To, Too, and Two How to Choose the Right Word

The words to, too, and two  are  homophones: they sound alike but have different meanings. The preposition  to refers to a place, direction, or position. The particle to is used before the verb in a to-infinitive. The adverb too means also, very, extremely, or additionally. Two refers to the number 2. Its probably the easiest one to remember, maybe because it doesnt look like it should rhyme with to and too. It can be confusing for English language learners, and even native English speakers, to distinguish and use these terms. How to Use To To is a preposition or part of a verb infinitive. For example, The boy went to the store to buy groceries. The first usage is a preposition. It starts a prepositional phrase explaining where the boy went. The second usage is as a particle — that is, to in this use is part of the verb to buy. How to Use Too Too means also or in addition. For example, Did you want to come with us too?That new shirt you bought is too cute for words! In the top sentence, the first to is a particle (as described above); it is part of the verb to come. The word too in the first example means also, additionally, or as well. In the second example, the word too is used as an adverb. It describes, or modifies, the verb cute and means very or extremely. How to Use Two The word two always refers to numerical 2. For example: He had only two cents to his name.There were only two hours to go until the train would arrive. In the first example, the word two describes the number of pennies this person had left. In the second, the word two refers to the number of hours until the train arrived. How to Remember the Differences The confusion between to and too is one of the most common homophone errors in written English, as many people get stuck deciding between them (even native English speakers struggle with it). One easy trick to remember: If you mean to say too as in additionally, very, or also, remember that that word too (also) has more Os than the word to. Think of the extra O as meaning a little extra or additional. To differentiate too from to, look at the sentence without it, and even read it aloud to better engage your ear. Does it still make sense as a sentence? Examine this example: Shes such a copycat, Sondra lamented, because when I went to the store to stand in line for the new phone, she did, too. You can omit the too, and the sentence still makes sense. That is not the case if you remove either of the uses of the word to. You wouldnt say, Because I went ____ the store... or Because I went to the store ____ stand... When you read either phrase aloud, your ear detects a dropped word—as indicated by the blank lines—even if your eye skips over it. The sentence needs the prepositional to, in the first use, in order to show where she went (to the store), and the particle to in order to create an infinitive verb, to stand. Additionally, you can tell whether you need to or too by substituting the word also also. In the above example, you could say: Because when I went to the store to stand in line for the new phone, she did, also. This sentence still makes sense when you can swap out also for too. It would not make sense, however, to replace either the prepositional use of to (to the store) or the particle use (to stand), with the word also, as in: Because when I went also the store also stand in line for the new phone, she did, too. Clearly, you need to word to in these uses, not too. Examples Differentiating between to, too, and two allows us to use the right terms in the right way and at the appropriate times, even in the same sentence. Consider the following examples to deepen your understanding of the distinction between the three terms:   You can squeeze all three terms into a sentence that make sense, as in, We determined that we two had celebrated a little too much, and so we decided to call a cab to come and take us to her parents house to recover. This example uses the word two indicating a number (we two), the word too as an adverb (too much), the word to as a particle — a part of an infinitive verb — several times (to call, to come, and to recover), and as a preposition (to her parents house).A sentence you would be more likely to encounter might state, The game was almost too exciting in the last two minutes of play. The word too in the sentence as used here is an adverb modifying the word exciting (too exciting), and two is used in its traditional role to indicate the number 2.Another sentence you might hear in everyday conversation might say, Please let us know if you two plan to go to the race because we want to tag along, too. The first of the three terms here, two refers to the number of peop le, the second and fourth are particles (to go and to tag), the third is a prepositional use (to the race), and the fifth is used as an adjective meaning also (tag along too). Idiom Alerts As these are such widely-used words, the three terms also appear in a number of idiomatic expressions in English. Here are a few: Too little, too late is an expression meaning that even though help (for example) arrived, it wasnt enough and it wasnt timely enough to make a difference in the effort to recover. After Hurricane Katrina devastated New Orleans and Mississippi, President George W. Bush was criticized about the delay of the response. It was seen as too little, too late.Two of a kind and two peas in a pod are expressions noting how two people (for example) are alike.Having two left feet refers to someone who isnt a good dancer or who is clumsy.If you say you have too many irons in the fire, are spread too thin,  or  have too much on your plate, it means that you have too many concurrent projects or demands on your time currently or at once. Likewise, if youre wearing too many hats, youre trying to take on too many roles at the same time or do too many jobs at once.If you are in too deep, you are overwhelmed, have more than you can handle, or you know more than you should about a situation and cant get out of it easily.If you want to have your cake and eat it, too, you want to do two things that are opposite. You want to both possess the cake and consume it.  To and fro means to move from one place to another or back and forth.If something is too rich for your blood, its too expensive for you or too much for you to handle.If there are too many cooks (or chefs) in the kitchen, there are too many people trying to control one project or have input into something. Similarly, too many cooks spoil the broth (or stew).Having too much of a good thing signals that youre overindulging in something or theres just too much of something, even though its not bad on its own. For example, a few holiday lights on the outside of a home can look lovely in their calm simplicity. Some people, however, cant seem to stop decorating and put up 100,000 strobing lights, which neighbors might joke can make the house visible from space. On a small house and lot, theyre likely exhibiting too much of a g ood thing. Sources Ticak, Marko. â€Å"To vs. Too.† Grammarly Inc., 2019.â€Å"To (prep.). Online Etymology Dictionary, Douglas Harper, 2019.â€Å"To vs. Too vs. Two. K12 Reader, 2018.