Grammar Lesson: How to Remove "Too" from a Sentence
Welcome to this simple grammar lesson! A very common transformation in English grammar is changing sentences with "too... to" into sentences using "so... that". The word "too" usually means "more than necessary" and gives the sentence a negative meaning.
The Basic Rules
- Replace "too" with "so".
- Replace "to" with "that".
- Add a suitable pronoun matching the subject (e.g., I, he, she, it, they, we).
- Add "cannot" if the sentence is in the present tense (is/am/are).
- Add "could not" if the sentence is in the past tense (was/were).
Note: If the subject of the sentence is an object or non-living thing (like a box or a mountain), we often write the second part in the passive voice (e.g., "it cannot be lifted") or add a pronoun like "we" or "one" (e.g., "we cannot lift it").
25 Examples for Practice
1. Original: He is too weak to walk.
Solution: He is so weak that he cannot walk.
2. Original: She was too tired to work.
Solution: She was so tired that she could not work.
3. Original: The box is too heavy to lift.
Solution: The box is so heavy that it cannot be lifted.
4. Original: The tea is too hot to drink.
Solution: The tea is so hot that it cannot be drunk.
5. Original: He is too honest to lie.
Solution: He is so honest that he cannot lie.
6. Original: The problem is too difficult to solve.
Solution: The problem is so difficult that it cannot be solved.
7. Original: The boy is too small to reach the shelf.
Solution: The boy is so small that he cannot reach the shelf.
8. Original: The news is too good to be true.
Solution: The news is so good that it cannot be true.
9. Original: She speaks too fast to be understood.
Solution: She speaks so fast that she cannot be understood.
10. Original: They were too late to catch the train.
Solution: They were so late that they could not catch the train.
11. Original: The tree is too high to climb.
Solution: The tree is so high that it cannot be climbed.
12. Original: I was too busy to attend the party.
Solution: I was so busy that I could not attend the party.
13. Original: The water is too cold to swim in.
Solution: The water is so cold that we cannot swim in it.
14. Original: He is too proud to beg.
Solution: He is so proud that he cannot beg.
15. Original: The sun is too bright to look at directly.
Solution: The sun is so bright that we cannot look at it directly.
16. Original: She is too young to travel alone.
Solution: She is so young that she cannot travel alone.
17. Original: The bag was too heavy for him to carry.
Solution: The bag was so heavy that he could not carry it.
18. Original: The car is too expensive for me to buy.
Solution: The car is so expensive that I cannot buy it.
19. Original: He is too slow to win the race.
Solution: He is so slow that he cannot win the race.
20. Original: The mountain is too steep to climb easily.
Solution: The mountain is so steep that it cannot be climbed easily.
21. Original: The voice was too faint to hear.
Solution: The voice was so faint that it could not be heard.
22. Original: My grandfather is too old to travel.
Solution: My grandfather is so old that he cannot travel.
23. Original: The room is too dark to read in.
Solution: The room is so dark that we cannot read in it.
24. Original: The puzzle is too tricky for him to solve.
Solution: The puzzle is so tricky that he cannot solve it.
25. Original: The bridge was too weak to support the truck.
Solution: The bridge was so weak that it could not support the truck.