To vs. Too vs. Two | Difference, Examples, When to Use

• Aug 09, 2023
• 4 min read

• Tags: English as a Second Language / ESL, Grammar, Language, Word Choice

If you are confused about using to vs. too, you’re not the only one! Even native speakers struggle with using the right word. It’s time you learn the difference between to and too and find out how to use them in sentences!

To and too are homophones: Words that are pronounced the same but have different meanings. So if you want to find out whether to use to or too in a sentence, you need to first understand their meanings. Let’s begin!

What’s the difference between to and too?

Here’s the difference between to and too:

Too is an adverb. It’s used to express excessive quantities or degrees. It often indicates that something is more than necessary.

The drink is too cold.

Let me come along too.

Lena went to the mall too.

To is a preposition. It expresses motion towards a specific destination or indicates an action or intention. Furthermore, it can denote a range of time, place, or quantity.

Destination: He is going to Australia.

Action: They were going to eat at the restaurant.

Range: The weather is cold from November to January.

When to use too vs. to

Use to when indicating direction, action, or range. 

Lena wants to go to the mall. 

The child needs to eat.

The city could be one to two miles away.

Use too to convey excess or agreement.

There were too many flies in the garden!

Lena likes the mall too.

The exam was too difficult for her.

Using to or too: examples

1. What are you up too or to?

The correct phrase is What are you up to? In this context, up to is an expression used to ask about someone’s current activities, plans, or what they are doing at the moment. 

Hey Irfan, what are you up to this weekend?

Nathan asked Irfan what he was up to that weekend.

They were talking about what they were up to this evening.

2. You to or you too?

The correct phrase is you too. It is a common way to respond to someone when you want to reciprocate their feeling or sentiments. 

Happy New Year to you too!

You should come to watch the game too.

Thank you, you too!

3. Too me or to me?

The correct phrase is to me. It is used when you want to express that something is directed toward you or shows your perspective. 

Could you please pass it on to me?

To me, it seemed good.

Can it ever happen to me?

4. Would love to or too?

The correct phrase is would love to. This phrase is used to express a strong desire or enthusiasm to do something.

I would love to go to the beach this weekend.

Lena would have loved to go to the mall.

They would love to join us for dinner tonight.

5. Too much vs. to much

The correct phrase is too much. It is used to indicate an excessive or overly large amount of something. It conveys the idea of more than what is considered necessary.

She ate too much cake at the party.

The noise was too much; it gave me a headache.

He spent too much money on clothes last month.

To vs. too vs. two

Another word that sounds like to and too but has a different meaning is two. Since two is a number, it rarely adds to the confusion of to vs. too! Let’s try to understand how two stands out from too and to.

Two (2) is a number. It comes after one (1) and before three (3). 

Use two when referring to the number 2.

There are two options to choose from.

Lena had two cups of coffee, and she was just getting started!

I have two cats at home.

Now that you understand the difference between these words, you can use to, too, and two correctly.

Using to, too, and two in a sentence

I like to paint.

The vessel was too heavy.

Two points were given to the red team.

We hope the above examples have settled any lingering doubts!

Tricky word choices such as to vs. too can result in a poorly written document for many English learners. As providers of expert editing services, it’s our job to help you out! Check out these resources for any further queries on grammar or punctuation:

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Tanvi

With a foundation in Life Sciences, Tanvi enjoys curating technical writing tips tailored for ESL students. When she's not translating complex concepts into bite-sized nuggets, she can be found playing with dogs or painting landscapes.