am I telling you this? Well, the point is, although the south of Spain has vegetation that is adapted to dry climates, there is a limit. We're at that limit now.

The climate now is too dry for the oak trees.

The oak trees will die if we don't get more rain. It's a big problem.

How to use 'enough'

We could also say that in a different way.

The climate is not wet enough for the oak trees. They need more water.

When we use the word 'enough' with negative words like 'not', it also means there is a problem. There is less than necessary. Notice that the word 'enough' comes after the adjective - 'wet enough'. It also comes after the verb,

It doesn't rain enough in Andalusia.

When we use 'enough' with a noun, it comes before that noun.

There isn't enough rain in the south of Spain.

We can use 'enough' in affirmative sentences too.

In the south of Spain, it's sometimes warm enough in winter to go out wearing a T-shirt.
If you're going to visit Andalusia, just bring some light clothes - they'll be enough.

Finally, we can also express a result with 'too' and 'enough' by adding an infinitive with 'to':

It doesn't rain enough to keep the oak trees alive.
There is too little rain to fill the rivers and lakes.

Do you remember the film My Fair Lady, starring Audrey Hepburn and Rex Harrison? One of the songs in that film had the line,

The rain in Spain stays mainly on the plain.

Unfortunately, that's not true at all! And it's even less true now!

I'm going to finish with a funny short story. Get a piece of paper and pen and write down the examples I use that contain the words 'too' and 'enough'. Be careful not to confuse the 'too' we are talking about in this podcast with the 'too' when it means also! Here we go...

Winter in Marbella - a story with 'too' and 'enough'

B1 English too and enough - Marbella

Fred Jones was spending his first summer holiday in Marbella in the south of Spain. He was really enjoying himself. He especially loved the weather. The days were always warm. The skies were always blue. The sea was always warm too. He never felt too cold when he went for a swim.

The food was really good too. In the evenings, he would put on his best clothes and go out to his favourite restaurant. He loved Spanish cooking. It was delicious! There was always a wide variety of meat, fish and fresh fruit. He always had enough to eat. The food was quite cheap too.

But all good things come to an end, as we say in English. It was now the end of August, and Fred's stay in Marbella was over. It was time to pay his hotel bill and leave. Fred thought about what the weather would be like back in England. It would be raining probably. He thought England was too cold for him now. It was too wet and there wasn't enough good weather. Not only that, English food wasn't good enough for him - it was too plain and boring.

Nevertheless, on the morning of his departure, Fred went to the reception to check out and pay his hotel bill. The hotel manager was behind the counter waiting for him.

'Good morning, sir!' said the manager. 'I hope you had a good stay. We'll be sorry to see you go. I hope your room was comfortable enough for you.'

'Yes, certainly,' answered Fred. 'I had a lovely time. And the room was very comfortable. Thank you.'

'Well, here's your bill,' said the hotel manager and he gave Fred a very long piece of paper.

When Fred saw the bill, he was shocked to see the amount. 'But, but this is too expensive. I can't pay this,' said Fred.

'We accept credit cards,' said the hotel manager.

'But I don't have enough money in my bank account. I'm sorry. I didn't expect the bill to be so much.'

The hotel manager was now beginning to get angry. 'Look, sir. You must pay this bill. In fact, I'll tell you something right now; you're not leaving this hotel until you pay!'

Fred thought for a moment. Then he said, 'What a good idea! What's the weather like in Marbella in winter?'

That's all for now! Until next time. Good bye!

Exercise on 'too much' and 'too many'...

Exercise on 'enough' with quantities...

Exercise on 'enough' and its position...