The key words too vs. very So vs. Such Exercises

The key intensifiers

WordPositionMeaningExample
verybefore adj / advstrengthens (neutral)It's very cold today.
reallybefore adj / advstrengthens (informal)She's really smart.
sobefore adj / advstrengthens (emotional)This film is so good!
suchbefore (adj +) nounstrengthens (emotional, with a noun)It's such a good film!
toobefore adj / advexcessive (negative)It's too hot. I can't eat it.
quitebefore adj / advmoderately / to some degreeThe film is quite good.
ratherbefore adj / advmore than expected (formal)That was rather surprising.
enoughafter adj; before nounsufficientIs it warm enough? · There is enough food.
Too / enough with a noun: Before a noun, use too many (countable) / too much (uncountable), and enough + noun: "You've made too many mistakes." · "There's too much snow to drive today." · "We don't have enough chairs."

too vs. very

WordSenseResultExample
very High degree — neutral No implied problem The coffee is very hot. (I like it!)
too Excessive — negative There IS a problem The coffee is too hot. (I can't drink it!)
Enough position: Enough goes after an adjective but before a noun: "fast enough" (adj + enough) · "enough time" (enough + noun). "She's old enough to drive." · "We don't have enough money."
Scale: weak → strong
quite good → pretty good → good → very good → really good → so good → incredibly good

So vs. Such

Both intensify for emotional emphasis, but so goes before an adjective or adverb with no noun, while such goes before a noun (optionally with an adjective in between).

PatternExample
so + adjectiveThe film was so good!
so + adverbShe sings so beautifully.
such + a/an + adjective + singular countable nounIt was such a good film!
such + adjective + plural / uncountable noun (no a/an)They are such kind people. · We had such bad luck.
The most common mistake: "So" cannot go directly before a noun — that's exactly what "such" is for: ✗ "It was so good film." ✓ "It was such a good film."
"Such" vs "Such a": "A/an" only appears before a singular countable noun. With plural or uncountable nouns, drop it: "such a nice day" (singular) but "such nice days" (plural) / "such good weather" (uncountable).

Exercises

EXERCISE:

Exercise 1 — Choose the correct intensifier

Choose the correct word or form.

1. I can't sleep. The music is ___ loud!

2. She is ___ tall to play basketball. (= sufficient)

3. The pizza was ___ delicious — I loved it!

4. She speaks English ___.

5. It was ___ boring movie that I fell asleep.

6. The weather is ___ nice today!

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