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ESL forum >
Grammar and Linguistics > ´Too much ´ is BAD!
´Too much ´ is BAD!
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ldthemagicman
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´Too much ´ is BAD!
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Dear Members, �Too much� �. I hear this phrase used INCORRECTLY by students almost every day. I heard it again, today. The father was speaking happily about the eating habits of his child. He said: �My son likes apples too much!� If this was what he intended to say, he could have continued, �I�m really worried about him. He sometimes eats 30 apples per day, and nothing else. Too much acid is bad for his stomach!� In the majority of sentences, �Too much� is BAD, NEGATIVE! In British English, in the majority of sentences, the word, �too�, means �excessively, inordinately, unduly, over, overly, unreasonably, ridiculously�. In only one or two sentences, when the speaker intends it as a very big compliment, does �too� mean �very� or �extremely�. For example, when Mister A gives something that is VERY expensive to Miss B, she may reply: �You are too kind!� This means, �You are VERY, VERY, VERY KIND! You are almost too kind to me, because I don�t deserve this beautiful gift!� �My son likes apples much!� is GOOD, POSITIVE. (Although we usually say: �My son likes apples VERY much!�) �Much� = �very much; a lot; lots; greatly; a great deal, a large amount; to a great extent; to a great degree; considerably�.
In the majority of sentences, �Too many� is BAD, NEGATIVE! In British English, in the majority of sentences, the word, �too�, means �excessively, inordinately, unduly, over, overly, unreasonably, ridiculously�. In only one or two sentences, when the speaker intends it as a very big compliment, does �too� mean �very� or �extremely�. For example, when Teacher A gives Student B a gift of five grammar books, to help him with English, the student may reply: �Teacher, this is too many!� This means, �You are VERY, VERY, VERY KIND! You are almost too kind to me, because I don�t deserve all of these wonderful books!� �My son likes many books� is GOOD, POSITIVE! �Many� = �lots of; a lot of; a large number of; several; numerous; innumerable; countless; multiple�. Members, don�t forget! Generally speaking, �Too much� is BAD. �Too many� is BAD. I hope that this helps you. Les Douglas
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12 Apr 2017
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douglas
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I think you may have too much time on your hands, Les. It �s good you emphasized BRITISH English, because I doubt that many Americans would agree with you much. Unless, of course they �ve drunk too much. (alcoholic beverages being implied here). Cheers, Douglas |
12 Apr 2017
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yanogator
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Douglas, I don �t understand why you said that. I was about to write that Les didn �t need to specify British English, because it �s the same in the US. Can you explain why you think not many in the US would agree with Les? Thanks, Bruce |
12 Apr 2017
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redcamarocruiser
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“My son likes apples much!” sounds incomplete to my American ears. I would say “My son likes apples SO much!” (or very much, as Les said). |
12 Apr 2017
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ldthemagicman
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Dear redcamarocruiser, A question would be: "Does your son like apples much?" Answer: "Yes, he likes apples very much!" (or something similar), but NOT "He likes apples too much!" THAT phrase is the error that I am trying to warn about. You are perfectly correct ... there are numerous ways to describe how much a person likes apples, but: "He likes apples too much" is NOT one of them, (unless it is intended negatively). Thank you for your contribution. Les Douglas |
12 Apr 2017
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douglas
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I �m Sorry Les, I misunderstood the point you were trying to make and thought you were saying it is "bad, negative" to end a sentence with "too much". After considering the follow-up comments and re-reading your post I now see you were refering to using "too much" to show something in a positive light--I can agree with you on this at a grammatical level. However, if we are speaking colloquially, I �m afraid it is steadily making its way into the language and we may have to begin to change our opinions about it--language must be alive and allowed to grow. Cheers and Happy Easter, Douglas |
13 Apr 2017
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cunliffe
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Les is right, of course. I have noticed this tendency with language learners, as well. I will add that saying, �You are too kind... � etc..., when used in expert hands, can be meant sarcastically.
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13 Apr 2017
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ericzz
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many thanks for this warning. ‘Too much’ is BAD. ‘Too many’ is BAD. |
13 Apr 2017
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ninon100
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How about the following dialogue: You work is ingenious, it �s quality stuff! Fabulous! Thanks, you are TOO KIND. Is that sarcastic? Is that bad? I don �t think so... |
13 Apr 2017
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yanogator
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Les discusses "You are too kind" in his fifth paragraph. Bruce |
13 Apr 2017
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ldthemagicman
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Dear Ninon, Thank you for your example. It is almost identical to mine. In only one or two sentences, when the speaker intends it as a very big compliment, does ‘too’ mean ‘very’ or ‘extremely’. For example, when Mister A gives something that is VERY expensive to Miss B, she may reply: “You are too kind!” This means, “You are VERY, VERY, VERY KIND! You are almost too kind to me, because I don’t deserve this beautiful gift!” In YOUR sentence and in MY sentence, we both AGREE that it is NOT sarcastic, and that it is NOT bad. In the majority of sentences, ‘Too much’ is BAD, NEGATIVE! Les Douglas |
13 Apr 2017
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