IS IT CORRECT ? - 5 - too much / very much

All language learners around the world make mistakes. Have you ever felt your teacher’s corrections do not have a long-lasting effect? Are you frustrated that even though your teacher corrects you, once you leave the class you keep making the same mistakes? We understand how you feel and will help you eliminate mistakes you might be making. The purpose of this section is to address common mistakes many students from different countries make in English and briefly explain why they are incorrect. Once you understand why they are incorrect, it might be easier for you to avoid them!

IS IT CORRECT?

EPISODE 5

MISTAKE:  I like it too much.
CORRECTION:  I like it very much. / I like it a lot.

This sentence is not always a mistake. It all depends on what you mean by saying it.

This is not a mistake if you want to say that you like something very much, but you would prefer not to like it. Or, you feel guilty you like something more than you should.

For example, you know you should quit smoking because it’s bad for you, but you just enjoy smoking a lot and cannot quit it – you would then say: 

“I want to quit smoking, but I like it too much.”

Another situation:  your mom wants to donate toys you no longer play with. You say: 

“It’s a great idea, but can I please keep my favorite teddy bear? I like it too much to give it away.”

But it is a mistake if you say:

I went to a wedding last Saturday. It was so wonderful and I liked it too much!

I will be confused because you are telling me the wedding was so great, but then you say you liked it too much. This means you feel guilty that you liked it or you think you liked it more that you should have. If there is no reason to feel guilty about it, you should just say:

I went to a wedding last Saturday. It was so wonderful and I liked it very/so much!

Take a look at another example:

The Rolling Stones concert I went to was awesome. The music was great and there were so many people.

It means you like everything about the concert: the music and the fact that there were a lot of people.

The Rolling Stones concert I went to was awesome. The music was great and there were too many people.

It means you liked the music, but you didn’t like the fact that there were a lot of people. In this situation it is better to say:

The Rolling Stones concert I went to was awesome. The music was great, but there were too many people.

So remember, use:

too + adjective (e.g. too long)       or        too + quantifier (e.g. too much)

when you want to express your negative opinion or you feel guilty about something.