by R. S. Karunaratne

'Too, too much' and 'not enough'

As an adverb 'too' means 'more than is needed or wanted.'

All my friends have cars

Amanda is too fat.
I can't reach it. The shelf is too high.
There were too many people at the concert.
I find it too difficult to explain what happened there.
It's too expensive a pair of shoes for a child.
It's too much. I can't afford to pay.
The tea is too cold to drink.
The driver is too fast.
Don't ask too many questions, he'll be annoyed.
She is too old to run a race.
The actress is too ill to perform.
The milk is too hot to drink.
The road is too narrow for two vehicles to pass.
The rope is too thick for this job.

Too much
We use 'too much' with uncountable nouns.
Don't eat too much ice cream
I have too much work these days.
If you have too much money, deposit it in a bank.
You have used too much oil in this curry.
Children should not be given too much freedom.

Too many
We use 'too many' with countable nouns.
She has too many problems to solve.
He has too many students in his class.
There are too many cars on the road.
You ask too many questions.
There are too many employees idling here.

Not enough
The funds are not enough to complete the project.
There was not enough ice cream for everybody.
There were not enough cameras for sale.
There were not enough boots for workers.
There was not enough water for the farmers.
There was not enough chocolate for the children.

All of
We can often drop 'of' after 'all.'
All men are mortal.
All dogs are not ferocious.
All cars break down sometimes.
Have you got all these books?
I have finished all my work.
All birds lay eggs.

I can’t reach it. The shelf is too high.

I like all good films.
Did you drink all the milk?
All my friends have cars.

We use 'all of' before 'it, us, you' and 'them.'
I didn't drink all of it.
They didn't eat all of it.
Martha has invited all of us.
All of you must come tomorrow.
All of them were punished by the principal.
All of us are born free.
All of you are equal in dignity.

We use 'all' after auxiliary and 'be' verbs.
The visitors have all arrived.
You are all late.
The lectures will all start on Monday.
The floors are all dirty.
Sorry, your friends have all gone.

We do not use 'all' without a noun to mean 'everybody' or 'everything.'
Don't say: All know his name.
Say: Everybody knows his name.
Don't say: She has forgotten all.
Say: She has forgotten everything.

Match words and meanings

Here's an exciting way to enrich your vocabulary. Match the words in column A with their meanings in column B and check your answers with the key. The first has been done for you.

[Column A]

L 1. definitely
... 2. definitive
... 3. deflate
... 4. deflated
... 5. deflation
... 6. deflect
... 7. defoliate
... 8. deforestation
... 9. deform
.. 10. defraud
.. 11. defray
.. 12. defrost
.. 13. deft
.. 14. defunct
.. 15. defuse
.. 16. defy
.. 17. degenerate
.. 18. degree
.. 19. dehydrate
.. 20. de-ice
.. 21. de-icer
.. 22. deify
.. 23. deity
.. 24. dejected
.. 25. delectable

[Column B]

A. to cause something to become weaker
B. a reduction of economic activity
C. to spoil the usual shape of something
D. to refuse to obey a person
E. to become worse in quality
F. an amount or level of something
G. no longer existing
H. clever
I. to make the leaves drop off a plant
J. to take something illegally from a person
K. feeling less confident
L. without any doubt
M. to change direction
N. to pay the cost of something
O. to prevent a bomb from exploding
P. a substance for removing ice
Q. beautiful
R. unhappy
S. a god or goddess
T. to make someone into a god
U. to remove ice from something
V. to cause to lose water
W. to become free of ice
X. the cutting down of trees in a large area
Y. not able to be changed or improved

Key:

2. Y 3. A 4. K 5. B 6. M 7. I 8. X 9. C 10. J 11. N 12. W 13. H 14. G 15. O 16. D 17. E 18. F 19. V 20. U 21. P 22. T 23. S 24. R 25. Q

Starters:

Reflexive pronouns

Reflexive pronouns are "myself, yourself, himself, herself, oneself, ourselves, yourselves" and "themselves."

Myself

Ow! I cut myself.
A: I'll get the tickets, shall I?

He dried himself on the towel.

B: It's OK. I can pay for myself.
I washed myself.
I dressed myself.
I hurt myself.

Yourself

Henry, dry yourself on this towel.
A: I've got lots of photographs of my children.
B: But you haven't got many of yourself.
Have faith in yourself.
I have never met a brilliant man like yourself.
Why don't you buy yourself a car?

Himself

He always talks about himself.
I am going to tell him a few facts about himself.
He is pleased with himself.
He can do it by himself.
He dried himself on the towel.

Herself

Diana had to force herself to eat.
The woman killed herself.
She can dress herself well.
She enjoyed herself at the party.
She can pay for herself.

Oneself

One should protect oneself.
One should believe in oneself.
One should advertise oneself at times.
One should not cut oneself.
One should know oneself.

Ourselves

We should not deceive ourselves.
We should dry ourselves on these towels.
We should know ourselves.
We can wash ourselves.
We should not injure ourselves.

Yourselves

Dry yourselves on these towels.
You made yourselves open to criticism.
You need not do the cleaning yourselves.
I am sure, you watched yourselves in the mirror.
Why do you want to praise yourselves for this work?

Themselves

The children watched themselves on video.
The undergraduates locked themselves in the new building.
Small children cannot look after themselves.
They always talk about themselves.
They are going to get themselves vaccinated.

Idioms with reflexive pronouns

The children enjoyed themselves. (had a good time)
You should behave yourself. (behave well)
Help yourself to sandwiches. (take as many as you want)
Please make yourself at home. (behave as if this was your home)
She didn't want to be left there by herself. (alone)

Quiz on idioms

An idiom is a special kind of phrase. It is a group of words which have a different meaning when used together from the one it would have if the meaning of each word were taken individually. Tick the meaning of each idiom in bold type and check your answers with the key.

1. When a contest is too close to call ...
(a) it is impossible to say who will win
(b) it is easy to predict who will win
(c) the contest is likely to be postponed

2. If someone comes out of the closet ...
(a) they talk openly for the first time about their feelings
(b) they refuse to talk about their feelings
(c) they come out of their hiding place

3. If someone has cloth ears ...
(a) they are eager to listen
(b) they are not paying attention
(c) they have big ears

4. If two or more people are cut from the same cloth ...
(a) they have different characteristics
(b) they are close friends
(c) they are very similar in their character

5. If you cut your coat according to your cloth ...
(a) you take account of the available resources when making decisions
(b) you buy a bigger cloth than is necessary
(c) you make decisions according to your conscience

6. If you are on cloud nine ...
(a) you are daydreaming
(b) you are very unhappy
(c) you are very happy

7. If you are under a cloud ...
(a) you must take precautions
(b) people are critical of what you have done
(c) people trust you

8. If you are in clover ...
(a) you are involved in secret dealings
(b) people do not trust you
(c) you are happy because you are enjoying a luxurious lifestyle

9. Confused? Then join the club.
(a) you have had the same experience
(b) consult someone
(c) let time heal all wounds

10. If you don't have a clue about something ...
(a) you know everything about it
(b) you do not know anything about it
(c) you have no suspicion

Key:

1. (a) 2. (a) 3. (b) 4. (c) 5. (a) 6. (c) 7. (b) 8. (c) 9. (a) 10. (b)