TOEIC Part 5 Anchor Drill

Enough vs Too: Choose by Meets the Line or Crosses the Line

This drill trains you to decide whether a business situation meets the required level or crosses a limit and creates a problem. Use the anchor and the word-order pattern before choosing.

The required amount or level is met = enough
A limit is crossed and the result is blocked = too

Choose enough

Use enough when time, staff, space, information, quality, or timing reaches the required level. Common patterns include enough + noun, adjective + enough, and adverb + enough.

Choose too

Use too when a level becomes excessive, insufficient, or unsuitable and creates a restriction. Look for too + adjective/adverb, too many, too few, too much, and too little.

How to find the anchor

Do not choose only from the noun or adjective beside the blank. First identify whether the intended task can be completed. Then check where enough or too must appear in the structure.

Enough signals: extra time, available staff, sufficient space, complete information, approval, successful completion, suitability, and phrases showing that a requirement can be met.
Too signals: missed deadlines, unavailable resources, failed results, restrictions, unsuitable size or cost, and to + verb or for + noun phrases showing what is blocked.

Because the client extended the deadline by three days, the audit team has ___ time to verify every invoice.

Answer: enough

Because the client extended the deadline by three days is the anchor. The extension makes the available time meet the requirement, so enough time is required.

Because the client moved the deadline forward to tomorrow morning, the schedule is ___ tight to verify every invoice.

Answer: too

Because the client moved the deadline forward to tomorrow morning is the anchor. The new deadline makes the schedule unworkably tight, so too tight to verify is required.

The choices contrast enough with too. Tap the need-met, problem-limit, or word-order anchor before choosing.

After the drill

What your result reveals

Your score shows whether you identified that the required amount or level was met, or that a limit was crossed and created a problem. Use the Review to check both the sentence meaning and the word-order pattern before comparing enough with too.

If enough caused problems

Review patterns showing that a requirement is met: enough time, enough staff, enough space, clear enough, large enough, and quickly enough. Check whether enough belongs before a noun or after an adjective or adverb.

If too caused problems

Review patterns showing that a level crosses the acceptable limit: too late, too small, too expensive, too difficult to complete, too many, too few, too much, and too little.

If false anchors or timing caused problems

You may be choosing from the nearest noun or adjective without checking whether the business situation works. First decide whether the need is met or a problem limit is crossed, then confirm the required word order.

Use the Review in this order: check the correct answer, identify the exact need-met, problem-limit, or word-order anchor, read why that anchor points to enough or too, then compare the complete sentence with the rejected choice.